Academic Support

On the 2011 Bar:

• CUNY Law's pass rate for first-time takers taking the NY bar in July 2011 was 67%.
  
  
• Out of the 99 CUNY Law graduates who took the New York State Bar exam for the first time in July 2011, nine were CUNY Law graduates from prior years. They did not do as well, which decreased the bar pass rate substantially. Our bar pass rate for our 2011 graduates was actually 73%.
  
  
• Our data show that students who graduate from CUNY School of Law with a cumulative "B" average or above, pass the New York State Bar at a level that is above the state average.
  
  
• The faculty and administration have adopted a series of policy changes to address our bar pass rate, including increasing the GPA that students must achieve to remain in good standing, restricting students' opportunity to take courses credit/no credit, and requiring students to take Bar electives.

In addition, CUNY Law is a unique place where the mission centers our work:

CUNY School of Law is the premier public interest law school in the country. We train lawyers to serve the underprivileged and disempowered and to make a difference in their communities.

• CUNY Law is consistently ranked as having one of the top ten clinics the nation. Our clinic serves hundreds of New Yorkers every year that would otherwise not have access to legal representation.
  
  
• We do not wait until the third year to introduce students to the practice of lawyering. Our small lawyering seminars in the first and second years provide students with the grounding they need to begin supervised live client practice in their third year.
  
  
• Our curriculum is based on the belief that abstract knowledge cannot be separated from practice.
  
  
• Our students graduate ready to practice.
  
  
• Our graduates practice throughout New York City, across the country and abroad making a difference in the lives of underserved communities and on pressing social justice issues. Our graduates are on the frontlines of change in immigration, mediation, employment discrimination, international women's human rights, community economic development and other social justice issues.
  
  
• Highlights of Our Alums:
  • More than 65 alums working across the country in academia from professors to Deans;
    
    
  • More than 20 judges;
    
    
  • At least eight elected officials from City Council Members to Mayors to NY State Congressional Representatives;
    
    
  • Working in government from AG's office to EEOC; and,
    
    
  • More graduates who are public defenders than any other law school.