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CUNY School of Law is the premier public interest law school in the country. It
trains lawyers to serve the underprivileged and disempowered and to make a
difference in their communities.
CUNY Law pioneered the model of
integrating a lawyering curriculum with traditional doctrinal study. The school
has been praised in a study by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching, “Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law,” for being
one of the few law schools in the country to prepare students for practice
through instruction in theory, skills, and ethics.
Founded in 1983, the
CUNY School of Law consistently ranks among the top 10 law schools in the
country in clinical training. With a student-faculty ratio of 12 to1, CUNY Law
has been a model for other law schools for its clinical practice. All third-year
students at CUNY Law represent clients under the supervision of attorneys at one of the
largest law firm in Queens – Main Street Legal Services, Inc. – situated right
on the Law School campus.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
praises CUNY as “an institution of incomparable value.” She has noted the
school’s leadership for “innovations and tireless advancement of public interest
law.” Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., Professor at Harvard Law School, also praises
CUNY: “With all due respect to my legal institution and others, in my view CUNY
Law School is the premier legal institution in the country and the world for
training lawyers who are committed and dedicated to the public
interest. ”According to the National Association for Law Placement Directory,
CUNY Law sends a higher share of its students into public interest and public
service law practice -- 65 percent -- than any other law school in the nation.
CUNY School of Law enrolls an unusually diverse student body. Among its 2007
entering class, 43 percent are students of color. Meanwhile, tenured or
tenure-track faculty are 35 percent of color, too; The Princeton Review
ranks CUNY Law as having the fourth most diverse law faculty in the nation.
It has also ranked the School as the most welcoming law school in the nation to
older students.
Our motto, “Law in the service of human needs” infuses
everything we do.
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