Albany Law School Law School

Albany Law School, Albany Law School Law School History

Albany Law School was established in 1851 and is independent. The 6-acre campus is in an urban area 150 miles north of New York City. The primary mission of the law school is to provide students with a quality education in accordance with ethical principles and professional standards. The curriculum is traditional, yet innovative, and stresses legal knowledge, professional skills, thought habits, and contemporary techniques and technologies. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the Albany area. The school is located in Albany, the state capital. Facilities of special interest to law students are the New York State Legislature, State House, and all government agencies. Inexpensive off-campus housing is readily available as well as privately owned dorm-style housing adjacent to campus. About 98% of the law school facilities are accessible to the physically disabled.

Albany Law School, Albany Law School Law School Academics

In addition to the J.D., the law school offers the LL.M. and Master of Science in legal studies. Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; a maximum of 4 credits may be applied. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration), J.D./M.P.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration), J.D./M.R.P. (Juris Doctor/Master of Regional Planning), J.D./M.S. (Juris Doctor/Master of Science in bioethics and in legal studies), and J.D./M.S.W. (Juris Doctor/Master of Social Work).

Students must take 24 credits in their area of concentration. The Albany Law School offers concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, environmental law, family law, intellectual property law, international law, labor law, litigation, securities law, tax law, commercial law, constitutional law, civil procedure, health law, estate law, government administration and regulation, court administration, and perspectives on law and legal systems. In addition, a clinical program enables upper-level students to obtain practical experience in a public law office. A classroom component is available; students may earn 12 credits, 2 to 6 each semester. Clinics include the Civil Rights and Disabilities Law Project, Health Law Project, Litigation Project, Domestic Violence Project, Securities Arbitration Project, and Low-Income Taxpayer’s Project. Seminars, worth 2 or 3 credits each semester, and research assistantships are open to upper-level students. Internships in government agencies are offered through the Government Law Center, and externships in public law offices are arranged through the Placement Clinic. Annual special lecture series include the Justice Jackson and the Edward L. Sobota Memorial Lecture Series. Summer study abroad may be arranged through other ABA-accredited law schools for upper-level students. Albany Law School offers the Nairobi International Institute in partnership with Widener University School of Law, the International Human Rights Internship Program, and the University of Paris Exchange Program. Tutorial programs include the Lewis A. Swyer Academic Success Program, which provides small groups and individual instruction in legal reasoning, case analysis and synthesis, writing, and study skills. Entering students who have been out the academic environment for several years, those whose academic backgrounds differ substantially, and those with language, physical, or emotional handicaps are eligible. In addition to an extensive Diversity Scholarship program, a number of programs are sponsored by faculty, alumni, and student organizations for those students with unusual backgrounds, including those minorities who historically have been underrepresented in the legal profession. Several societies offer lectures, symposia, and other events, including the International Law Society and Environmental Law Society. The most widely taken electives are Business Organizations, Evidence, and New York Practice.

To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 87 total credits, of which 32 are for required courses. They must maintain a minimum GPA of 1.7 in the required courses. The following first-year courses are required of all students: Constitutional Law I and II, Contracts I and II, Criminal Law, Evidence, Introduction to Civil Procedure, Introduction to Lawyering, Legal Methods, Property I and II, and Torts. Required upper-level courses consist of an upper-class writing requirement and The Legal Professional/Professional Responsibility seminar. The required orientation program for first-year students is a weeklong program that includes a “Legal Methods” class, social activities, and administrative activities.

To graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.0 and have completed the upper-division writing requirement.

Albany Law School, Albany Law School Law School Unique Programs

Library

The law library contains 285,012 hard-copy volumes and 1,975,164 microform volume equivalents, and subscribes to 987 serial publications. Such on-line databases and networks as CALI, CIS Universe, DIALOG, Infotrac, Legal-Trac, LEXIS, LOIS, Mathew Bender, NEXIS, OCLC First Search, WESTLAW, New York Legislature Retrieval System, Court of Appeals on-line information service, and the Internet are available to law students for research. Special library collections include a U.S. government documents depository, New York State documents research depository, and a New York Court of Appeals oral argument videotape repository. The ratio of library volumes to faculty is 5000 to 1 and to students is 400 to 1. The ratio of seats in the library to students is 7 to 10.

Special Consideration

The law school recruits minority and disadvantaged students through current minority students who assist the Admissions Office by recruiting at colleges and universities with large minority populations, by offering tuition scholarships and grants that are awarded to more than half of the accepted minority applicants, and by increased outreach by minority alumni. Requirements are not different for out-of-state students. Transfer students must have one year of credit and have attended an ABA-approved law school.

Albany Law School, Albany Law School Law School Admissions

In the fall 2007 first-year class, 2065 applied, 932 were accepted, and 246 enrolled. Four transfers enrolled. The median LSAT percentile of the most recent first-year class was 63; the median GPA was 3.21 on a scale of 4.0.

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and take the LSAT. The most important admission factors include academic achievement, LSAT results, and general background. No specific undergraduate courses are required. Candidates are not interviewed.

The priority application deadline for fall entry is February 15. Applicants should submit an application form, LSAT results, transcripts, a personal statement, the TOEFL when applicable, a nonrefundable application fee of $60, and 2 letters of recommendation. Notification of the admissions decision is on a rolling basis. The latest acceptable LSAT test date for fall entry is February. The law school uses the LSDAS.

Albany Law School, Albany Law School Law School Financial Aid

About 92% of current law students receive some form of aid. The average annual amount of aid from all sources combined, including scholarships, loans, and work contracts, is $44,000; maximum, $54,500. Awards are based on need and merit, along with diversity. Required financial statement is the FAFSA. The aid application deadline for fall entry is rolling. Special funds for minority or disadvantaged students include diversity scholarships and full or partial tuition waivers. First-year students are notified about their financial aid application at time of acceptance.

Albany Law School, Albany Law School Law School Students

About 46% of the student body are women; 19%, minorities; 1%, African American; 3%, Asian American; 1%, Hispanic; and 1%, foreign national. The majority of students come from New York (79%). The average age of entering students is 26; age range is 21 to 50. About 44% of students enter directly from undergraduate school and 54% have worked full-time prior to entering law school. About 1% drop out after the first year for academic or personal reasons; 99% remain to receive a law degree.

Students edit the Albany Law Review, Albany Law Journal of Science and Technology, the Albany Government Law Review, the student newspaper The Issue, and the yearbook The Verdict. Intraschool moot court competitions include the Domenick L. Gabrielli Appellate Advocacy Competition, the Karen C. McGovern Senior Prize Trials, and the Donna Jo Morse Client Counseling Competition. Other interschool competitions include ABA Client Counseling, ABA Negotiations, ABA National Appellate Advocacy, First Amendment, Products Liability, Civil Rights, Constitutional, Criminal Procedure, Entertainment, Environmental Law, Evidence, Health Law, International, Labor, National Security, Privacy, and Securities Law. Law student organizations, local chapters of national associations, and campus clubs include the Environmental Law Society, International Law Society, Intellectual Property Law Society, Phi Alpha Delta, Student Lawyers Guild, Amnesty International, Black Law Students Association, Latino Law Students Association, and Asian Pacific American Law Students Association.

The law school operates on a traditional semester basis. Courses for full-time students are offered days only and must be completed within 3 years. For part-time students, courses are offered days only and must be completed within 4 years. New full- and part-time students are admitted in the fall. There is a 7-week summer session. Transferable summer courses are offered.