Academics
In addition to the J.D., the law school offers the LL.M. 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./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration (in association with Baruch College).
The New York Law School offers concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, entertainment law, environmental law, family law, intellectual property law, international law, labor law, litigation, media law, securities law, tax law, torts and insurance, and business and commercial law, constitutional law, procedure and evidence, property and real estate, public interest law, administrative law and practice, and immigration law. In addition, Clinics are available in Criminal Law, Mediation, Elder Law, Securities Arbitration, and Urban Law. Students gain additional legal practice experience through workshop courses. These courses link a seminar in a specialized body of law to field placements in offices and agencies practicing in that area of the law. Externships and judicial internships provide opportunities to do actual legal work, in private or public law offices or in judges’ chambers, while being supervised by a practitioner at the placement site and meeting with a faculty member at the school. Special lecture series include the Steifel Symposium, Fall Executive Speakers Series, New York City Law Breakfasts, Solomon Lecture, Professional Development Seminar, Faculty Lecture Series, Dean’s Roundtable, Spotlight on Women, CV Starr Lecture, Otto Walter Lecture Series, and Faculty Presentation Day. Independent study programs are available. Students may participate in study abroad programs offered by other law schools. The Academic Support Program consists of a condensed introductory course in legal methods in the summer followed by weekly tutorial meetings with second- and third-year teaching fellows through the first academic year. The Admissions Office has an Associate Director with specific responsibility for minority recruitment and enrollment initiatives in conjunction with the Office of Student Life, Asian American Law Students Association, Black Law Students Association, Latino Law Students Association, South Asian Law Students Association, and Stonewall Law Students Association. Special interest group programs include Media Law Project, Domestic Violence Project, New York Law School Civil Liberties Union, Public Interest Coalition, and Trial Lawyers Association. The most widely taken electives are Commercial Transactions; Corporations; and Wills, Trusts, and Future Interests.
To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 86 total credits, of which 38 are for required courses. They must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the required courses. The following first-year courses are required of all students: Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Lawyering, Legal Reasoning, Writing and Research, Legislation and Regulation, Property, Torts, and Written and Oral Advocacy. Required upper-level courses consist of advanced writing requirement, Constitutional Law I and II, Evidence, and The Legal Profession. Clinical programs are included in the Lawyering Skills program, where faculty-supervised students represent clients with current legal matters pending before various federal and state courts and administrative agencies.The required orientation program for first-year students is a week long and is designed to ease the anxieties of incoming students by having them meet informally with professors and fellow students at planned social events as well as introducing them to the rigors of law studies.
In order to graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.0 and have completed the upper-division writing requirement.