CUNY Law Posts Highest Bar Pass Rate in School’s History; School Also Beats State Average

CUNY School of Law in November, 2007 posted the highest New York State Bar Exam pass rate in its history, with 83 percent of students passing the July 2007 exam on their first try. Also, Law School graduates’ performance beat the statewide average of 79 percent for first-time Bar Exam test-takers.

Eighty-seven CUNY Law graduates were authorized to sit for the two-day exam on July 24 and 25. A total of 72 passed, according to John J. McAlary, executive director of the NYS Board of Law Examiners, which administers the exam. The outcome for 2007 follows a 77 percent pass rate for the July exam in 2006.

CUNY School of Law Dean Michelle J. Anderson said that she was very pleased with the results. “We are thrilled with these results,” Dean Anderson said, “and we hope to strengthen this positive trend in future years.”

CUNY Law Again in Top Ten in Clinic Rankings

CUNY School of Law, in annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report, has again placed in the Top 10 in the nation for the quality of its clinical practice offerings. This year, the School is ranked 4th in the nation. The rankings appear in the magazine's latest issue, which ranks law schools, medical schools, and other graduate schools. CUNY Law has consistently placed in the top 10 for clinical practice in the rankings. The law school rankings, in a range of categories, are prepared from surveys of faculty at ABA-approved law schools

CUNY Law Receives Membership in AALS

CUNY School of Law on Jan. 3 received membership in the Association of American Law Schools at the organization’s annual meeting in New York City.

CUNY Law joins roughly 160 other law schools that have attained membership standing with AALS. “CUNY Law’s membership in the AALS, which is the society of learned legal scholars, is strong validation of our commitment to research and writing that advances social justice for communities in need,” Dean Michelle J. Anderson said.

To attain AALS membership standing, a school is subjected to rigorous review of all aspects of its program, including admissions, academics, finances and other matters, according to AALS executives.

It is the principal representative of legal education to the federal government, other national higher education organizations, learned societies and international law schools.

CUNY Law Invited to Join Prestigious Panel on Curricula

CUNY School of Law has been selected to join an elite group of law schools to make recommendations on the future of law school curricula.

For more see the following article:
Training Law Students for Real-Life Careers, The New York Times (10/31/07).

Carnegie Foundation Praises CUNY Law

A major report from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching proposes that law schools include a much stronger emphasis on teaching practical lawyering skills, along with legal doctrine and ethical concerns.

CUNY School of Law is one of a very small group of law schools praised in the Carnegie report for having achieved this balance in its innovative curriculum.

Not only is practical lawyering integrated into the CUNY curriculum from the beginning of the first-year, CUNY is also unusual in requiring that every third-year student include a clinical experience. This comprehensive lawyering approach has earned CUNY consistent recognition as one of the nation's top five clinical programs.

Princeton Review Ranks CUNY Law Near Top for Faculty Diversity

The Princeton Review, publisher of test preparatory books and college and graduate school ranking guides, has again placed CUNY School of Law highly in two critical categories: faculty diversity, for which the school placed fourth, and most welcoming of older students, for which it placed first.

The rankings are included in the 2008 edition of Top 170 Law Schools, a guidebook (Random House/Princeton Review, $22.95) based on feedback from 18,000 students. The 80-question survey asks students about their school's academics, student body and campus life, themselves, and their career plans.

Like its guidebook ranking business schools, the law school compendium has 11 ranking lists of top 10 schools in various categories from "Best Professors" to "Best Career Prospects."

The Princeton Review has posted the ranking lists and information on how they are compiled at www.PrincetonReview.com where the lists can be searched by school or by category. Other ranking categories report the top 10 schools with the best professors, the most conservative or most liberal student bodies, and the greatest opportunities for minority students.

Said Robert Franek, vice president and publisher of The Princeton Review, "We compile our ranking lists in multiple categories based on what students report to us about their schools to help applicants decide which of these academically outstanding schools is best for them." The schools in The Princeton Review guidebooks are not ranked academically nor are they ranked hierarchically in any single category.