School of Law

New York University, School of Law History

New York University School of Law was established in 1835 and is a private institution. The campus is in an urban area in New York City. The primary mission of the law school is to produce men and women who are leaders of the bar, public and private, in a world that operates across national boundaries. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the New York area. Facilities of special interest to law students include Vanderbilt Hall and Furman Hall, which contains classrooms, faculty and administrative offices, and the library; D’Agostino and Mercer student residences, with meeting rooms, student journal offices, and a conference center. Housing for students is available for virtually all first-year students who request it, including couples and families; 2 law school-owned apartment buildings are within 4 blocks of the campus. About 95% of the law school facilities are accessible to the physically disabled.

New York University, School of Law Academics

In addition to the J.D., the law school offers the LL.M. and S.J.D. Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; a maximum of 10 credits may be applied. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./L.L.B. (Juris Doctor/Bachelor of Laws with Osgoode Hall Law School), J.D./LL.M. (Juris Doctor/Master of Laws in taxation), J.D./M.A. (Juris Doctor/ Master of Arts in economics, philosophy, etc.), J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration), J.D./M.P.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration with PrincetonUniversity and Harvard University), J.D./M.P.P. (Juris Doctor/Master of Public Policy with Harvard University), J.D./M.S.W. (Juris Doctor/Master of Social Work), J.D./M.U.P. (Juris Doctor/Master of Urban Planning), and J.D.M.A., Ph.D. (Juris Doctor/Master of Arts).

The School of Law offers concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, entertainment law, environmental law, family law, intellectual property law, international law, juvenile law, labor law, litigation, securities law, tax law, torts and insurance, global law, public interest law, and real estate law. In addition, clinics provide simulated and actual trial experience; clinics include the Equal Justice and Capital Defender Clinic, Civil Rights Clinic, and International Human Rights Clinic. There are 22 clinics offered. Seminars are offered in areas such as constitutional law, corporate and commercial law, and criminal justice. The law school provides guaranteed summer funding to first-and second-year students who take public interest law. These summer internships are with public interest organizations worldwide. Additionally, Root-Tilden-Kern Scholars participate in a 10-week internship in public interest law. Students may arrange with faculty to conduct research; the Directed Writing Project requires a substantial paper that may fulfill part of the upper-level writing requirement. Research is also part of the Hays Civil Liberties Program, open to selected third-year students; there is also the junior and graduate fellowships in international law, the Criminal Justice Fellowships, and the International Law and Human Rights Fellowships. Among others, special lecture series include the Root-Tilden-Kern Speakers Program; the National Center on Philanthropy and the Law; the Globalization and Its Discontents Colloquium; the Jean Monnet Center Speaker Series, and the Environmental Law Society Speaker Series. Study abroad is possible through a 1-semester exchange program with Universities of Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and others. Tutorial assistance is available through the Office of Student Affairs. The law school’s 20 centers and institutes, as well as its more than 55 student organizations, present programs throughout the year. The most widely taken electives are Colloquia (faculty-student discussions); all clinical program and advocacy courses; and seminars.

To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 83 total credits, of which 45 are for required courses. The following first-year courses are required of all students: Civil Procedure I and II, Contracts I and II, Criminal Law, Lawyering, Property, The Administrative and Regulatory State, and Torts. Required upper-level courses consist of 2 upper-level writing requirements, Constitutional Law, and Professional Responsibility. Clinics and advocacy courses are electives.The required orientation program for first-year students is a 2-day academic and social orientation period before the start of classes, followed by a series of optional weekly programs during the first term.

In order to graduate, candidates must have completed the upper-division writing requirement and attend 6 semesters of classes.

New York University, School of Law Unique Programs

Library

The law library contains 1,097,926 hard-copy volumes and 146,614 microform volume equivalents, and subscribes to 7025 serial publications. Such on-line databases and networks as CALI, CIS Universe, DIALOG, Dow-Jones, Legal-Trac, LEXIS, NEXIS, OCLC First Search, RLIN, WESTLAW, Wilsonline Indexes, CCH, and many foreign and international Internet databases are available to law students for research. Special library collections include the Anglo-American collection, which includes recognized strengths in tax, legal history, intellectual property, constitutional law, the law of democratic institutions, and public international law. The law school building provides library space as well as an underground tunnel connecting the library and the law building. The ratio of library volumes to faculty is 8926 to 1 and to students is 771 to 1.

Special Consideration

The law school recruits minority and disadvantaged students by paying special attention to application information other than the GPA and LSAT results. Requirements are not different for out-of-state students. Transfer students must have one year of credit, have attended an ABA-approved law school; they must submit all college and law school transcripts, LSAT scores, a letter of recommendation from a law school professor, and a statement of good standing from a dean. The school attended must be a member of the AALS or be approved by the Section on Legal Education of the ABA.

New York University, School of Law Admissions

In the fall 2007 first-year class, 7095 applied, 1628 were accepted, and 448 enrolled. Forty-one transfers enrolled. The median GPA of the most recent first-year class was 3.71.

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and take the LSAT. Applicants must be at least 18 years old. No specific undergraduate courses are required. Candidates are not interviewed.

The application deadline for fall entry is February 1. Applicants should submit an application form, LSAT results, transcripts, a personal statement, a nonrefundable application fee of $85, and 1 letter of recommendation. Notification of the admissions decision is by late April. The latest acceptable LSAT test date for fall entry is December. The law school uses the LSDAS.

New York University, School of Law Financial Aid

About 75% of current law students receive some form of aid. Awards are based on need and merit. Required financial statement is the FAFSA. The aid application deadline for fall entry is April 15. First-year students are notified about their financial aid application at time of acceptance.

New York University, School of Law Students

About 47% of the student body are women; 25%, minorities; 7%, African American; 11%, Asian American; and 5%, Hispanic. The average age of entering students is 24; age range is 20 to 44. About 29% of students enter directly from undergraduate school and 15% have a graduate degree.

Students edit the New York University Law Review, Annual Survey of American Law , Journal of International Law and Politics, Environmental Law Journal, Review of Law and Social Change, Journal of Legislation and Public Policy, the newspaper, The Commentator, and the Moot Court Board Casebook. Members of the Moot Court Board enter intraschool and nationwide competitions, as well as develop moot court cases for use in nationwide competition. The law school administers the Orison S. Marden Competition each year. There are more than 55 funded law student organizations on campus, including the Student Bar Association. For a full listing of student organizations, go to the school’s web site at www.law.nyu.edu/studentorgs/sba/organizations.

The law school operates on a traditional semester basis. Courses for full-time students are offered both day and evening and but classes are primarily during the day and must be completed within 6 semesters. There is no part-time program. New students are admitted in the fall. There is no summer session. Transferable summer courses are not offered.