William J. "Bill" Carney, a cornerstone of Emory Law for more than three decades, is once again shaping its future with a transformative $6 million gift to create the William and Jane Carney Center for Business and Transactional Law, which will encompass the school’s nationally recognized Center for Transactional Law and Practice.

Carney taught law at Emory for 34 years before retiring in 2012. He led the founding of the Center for Transactional Law and Practice in 2007 and, in 2015, provided a matching gift of $1 million to strengthen the center’s work. Emory Law is ranked #22 nationally in Business and Commercial Law, reflecting the impact of scholarship by its business law faculty and the success of the Center for Transactional Law and Practice.

Now, with the largest gift in the school’s history, Carney is again expressing his commitment to Emory Law. The new Carney Center for Business and Transactional Law will further strengthen the law school’s excellence in transactional law, while engaging more holistically with other phases of business law.

Carney’s investment is driven by his deep commitment to combining strong legal education with training in drafting, negotiations, and other skills pivotal to business practice. His vision aligns closely with that of Dean Rich Freer, whom Carney has known since Freer joined the Emory Law faculty 41 years ago. Freer recently marked his first 100 days as dean. “Dean Freer has good values, both academic and professional,” Carney says. “He understands the practice of law and what students need, and I believe he will lead the business law component of the school into prominence.”

Central to Carney’s vision – and Freer’s – is melding legal education, imparted by Emory’s distinguished law faculty, with practical skills training to allow Emory graduates to enter the profession practice-ready. “I want to see Emory students ready to walk into any law firm and succeed,” says Carney. He believes his gift will support that goal while improving the school in other ways, including:

• Adding to a distinguished faculty: The Carney Center will be instrumental in continuing to attract leading scholars in business law.

• Building on the success of the Center for Transactional Law and Practice: Sue Payne, the William and Jane Carney Professor of Transactional Law and Practice and executive director of the center, is well-suited to lead this effort. “She understands what is needed to prepare students for legal practice and is a perfect fit to complement Dean Freer's goals,” Carney says.

For Carney, his gift is a transformative investment that will enhance Emory Law’s already strong program and leverage its place in Atlanta, one of the world’s more important business hubs.

“We’re focused on our core mission, which is to educate and prepare sophisticated, principled lawyers who can flourish in any milieu all over the world,” says Freer.  “Bill Carney understands how important that is—he has devoted his professional life to doing just that—and his commitment to Emory Law with this unprecedented gift will take us to new heights.”