NYU’s Law & Social Entrepreneurship Association (LSEA) explores the role of the law and its practitioners in the emerging use of business principles to develop sustainable models for social change. LSEA pursues this mission through speaker and career events, the NYU Social Innovation Symposium, student practice projects in partnership with prominent organizations like Ashoka and Rising Tide Capital, and our annual alternative break trip.

In January, 12 members of LSEA traveled to Colombo, Sri Lanka for the organization’s second Alternative Break. Thanks to a generous grant from the Jacobson Leadership Program in Law & Business, these students explored a country searching for innovative approaches to social challenges in an environment unfortunately accustomed to war and political conflict.

Under the leadership of David Connelly (JD ’13, Reynolds Fellow) and Alex Stein (JD ’13), LSEA scheduled meetings with entrepreneurs, attorneys, NGOs, law professors, and international organizations, with each providing valuable insight into a complex and dynamic nation. Topics of conversation ran the gamut from the peculiarities of Roman Dutch law and truth and the separation of powers to economic development strategies and the challenges facing women entrepreneurs.

In between meetings, students were able to explore the city of Colombo through remarkable historic sites, fiery cuisine, and visits to Sri Lanka’s pristine beaches and breath-taking tea plantations. And of course there are few experiences that foster group bonding and camaraderie more than perilous high-speed rides in an auto rickshaw.

The trip coincided with a constitutional crisis in which the Sri Lankan Parliament impeached the Chief Justice for her opposition to a piece of legislation favored by the President. Attorneys across the country went on strike during our trip to protest the President’s consolidation of power, which was particularly poignant in a nation that has lived under tentative peace in recent years

after decades of brutal civil war.

In all, it was an incredible experience for members of LSEA, creating indelible memories as well as connections for future collaboration between NYU and our new friends in Sri Lanka!

Below are some of the organizations we met:Global Distance Learning Network ♦ Centre for Policy Alternatives♦ Organization for Visual Progression ♦ Sri Lanka College of Law ♦ World Bank ♦ Sarvodaya ♦ International Finance Corporation ♦ Selyn ♦ United States Embassy ♦ Habitat for Humanity ♦ Legal Aid ♦

And partners from F.J. & G. de Saram, the oldest law firm in Sri Lanka

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