The establishment of the dual program recognizes the increasingly complex body of knowledge necessary to the creative conduct of business and business-related law practice, the complementary nature of many aspects of the graduate programs of the College of Law and the Haslam College of Business, and the intellectual benefits inherent in the concurrent study of both business and business-related law.

The program is designed to accommodate the interests of students who contemplate a career in public service and want to acquire the skills and perspective of the lawyer and the business-oriented manager, contemplate a career in business management and want to acquire the skills and perspective of a lawyer, or contemplate a career as a lawyer specializing in business-related law and want to acquire the skills and perspective of the business-oriented manager.