The MLS opens doors beyond the courthouse
When Adam Willman's father spotted a short item about a brand-new, one-year law degree in the Indianapolis Business Journal, he forwarded it to his son without much fanfare. Willman, then a senior finance major at the University of Kentucky, was still job hunting in spring 2025. He applied to Indiana University Maurer School of Law's Master of Legal Studies (MLS) program almost as a backup plan.
"I hadn't landed a job by May, so I just decided to do it," he said.
It turned out to be far more than a fallback.
Earning his MLS provided a deeper understanding of contracts, land use, and how deals get built—knowledge he now uses every day as a commercial real estate broker back home in Carmel, Ind.
The case for Law School
Real estate had always been the plan while studying finance. With a solid background in business, Willman thought pursuing a one-year legal education could complement his existing skillset.
"I thought the legal aspect of things was interesting," he said. "Learning how these contracts work—lease agreements, purchase agreements—and then land-use issues for bigger projects, when you're assembling land and trying to get it rezoned. Having that understanding, I thought, would be beneficial for me."
It has been. Willman says the MLS curriculum has already shaped how he reads a deal.
"Even just looking at properties and figuring out how they're zoned, and having a better understanding of what those zoning processes look like, has helped me a lot in my everyday life.”
A different classroom experience
Willman admits to a bit of anxiety walking into Baier Hall for the first day of classes, knowing he’d be studying next to future attorneys.
MLS students take classes alongside JD and LLM candidates, but to the faculty, there is little distinction.
“You’re treated as a normal student," Willman said. "Half the time the professor didn't even know we were a different type of student."
That meant real cold calls in large lecture classes, which he found nerve-wracking at first, balanced by smaller seminars where he felt more at ease.
Those included Constitutional Law with Prof. Don Gjerdingen (where he wrote a paper he's still proud of); Land Use Controls with Prof. Jeff Stake; and Transactional Drafting with Prof. Mark Need. He credits Transactional Drafting, where he was one of the few non-3Ls in the course, with teaching him how the contracts he now negotiates are actually built.
Willman also expressed deep gratitude to the Graduate Programs and Global Engagement staff—especially Prof. Gabe Goodwin and Lei Min—for making a demanding year manageable.
"They were always available and there to help with whatever I needed," he said. “They were amazing resources.”
Who is the MLS for?
Asked whether he'd recommend the MLS to others, Willman is candid: it's not for everyone. But for the right person, he sees real value.
"I got a lot out of it personally, because I was always interested in law to an extent," he said. "It was great being in Bloomington. I enjoyed my studies and the coursework was relevant to what I'm doing now in my career."
Beyond real estate and development, he points to public policy and local government as a natural fit: "They wouldn't have to get a full JD, but they could study learn the same concepts and have a better understanding of the issues at hand. For those people, it would make a ton of sense."
Skills that travel
Beyond the substantive law, Willman points to habits he didn't expect to gain: he became a meticulous reader for the first time, learned to think more critically about competing points of view, and got comfortable thinking on his feet under a cold call.
"I like the pressure of the cold call, I think it's good," he said. "It helps you improve your public speaking skills."
Now an MLS graduate, Willman is building a career at the intersection of law, sales, and development back in his hometown—proof that a Maurer legal education can open doors well beyond a courtroom.