Fordham University School of Law

Fordham University School of Law
Name	Fordham University School of Law
Established	1905
Type	Private
Parent	Fordham University
City	New York City
State	New York
Country	United States
Dean	Paul Caron
Students	approx. 900
Faculty	approx. 100

Contents

Fordham University School of Law is a private law school located in New York City affiliated with Fordham University. Founded in 1905, the school occupies a prominent position in legal education within Manhattan and has produced graduates who serve in institutions such as the United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, United Nations, and numerous firms like Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Davis Polk & Wardwell. The school’s programs emphasize practice-oriented training with ties to courts including the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission.

History

The law school was chartered during the presidency of Joseph M. Mulry at Fordham University, emerging in an era that included figures like Theodore Roosevelt and contemporaneous institutions such as Columbia Law School and New York University School of Law. Early faculty included alumni linked to the American Bar Association and judges from the New York Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court clerkships. Throughout the 20th century the school expanded alongside developments involving the Nuremberg Trials, Civil Rights Movement, and postwar reforms connected to the G.I. Bill, while alumni entered roles in administrations like those of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. In recent decades the law school has adapted to legal changes influenced by decisions from the Supreme Court of the United States, regulatory shifts at the Internal Revenue Service, and global practice needs tied to organizations such as the World Trade Organization.

The law school is located near landmarks including Lincoln Center and the Columbus Circle district, sharing urban context with institutions like The Juilliard School and New York Philharmonic. Facilities include moot courtrooms modeled after chambers of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and libraries housing collections used alongside research at the American Bar Foundation and the Library of Congress. Clinical spaces support projects in collaboration with entities such as the Legal Aid Society, New York Legal Assistance Group, and externships at sites like the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the New York State Attorney General's Office. The building infrastructure has been renovated in eras contemporaneous with projects by architects associated with developments near Rockefeller Center and the Museum of Modern Art.

The curriculum offers the Juris Doctor (J.D.) with concentrations in areas including programs tied to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Trade Commission, and international law pathways engaging with the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice. Graduate degrees include the Master of Laws (LL.M.) and Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.), with specialized tracks in tax law related to the Internal Revenue Code, intellectual property connected to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and clinical programs addressing immigration matters involving the Department of Homeland Security. Courses often reference case authorities from the Supreme Court of the United States, statutory frameworks like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and treaty regimes such as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in international law modules. Joint degrees are offered with schools including the Gabelli School of Business and programs that intersect with the United Nations and law firms like Ropes & Gray for externship placements.

Admissions are competitive relative to peer institutions including Georgetown University Law Center, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and Brooklyn Law School. Applicants are evaluated on Undergraduate records from universities like Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, and test scores including the Law School Admission Test. Rankings have placed the school among leading law faculties in lists compiled by organizations that also rank Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, and Yale Law School, with employment outcomes tracking placements at firms such as Weil, Gotshal & Manges and clerkships in courts like the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Scholarship awards and financial aid mirror programs administered by foundations like the Ford Foundation and the Fulbright Program.

Faculty include scholars with past affiliations at institutions like Columbia Law School, Harvard Law School, and University of Chicago Law School, and practitioners who previously worked at firms such as Sullivan & Cromwell and agencies like the Federal Reserve Board. Research centers host interdisciplinary projects connected to centers such as the National Bureau of Economic Research and collaborate with think tanks like the Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation on policy panels. Centers and institutes focus on areas including a tax center liaising with the Internal Revenue Service, an international law center interfacing with the International Criminal Court, and clinics coordinating with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Student organizations range from chapters of national groups like the American Constitution Society and Federalist Society to practice groups connected to firms like Debevoise & Plimpton and public interest networks allied with Pro Bono Net. Journals and law reviews publish scholarship competing with periodicals such as the Harvard Law Review and the Yale Law Journal, and moot court teams participate in competitions hosted by the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and the American Bar Association’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition. Career services coordinate events with recruiters from institutions including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, New York City Law Department, and federal agencies like the United States Department of Justice.

Alumni have served as judges on tribunals including the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, as legislators in bodies like the United States House of Representatives and the New York State Senate, and as executives at corporations such as IBM and Verizon Communications. Graduates have held posts in presidential administrations of figures like Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, and have litigated seminal cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. Other alumni have led organizations including the Federal Reserve and nonprofits like the Robin Hood Foundation, and have become partners at firms such as Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

Category:Law schools in New York City