New York Law School is a private
law schoolA law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- United States:...
in the
TriBeCaTriBeCa is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York in the United States. It takes its name from the acronym TriBeCa, for Triangle Below Canal Street.-Etymology of the name:The name has an interesting etymology...
neighborhood of
Lower ManhattanLower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
.
Early Years
During the winter of 1890, a dispute arose at
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
over an attempt to introduce the
Case MethodA case study is one of several ways of doing research whether it is social science related or even socially related. It is an intensive study of a single group, incident, or community...
of study to
Columbia Law SchoolColumbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. David Schizer is the dean....
. The Case Method had been pioneered at
Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. HLS typically ranks among the top law...
by
Christopher Columbus LangdellChristopher Columbus Langdell , American jurist, was born in the town of New Boston, New Hampshire, of English and Scots-Irish ancestry....
. The dean and founder of Columbia Law School,
Theodore DwightTheodore William Dwight , American jurist and educator, cousin of Theodore Dwight Woolsey and of Timothy Dwight V, was born July 18, 1822 in Catskill, New York....
, opposed this method, preferring the traditional method of having students read treatises rather than court decisions. Because of this disagreement with Columbia, Dwight and the other faculty and students of Columbia Law School left and founded their own law school in
Lower ManhattanLower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
the following year.
On June 11, 1891, New York Law School was chartered by the State of
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and the school began operation shortly thereafter. By this time, Theodore Dwight was in poor health, and was not able to be actively involved with the Law School, so the position of dean went to one of the other professors from Columbia Law School, George Chase. New York Law School held its first classes on October 1, 1891, in the
Equitable BuildingThe Equitable Building is a 38-story office building in New York City, located at 120 Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. A landmark engineering achievement as a skyscraper, it was designed by Ernest R. Graham and completed in 1915...
at
120 BroadwayBroadway, as the name implies, is a wide avenue in New York City, which runs the full length of Manhattan and continues into the Bronx. It is the oldest north-south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to the first New Amsterdam settlement. The name Broadway is the English literal translation of...
, in Lower Manhattan's
Financial DistrictThe Financial District of New York City is a neighborhood on the southernmost section of the borough of Manhattan which comprises the offices and headquarters of many of the city's major financial institutions, including the New York Stock Exchange and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York...
.
In 1892, after only a year in operation, it was the second-largest law school in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Steady increases in enrollment caused the Law School to acquire new facilities in 1899, at 35 Nassau Street, only blocks away from the Law School's previous location; and by 1904, the Law School had become the largest law school in the United States. Continuous growth led the the Law School to acquire a building of its own in 1908, at 172 Fulton Street, in the Financial District. New York Law School would remain at this site until 1918, when it closed briefly for
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
.
During these early years, New York Law School was one of the top law schools in the United States, rivaling the traditionally high ranked schools of
HarvardHarvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. HLS typically ranks among the top law...
,
YaleYale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1843, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D., and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars and a number of legal research centers. The school's prestige and small size make its...
,
ColumbiaColumbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. David Schizer is the dean....
, and
NYUThe New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....
. The Law School even received many graduates of the undergraduate schools from those universities, who chose to get a legal education at New York Law School rather than the law school of the university which they attended. These golden years of New York Law School would continue throughout the tenure of the Law School's first dean, George Chase.
Interwar Period
When New York Law School reopened in 1919, it was located in another building at 215 West 23rd Street, in
Midtown-In cities:United States*Midtown, Agoura Hills, California*Midtown Atlanta, Georgia**Midtown , passenger rail station near this area*Midtown, Detroit, Michigan*Midtown , Pennsylvania*Midtown, Houston, Texas...
. In the following decade, the Law School would see the peak of its early years, and saw some of its most famous alumni graduate. However, in 1924, George Chase died after a long illness that resulted in him running New York Law School for the last three years of his life from his bed. New York Law School continued without Chase, seeing its enrollment peak in the mid 1920s, but it saw a steady decline after that. At the onset of the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the Law School began seeing a serious decline in enrollment, which forced the Law School to accept a much lower quality of students than they had previously accepted. With much fewer and poorer performing students, the Law School moved to smaller facilities at
253 BroadwayBroadway, as the name implies, is a wide avenue in New York City, which runs the full length of Manhattan and continues into the Bronx. It is the oldest north-south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to the first New Amsterdam settlement. The name Broadway is the English literal translation of...
, just opposite
City HallNew York City Hall is located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center section of Lower Manhattan between Broadway, Park Row and Chambers Street. The building itself is the oldest City Hall in the United States that still houses its original governmental functions, such as the office of...
. In 1936, the Law School moved to another location at 63 Park Row, on the opposite side of City Hall Park; it also became coeducational that same year. However, as enrollment was still declining, both because of the Great Depression and because of the draft instituted by President
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , the only U.S. President elected to more than two terms, was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
in 1940, it was forced to close in 1941. The remaining students that were still enrolled finished their studies at
St. John's University School of LawSt. John's University School of Law is a law school in Queens, New York City, affiliated with St. John's University. According to the 2010 U.S. News rankings, St. John's is ranked 87th among the top 100 law schools in the nation. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers the Juris Doctor...
, in Brooklyn.
Reopening
After reopening in 1947, the Law School started a new program that was influenced by a committee of alumni headed by New York State Supreme Court Justice
Albert CohnAlbert Cohn may refer to:*Albert Cohn *Albert C. Cohn , father of Roy Cohn...
. The Law School resumed operations in a building at 244 William Street. In 1954, New York Law School was accredited by the
American Bar AssociationThe American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, and in 1962, moved to its current facilities at 57 Worth Street, in
TriBeCaTriBeCa is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York in the United States. It takes its name from the acronym TriBeCa, for Triangle Below Canal Street.-Etymology of the name:The name has an interesting etymology...
. Despite having managed to reopen and gain accreditation by the American Bar Association, the Law School still remained a poor quality and low ranked school. In 1968, the Law School formed a brief affiliation with
Pace UniversityPace University is a private, co-educational, and comprehensive multi-campus university in the New York metropolitan area with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York. Pace was founded by two brothers, Homer S. Pace and Charles A...
, which lasted until 1976, when Pace University founded a law school of its own. New York Law School's quality remained low during those years, so much so that a 1973 report by the New York State Department of Education referred to it as the worst school in the state, stated that it "barely exceeded our minimum standards of quality."
Renaissance
However, in 1973, E. Donald Shapiro became the dean of the Law School, and reformed the curriculum, expanding it to include many more classes to train students for more than simply passing the Bar Examination. These reforms, combined with the addition of new Joint Degree Programs with
City College of New YorkThe City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
in 1975 and
Manhattanville CollegeManhattanville College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college offering undergraduate and graduate degrees, located in Purchase, New York, USA. Founded in 1841 it was known in initially as Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart...
in 1978 helped the Law School to recruit new students. Dean Shapiro's reform of the curriculum was behind New York Law School gaining accreditation by the
Association of American Law SchoolsThe Association of American Law Schools is a non-profit organization of 170 law schools in the United States. Another 25 schools are "non-member fee paid" schools, which are not members but choose to pay AALS dues. Its purpose is to improve the legal profession through the improvement of legal...
in 1974. The New York State Department of Education even changed its view of the Law School, proclaiming in the same year that the Law School received its second accreditation, as little as one year after the report that criticized the Law School as the worst school in the state, that it had started to undergo a "renaissance."
The buildings of the Law School underwent renovation during the leadership of Dean James F. Simon, from 1983 to 1992. Under Simon's successor, Dean Harry H. Wellington, who served in that position until 2000, the curriculum was revised to put greater emphasis on the practical skills of a professional attorney. Since the current dean, Richard A. Matasar, took over, the Law School has continued to grow, with a newly articulated mission statement that centers on three goals: to embrace innovation, to foster integrity and professionalism, and to advance justice for a diverse society. The School has also adopted the motto "Learn Law. Take Action," which expresses its commitment to teaching students to use the skills and knowledge they gain as lawyers to do something valuable for others.
Recent History
In late June 2006, New York Law School sold its Mendik building at 240 Church Street. This sale enabled the school to move forward with the sale of $135 million in insured bonds, which were issued through the New York City Industrial Development Agency. The school's securities were given an A3 credit rating by
Moody'sMoody's Corporation is the holding company for Moody's Investors Service which performs financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities. The company also ranks the credit-worthiness of borrowers using a standardized ratings scale. The company has a 40% share in the world...
and an A-minus rating by S&P, both reflective of the school's stable market position and solid financial condition. The proceeds from the building sale have been allocated to the school's endowment, which is now among the top 10 of all American law schools.
The Law School opened its first dormitory in the
East VillageThe East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It lies east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
in 2005, and in August 2006, it broke ground on the $190 million expansion and renovation program that will transform its
TriBeCaTriBeCa is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York in the United States. It takes its name from the acronym TriBeCa, for Triangle Below Canal Street.-Etymology of the name:The name has an interesting etymology...
campus into a cohesive architectural complex that nearly doubles the school's current size.
The centerpiece of the expansion will be a new glass-enclosed, 235,000-square-foot, nine-level building—five stories above ground and four below, which will integrate the Law School's existing buildings. The new facility is scheduled for completion in 2009, followed by the complete renovation of the Law School's existing buildings by spring of 2010.
New York Law School has a 93.6% New York bar exam pass rate for first-time takers, which places the school in the top five schools in the state in bar passage rate along with
CornellCornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA, that is a member of the Ivy League.Cornell counts more than 255,000 living alumni, 28 Rhodes Scholars and 41 Nobel laureates affiliated with the university as faculty or students...
,
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
,
CardozoThe Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University, located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo....
, and
NYUNew York University is a private, nonsectarian, research university in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
However, the school is still only considered "Third Tier" by the US News and World Report Law School Rankings, meaning it ranks between #101 and #150 among the ABA's 180 accredited law schools.
There have been recent concerns about students securing sufficient funds to cover educational expenses. While it is anticipated that sufficient loan money will be available for students, Dean Richard Matasar has advised current and prospective students that "It's a time for caution. It's a time for students to plan well for how much debt they are taking on and how they will pay for it."
On December 16, 2008, in connection with the
Bernard MadoffBernard Lawrence "Bernie" Madoff is an American convict, who was a financier, and Chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange...
scandal, New York Law School filed a lawsuit against
J. Ezra MerkinJacob Ezra Merkin is a money manager, and financier. He was a close business associate of Bernard Madoff, and is alleged to have played a significant part in the Madoff fraud. He served as the Non-executive Chairman of GMAC until his resignation on January 9, 2009, at the insistence of the U.S....
, Ascot Partners, and Merkin's auditor
BDO Seidman, LLPBDO Seidman, LLP is the United States Member Firm of BDO International, the largest global accounting and consulting network outside of the Big Four.-History:...
, after losing its $3 million investment in Ascot. The lawsuit charged Merkin with recklessness, gross negligence and breach of fiduciary duties.
Dean Richard Matasar questioned whether students are beginning to understand that law school does not guarantee a good job. He said registrations for the law school admissions test are flat or below the norm for this year. “That's never happened in a downturn in the economy before,” he said. “They're catching on. Maybe this thing they are doing is not so valuable. Maybe the chance at being in the top 10 percent is not a good enough lottery shot in order to effectively spend $120,000 and see it blow up at the end of three years of law school.”
Deans of New York Law School
- George Chase, 1891-1918
- School closed for World War I, 1918-1919
- George Chase, 1919-1924
- Robert D. Petty, 1924-1932
- George C. Smith, 1932-1936
- Alfred E. Hinrichs, 1936-1938
- Edmund H. H. Caddy, 1938-1941
- School closed for World War II, 1941-1947
- Edmund H. H. Caddy, 1947-1950
- Alison Reppy, 1950-1958
- Daniel Gutman, 1958-1968
- Charles W. Froessel, 1968-1969
- Walter A. Rafalko, 1969-1973
- E. Donald Shapiro, 1973-1983
- James F. Simon, 1983-1992
- Harry Wellington, 1992-2000
- Richard A. Matasar, 2000-
Curriculum
New York Law School has two divisions:
- Full Time Day
- Part Time Evening
It offers the following degrees:
- J.D.
Juris Doctor is a first professional degree.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century as a degree similar to the old European doctor of law degree...
- LL.M.
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, or research degree , and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister...
in Financial Services Law.
- Concentrations:
- Asset Management
- Banking
- Capital Markets
- International Regulation
- LL.M.
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, or research degree , and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister...
in Real EstateReal estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, specifically property that is fixed in location.
"Real estate" The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin...
.
- Concentrations:
- Transactional Practice
- Public Policy and Regulation
- LL.M.
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, or research degree , and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister...
in Taxation.
- M.A.
A Master of Arts is a postgraduate academic master degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in English, Fine Arts, History, Nursing, Humanities, Geography, Philosophy, Social Sciences or Theology and can be either fully-taught, research-based, or a...
in Mental disability lawLaw is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets...
.
- Joint J.D.
Juris Doctor is a first professional degree.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century as a degree similar to the old European doctor of law degree...
/LL.M.The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, or research degree , and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister...
in Real estateReal estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, specifically property that is fixed in location.
"Real estate" The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin...
.
- Joint J.D.
Juris Doctor is a first professional degree.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century as a degree similar to the old European doctor of law degree...
/LL.M.The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, or research degree , and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister...
in Taxation.
- Joint M.B.A.
The Master of Business Administration is a master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
/J.D. with Baruch CollegeBernard M. Baruch College, known more commonly as Baruch College is a public university and one of the constituent colleges comprising the City University of New York . The college is situated on Lexington Avenue near the Flatiron/Gramercy Park district of Manhattan...
.
Besides these degrees, New York Law School also has "Three + Three Programs," which allow undergraduate students to start at the Law School after only three years of undergraduate education, and then receive their undergraduate degree after successfully completing the first year at the Law School. The programs also allow students to continue receiving comparable financial aid to that which they received during their undergraduate education provided they maintain their academic performance. They also are not required to take the
Law School Admission TestThe Law School Admission Test is an examination in the United States, Canada, and Australia administered by the Law School Admission Council for prospective law school candidates. It is designed to assess logical and verbal reasoning skills...
before entering the Law School. These programs are with the following schools:
- Joint B.S.
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
/J.D. with Stevens Institute of TechnologyStevens Institute of Technology is a technological university located on a campus in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA, founded in 1870 on the basis of an 1868 bequest from Edwin A. Stevens...
.
- Joint Bachelor's Degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for four years, but can range from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
/J.D. with Adelphi UniversityAdelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York. A nationally accredited school, it is the oldest institution of higher learning on Long Island. In 2005 and 2006, the Princeton Review listed Adelphi as one of the Northeast's best...
.
- Joint Bachelor's Degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for four years, but can range from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
/J.D. with New England CollegeNew England College is a private four-year college in Henniker, New Hampshire.-History and campus:The school was created in 1946 for students attending college on the G.I. Bill after World War II, and the rural campus features 30 buildings....
.
- Joint Bachelor's Degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for four years, but can range from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
/J.D. with Southern Vermont CollegeLocated on the former Edward Everett Estate on the slopes of Mount Anthony overlooking the town of Bennington, Vermont, Southern Vermont College is a private, four-year liberal arts college located in the southwestern corner of the state bordering New York and Massachusetts, from Albany, New...
.
The School's curriculum focuses on integrating the study of theory and practice and on including the perspectives of legal practitioners. The Law School's Lawyering Skills Center offers clinics, simulation courses, and externships to carry out that goal. Through a number of other new initiatives and programs, the School has expanded its offerings in order to provide "the Right Program for Each Student."
New York Law School operates on the standard semester basis. 86 credits are required for graduation, 38 of which are for required courses. The first and second years have mandatory studies, and the third year is all elective courses. Students must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA for all courses. Required first-year courses are Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Lawyering, Legal Reasoning, Writing and Research, Property, Torts, Legislation and Regulation, and Written and Oral Advocacy. Required second-year courses are Constitutional Law I and II, Evidence, and the Legal Profession. An upper-division writing requirement is also necessary study.
The areas of concentration offered for study by New York Law School are Civil Liberties, Constitutional Law, Corporate and Securities Law, Criminal Law, International Law, Information and Media Law, Labor and Employment Law, Professional Values and Practice, Real Estate Law and Taxation. New York Law School has five clinics: Criminal Law, Elder Law, Mediation, Securities Arbitration and Urban Law. The stimulation courses offered are Advocacy of Criminal Cases, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Negotiating, Counseling and Interviewing (NCI), Trial Advocacy, and The Role of the Government Attorney.
Academic centers
The faculty has established seven academic centers which provide specialized study and offer prime opportunities for exchange between the students, faculty, and expert practitioners. These seven academic centers engage many students in advanced research through the John Marshall Harlan Scholars Program, an academic honors program designed for students with the strongest academic credentials. Harlan Scholars have the opportunity, through affiliation with a center to focus on a particular field of study, gaining depth and substantive expertise beyond the broad understanding of the law that is gained in the J.D. program.
Center on Business Law and Policy
The Center on Business Law and Policy is designed to provide its Harlan Scholars honors students an enriched educational experience in the business, securities, and commercial law areas. The Center's goal is to prepare a motivated, hard-working corps of students to excel as planners and counselors in general advising, litigation and especially deal-making situations where businesses and other commercial entities are clients. Center graduates will have a firm grounding in the fundamentals needed to enter business-oriented law firms, law departments in corporations, investment banks, financial services and brokerage firms, institutional investors, as well as regulators and other commercially oriented governmental offices, and will be exposed to the areas of law that are relevant to these types of practices.
Center on Financial Services Law
The Center on Financial Services Law began offering programs in fall 2008. The Center’s long-range plan includes developing job opportunities in the financial services industry for students and alumni, providing a forum for discussing regulatory reforms, and creating new educational programs for industry legal and business professionals.
Center for International Law
New York Law School, aided by a grant from the C.V. Starr Foundation, created the Center for International Law. The Center supports teaching and research in all areas of international law but concentrates on the law of international trade and finance, deriving much of its strength from interaction with New York's business, commercial, financial, and legal communities. The Center organizes symposia events to engage students and faculty in discussions of important and timely issues with experts and practitioners in the field. For professional development, the Center offers extensive resources for studying and researching careers in international law.
The Center publishes
The International Review, an award-winning academic newsletter. The International Review is the only academic newsletter published by an ABA-accredited law school that reports on a broad range of contemporary international and comparative law issues. The Newsletter on Newsletters awarded The International Review with its 2007 Gold Award for "Best Edited Organization Newsletter." It is published twice a year by the Center, and is free through email subscription or on the website.
Center for New York City Law
The Center for New York City Law is the only program of its kind in the country. Its objectives are to gather and disseminate information about New York City's laws, rules, and procedures; to sponsor publications, symposia, and conferences on topics related to governing the city; and to suggest reforms to make city government more effective and efficient. The Center's bimonthly publication, City Law, tracks New York City's rules and regulations, how they are enforced, and court challenges to them. Its Web site,
New York Law School, contains a searchable library of more than 40,000 administrative decisions of New York City agencies. The Center publishes three newsletters: CityLaw, CityLand and CityReg.
Center for Professional Values and Practice
The School's Center for Professional Values and Practice provides a vehicle through which to examine the role of the legal profession and approaches to law practice. The Center's work supports the development of lawyering skills and reflective professionalism, including consideration of how these have evolved over the decades, even as business and ethical pressures have intensified and become more complex, and the roles of lawyers in society have multiplied.
Center for Real Estate Studies
The recently established Center for Real Estate Studies at New York Law School aims to become one of the leading academic research centers devoted to the study of both the private practice and public regulation of real estate. The Center will sponsor conferences, symposia, and continuing legal education programs on these issues and will host distinguished lawyers and other real estate professionals to speak on developments in the practice of real estate law.
The Center for Real Estate Studies will also be a leader in developing innovative legal education programs, creating partnerships with leading real estate lawyers in NYC, and better training our students pursuing real estate careers. The new Center will help bridge the existing gap between the private practice and academic study of real estate, and will become one of the premier places in the country for the study of real estate.
Institute for Information Law and Policy
The Institute for Information Law and Policy is New York Law School's home for the study of information, communication and law in the global digital age. The goal of the Institute is to apply the theory and technology of communications and information to strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law as technology evolves. Through its curriculum, ongoing conference and speaker series and a variety of original projects, the Institute investigates the emerging field of information law, which encompasses intellectual property, privacy, free speech, information access, communications, and all areas of law pertaining to information and communication practices.
The Center puts on the
State of Play conference seriesState of Play is a conference series put on by the Institute for Information Law & Policy at New York Law School which deals with the intersection of virtual worlds, games and the law.-Past Conferences:...
which deals with the intersection of virtual worlds, games and the law.
Justice Action Center
The Justice Action Center brings together New York Law School faculty and students in an ongoing critical evaluation of public interest lawyering. Through scholarship and fieldwork, the Center seeks to evaluate the efficacy of law as an agent of change and social betterment. Through a focused curriculum, symposia, clinical experience, and research opportunities, the Center seeks to instill in students a deeper intellectual understanding of the law regardless of their final career goals, and to present opportunities to maintain their ties to the social justice community beyond law school.
In 2006, the School's Labor & Employment Law Program became part of the Justice Action Center. Ever since New York Law School alumnus Senator Robert F. Wagner—the "legislative pilot of the New Deal"—wrote and led the fight to enact the National Labor Relations Act, New York Law School has remained on the cutting edge of labor and employment law and public policy. In the tradition of Senator Wagner, New York Law School's Labor & Employment Law Program seeks to advance and influence law and public policy with an action-oriented, public-interested agenda.
Former
- Albert Blaustein
Albert Paul Blaustein was an American Civil Rights and human rights lawyer and expert constitutional consultant who helped draft the Fijian and Liberian constitutions, as well as being called in as a consultant for the constitutions of for Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Peru...
, assistant professor (1948-1955), constitutional expert that helped draft the Fijian and Liberian constitutions, as well as consulting on the constitutions of for Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Peru. To a lesser extent, he was involved in the constitutions of Poland, South Africa, Hungary, Romania, Niger, Uganda and Trinidad and Tobago. He was the editor of the 20-volume encyclopaedia Constitutions of the Countries of the World.
- Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes Sr. was a lawyer and Republican politician from the State of New York. He served as Governor of New York , United States Secretary of State , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and Chief Justice of the United States...
, Secretary of StateSecretary of State is a commonly used title for a member of government. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the government.In many countries, a Secretary of State is a mid-level post...
and Chief JusticeThe Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of India, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Supreme...
of the Supreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate...
.
- William Kunstler
William Moses Kunstler was an American self-described "radical lawyer" and civil rights activist, known for his controversial clients...
, associate professor; director of the American Civil Liberties UnionThe American Civil Liberties Union consists of two separate non-profit organizations: the ACLU Foundation, a 501 organization which focuses on litigation and communication efforts, and the American Civil Liberties Union, a 501 organization which focuses on legislative lobbying...
.
- Theodore R. Kupferman
Theodore Roosevelt Kupferman was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York....
, assistant professor (1954-1964), later elected U.S. Congress (1966-1969).
- President Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States. A leading intellectual of the Progressive Era, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
taught Constitutional Law at New York Law School before becoming President of Princeton UniversityPrinceton University a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges....
, and then Governor of New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
.
- Cyril Means, prominent scholar on the history of abortion laws whose work was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade.
Present
Present Full Time
- Deborah Archer, Director of the Racial Justice Project; former attorney at NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.
- Richard Beck, Co-director, Graduate Tax Program
- Andrew Berman, Director of the Center for Real Estate Studies; former partner at Sidley Austin Brown & Wood's Real Estate Group.
- Robert Blecker, nationally known retributivist advocate of the death penalty.
- Tai-Heng Cheng
Tai-Heng Cheng is a legal scholar, lawyer, and international arbitrator. Since June 1, 2006, he has been Associate Professor and Associate Director of the Center for International Law at New York Law School ....
, Associate Director of the Center for International Law, and Honorary Fellow, Foreign Policy Association.
- Sydney M. Cone III, C.V. Starr Professor of Law, Founder and Director of the Center for International Law, former partner and now senior counsel with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.
- Aleta G. Estreicher, authority in corporate and securities law.
- Brandt Goldstein, author of Storming the Court.
- Annette Gordon-Reed
Annette Gordon-Reed is an American historian and law professor. Gordon-Reed was educated at Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School and is now the Wallace Stevens professor of law at New York Law School and a professor of history at Rutgers University, Newark.-Background and education:Gordon-Reed...
, renowned presidential scholar, expert in American legal history, and winner of the 2008 National Book Award in nonfiction.
- Seth Harris, director of the Labor and Employment Law Program; former Counselor to Alexis Herman, U.S. Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration.
- Jeffrey Haas, expert in corporate finance, securities and mutual fund law.
- Arthur S. Leonard, pioneering scholar and activist on sexual orientation law.
- Faith Kahn, Director of the Center on Business Law & Policy, authority on corporate governance and securities law.
- Beth Simone Noveck, founder of Peer to patent
The Peer-to-Patent project is an initiative that seeks reform of the patent system by gathering public input in a structured, productive manner. Peer-to-Patent seeks to improve the quality of issued patents by connecting the USPTO to an open network of experts online...
public review of pending US patents and named "Top 50 in IP" in 2008 by Managing IP Today.
- Michael L. Perlin, award-winning author on mental disability law.
- Rudolph J.R. Peritz, expert in antitrust law, as well as economic regulation, jurisprudence, and information technology and the law. Author of "Competition Policy in America: 1888–1992", and co-author of casebook "U.S. Antitrust Law in Global Perspective".
- Edward A. Purcell Jr., leading authority on U.S. legal history. Award winning author, his book, "The Crisis of Democratic Theory: Scientific Naturalism & the Problem of Value", was awarded the Frederick Jackson Turner Prize by the Organization of American Historians. His most recent book, "Brandeis and the Progressive Constitution: Erie, the Judicial Power, and the Politics of the Federal Courts in Twentieth-Century America" won the Triennial Griswold Prize from the Supreme Court Historical Society, and the Coif Triennial Book Award from the Association of American Law Schools.
- Ross Sandler, Director of the Center for New York City Law; Editor CityLaw, CityLand and CityRegs; former partner Jones Day.
- David S. Schoenbrod, pioneer in the field of environmental law.
- Richard K. Sherwin, expert on use of visual persuasion in litigation.
- James F. Simon, author of seven books on American history, law, and politics.
- Nadine Strossen
Nadine Strossen was president of the American Civil Liberties Union from February 1991 to October 2008. She was the first woman and the youngest person to ever lead the ACLU. A professor at New York Law School, Professor Strossen sits on the Council on Foreign Relations...
, President of the American Civil Liberties UnionThe American Civil Liberties Union consists of two separate non-profit organizations: the ACLU Foundation, a 501 organization which focuses on litigation and communication efforts, and the American Civil Liberties Union, a 501 organization which focuses on legislative lobbying...
(1991-2008), member of the Council on Foreign RelationsThe Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit and nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to improving the understanding of U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
.
- Ruti Teitel, authority on international law, human rights, and constitutional law, member of Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit and nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to improving the understanding of U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
.
- Henry H. Wellington, Sterling Professor of Law, former Dean of Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1843, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D., and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars and a number of legal research centers. The school's prestige and small size make its...
.
- William P. LaPiana, Rita and Joseph Solomon Professor of Wills, Trusts, and Estates
Present Adjunct
- Judith Bresler, expert in Art Law; co-author of Art Law: The Guide for Collectors, Artists, Investors, Dealers, and Artists.
- Richard B. Bernstein
Richard B. Bernstein is a constitutional historian and author of several books on that subject. Born in Flushing, New York, on 24 May 1956, the oldest son of Fred Bernstein and Marilyn [Berman] Bernstein, Bernstein was educated in the New York City public schools, graduating from Stuyvesant High...
, distinguished adjunct professor of constitutional law and legal history.
- Lawrence Lederman, Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Law; Chairman of Global Corporate Practice at Milbank, Tweed.
- Zuhayr A. Moghrabi, expert in Islamic & Middle Eastern Law.
- Hon. Evan Wallach, judge on U.S. Court of International Trade, law of war.
Notable alumni
In addition to more than 100 sitting judges and many partners of prominent law firms, New York Law School graduates have achieved success working in business, education, and the arts.
Academic
- Philip Milledoler Brett
Philip Milledoler Brett, Sr. was the thirteenth President of Rutgers University serving in an acting capacity from 1930 to 1931.-Biography:...
, President of Rutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in the state of New Jersey. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766 and is the eighth-oldest college in the United States...
.
- Edward Duffield, President of Princeton University
Princeton University a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges....
. At one time he was also President of the Prudential Life Insurance Company.
- Francis Patrick Garvan, Dean of Fordham University School of Law
Fordham University School of Law is a part of Fordham University in the United States. The School is located in the Borough of Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city.-Overview:According to the U.S. News & World Report, 1,516 J.D. students attend...
. Later became head of the Chemical Foundation, which played a role in the founding of the American Institute of PhysicsThe American Institute of Physics is an international body representing physicists and publishing physics related journals. It was founded in 1931....
, and the National Institutes of HealthThe National Institutes of Health is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. It consists of 27 separate institutes and centers which includes the Office...
. Remains the only non-scientist to win the Priestley Medal, the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical SocietyThe American Chemical Society is a learned society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry...
(ACS) for distinguished service in the field of chemistry.
Business
- Chester Carlson
Chester Floyd Carlson was an American physicist, inventor, and patent attorney born in Seattle, Washington....
, a physicist and former engineer at Bell Labs, while a student at New York Law School in 1938 invented the xerographyXerography is a dry photocopying technique invented by Chester Carlson in 1938, for which he was awarded on October 6, 1942. Carlson originally called his invention electrophotography...
photocopy process.
- Blanche Lark Christerson, currently Managing Director at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management.
- Susan E. Cohig, presently Group Vice President for Club Services for the National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
.
- Gregory D. Frost, Chairman, CEO and General Counsel of Able Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq
The National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, known as NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. It is the largest electronic screen-based equity securities trading market in the United States...
).
- Maurice R. Greenberg
Maurice Raymond "Hank" Greenberg is a businessman and former chairman and CEO of American International Group , which under his tenure, was the world's 18th largest public company and its largest insurance and financial services corporation.He is currently chairman and CEO of C.V...
, former chairman and CEO of American International GroupAmerican International Group, Inc. is an American insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters are located in the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters office is on Fenchurch Street in London; continental Europe operations are based in La Défense, Paris,...
(AIG); current chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr and Company.
- Richard LaMotta
Richard LaMotta is the inventor and principal promoter of the Chipwich ice cream sandwich.In 1981, LaMotta invented the Chipwich and began a guerilla marketing campaign, in which he trained and enlisted 100 street cart vendors to sell the Chipwich in New York City. The campaign established...
, inventor of ChipwichChipwich is a brand name frozen novelty, consisting of an ice cream sandwich made with ice cream between two chocolate chip cookies, with edges then typically rolled in more chocolate chips...
ice cream sandwich, co-founder of Chipwich Inc., later sold to CoolBrands, and then Dreyer's (NestleNestlé S.A. is a multinational packaged food company founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, and listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange with a turnover of over 87 billion Swiss francs...
).
- Lawrence S. Huntington, former Chairman of Fiduciary Trust Company.
- Christopher Johnson Jr., currently VP and General Counsel of General Motors
General Motors Company, often known as simply GM, is a United States based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. GM was the world's 18th largest corporate entity and third largest automaker as ranked by 2008 revenues on the Fortune Global 500. Ranked by global unit sales for 2008, it...
North America.
- J. Bruce Llewellyn, Chairman of Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Philadelphia, among the five largest minority-owned businesses in the nation.
- Marc Lasry, Founder and Managing Partner, Avenue Capital Group
Avenue Capital Group is a global investment firm focusing on distressed securities and private equity with regional teams focusing on opportunities in the United States, Europe and Asia. The firm operates as both a private equity firm and as a hedge fund...
. Founder and Senior Managing Director, Amroc.
- John McMahon, currently President and CEO, Orange & Rockland Utilities.
- Bernard H. Mendik, former chairman of the Real Estate Board of New York, CEO of Mendik Properties which he sold to Steve Roth for $654 million and became co-chairman of Vornado. Later left Vornado to start another real estate company.
- Charles Phillips (businessman), currently President of Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation specializes in developing and marketing enterprise software products — particularly database management systems. Through organic growth and a number of high-profile acquisitions, Oracle enlarged its share of the software market...
; former Managing Director of Morgan StanleyMorgan Stanley is a global financial services provider headquartered in New York City, New York, United States. It serves a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 33 countries around the world with 600 offices, with...
.
- Alfred Swayne, Chairman of General Motors Acceptance Corporation.
- Kenneth D. Werner, currently President of Warner Brothers Domestic Television Distribution.
- Zygmunt Wilf, head of Garden Commercial Properties, and principal owner of the Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional football team based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings compete in the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . Prior to divisional realignment in 2002, they had been a member of the Central Division, also...
of the NFL.
Civic
- Leo Cherne
Leo Cherne was an American economist, public servant and commentator. He graduated from New York Law School in 1935.His career spanned more than fifty years...
, executive director of the Research Institute of America; chairman of the executive committee of Freedom HouseFreedom House is a Washington-based international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
; chairman of the International Rescue CommitteeThe International Rescue Committee is a leading non-sectarian, non-governmental international relief and humanitarian aid organization based in the United States...
. Served on U.S. Select Committee for Western Hemisphere Immigraions and the U.S. Advisory Commission on International Education and Cultural Affairs, as well as, the U.S. President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB), and the Intelligence Oversight Board. Was awarded the Presidential Medal of FreedomThe Presidential Medal of Freedom is a decoration bestowed by the President of the United States and is, along with theequivalent Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress, the highest civilian award in the U.S...
by President Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
in 1984.
- Cynthia Price Cohen, executive director Child Rights International Research Institute.
- Raymond B. Fosdick, former President of the Rockefeller Foundation.
- Meir Kahane
Meir David Kahane was an American-Israeli rabbi and ultra-nationalist writer and political figure...
, founder of the Jewish Defense LeagueThe Jewish Defense League is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"....
.
- Christina M. Storm, founder and president of Lawyers Without Borders.
Cultural
- Arnold Kopelson
Arnold Kopelson is an Academy Award-winning American film producer.Among his credits are Platoon, Seven, Outbreak, The Fugitive and The Devil's Advocate.-Biography:...
, won Best Picture Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and an Independent Spirit Award, all for his production of PlatoonPlatoon is a 1986 war film written and directed by Oliver Stone and starring Charlie Sheen, Johnny Depp, Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe. It is the first of Stone's Vietnam War trilogy, followed by 1989's Born on the Fourth of July and 1993's Heaven & Earth.The story is drawn from Stone's experiences...
(1986). Received a Best Picture Academy Award nomination for his production of The Fugitive (1993), and his films have been collectively responsible for 17 Academy Award nominations.
- Jerry Masucci
-Early life:Urbano and Elvira Masucci parents of Jerry Masucci. Elvira gave birth to Gennaro on October 7, 1934, in Brooklyn. Jerry Massucci ultimately relocated to a home on the Upper East Side of New York City, and owned homes in Paris, Ibiza, Uruguay, Havana and Miami. He had moved to and died...
, record producer, concert and boxing promoter and film maker. Founded Fania Records (later owned 10 record companies).
- Michael Rego, producer of Tony Award-winning plays, Urinetown
Urinetown: The Musical is a satirical comedy musical, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, and petty small town politics. It also is a satire of the...
(2002), and WickedWicked is a Tony Award-winning Broadway and West End musical, with songs and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. The story is based on the best-selling novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, a parallel novel of L...
(2004).
- Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice was an American playwright. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his 1929 play, Street Scene.-Early years:...
, Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright, The Adding MachineThe Adding Machine is a 1923 play by Elmer Rice, and is generally considered to be the first American Expressionist play. The story focuses on Mr. Zero, an accountant at a large, faceless company. After 25 years at his job, he discovers that he will be replaced by an adding machine. In anger and...
(1923) and Street Scene (1929), Class of 1912.
- Judith Sheindlin
Judith Sheindlin , better known to the public as Judge Judy, is an American lawyer, judge, television personality, and author. She passed the New York bar exam in 1965 and became a prosecutor in the family court system. In 1976, Mayor Ed Koch appointed her a judge, first in criminal court and...
("Judge JudyJudge Judy is an American court show featuring former family court judge Judith Sheindlin arbitrating over small claims cases. The series is in first-run syndication and distributed by CBS Television Distribution, the successor company to its previous distributors Worldvision Enterprises, Paramount...
"), New York family court judge, author, and television personality.
- Wallace Stevens
Wallace Stevens was an American Modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as a lawyer for an insurance company in Connecticut.His best-known poems include "Anecdote of the Jar," "Disillusionment of...
, Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
–winning poet, Collected Works (1955), Class of 1903.
Government
- Bainbridge Colby
Bainbridge Colby was an American lawyer, a founder of the United States Progressive Party and Woodrow Wilson's last Secretary of State.-Life:...
, United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson (1920-1921).
- James W. Gerard
James Watson Gerard was a U.S. lawyer and diplomat.-Biography:Gerard was born in Geneseo, N. Y. He graduated from Columbia in 1890 and from New York Law School. He was chairman of the Democratic campaign committee of New York County for four years, and served as major of the National Guard of the...
, U.S. Ambassador to Germany during World War I, and New York Supreme Court justice.
- Kathleen Grimm, Deputy Chancellor, Finance and Administration for the New York City Department of Education.
- Seymour Glanzer
Seymour Glanzer, LL.B., B.S., is an American lawyer who served as one of the Watergate prosecutors from 1972-1973.Raised in New York City, Glanzer graduated from Juilliard with a B.S. degree in 1955. He received his LL.B. from New York Law School in 1960 after attending New York University...
, First Chief of the Anti-Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington D.C., and one of three original prosecutors in the Watergate ScandalThe Watergate scandal was a political scandal in the United States in the 1970s. Named for the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., effects of the scandal ultimately led to the resignation of Richard Nixon, President of the United States, on August 9, 1974...
.
- Charles Maikish, former director of the World Trade Center
The World Trade Center was a complex in Lower Manhattan in New York City whose seven buildings were destroyed in 2001 in the September 11 terrorist attacks...
, more recently head of the Lower Manhattan Command Center - the government entity that has been overseeing all public and private construction post - 9/11.
- Randolph E. Paul, General Counsel U.S. Treasury Department, founder Paul, Weiss Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
- Ferdinand Pecora
Ferdinand J. Pecora was an American lawyer and judge who became famous in the 1930s as Chief Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency during its investigation of Wall Street banking and stock brokerage practices.Ferdinand Pecora was born in Nicosia, Sicily, the son of...
, appointed Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate's Committee on Banking and Currency following the 1932 election of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He led Senate hearings, known as the Pecora Commission into the causes of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 which launched a major reform of the American financial system, that resulted in the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Became one of the first members of the Securities Exchange Commission.
- Laura Simone Unger, member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (1997-2001), acting Chairman (2001).
- Barbara M. Watson, daughter of James S. Watson (judicial), U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia, and first female Assistant Secretary of State of the United States.
Judicial
- Hon. Clarence E. Case
Clarence Edward Case was the acting Republican Governor of New Jersey in 1920, succeeding William Nelson Runyon....
, Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.
- Hon. Albert C. Cohn
Albert C. Cohn was a New York State Supreme Court Justice and the father of Roy Cohn. He was influential in Democratic Party politics.-Biography:...
, New York State Supreme Court justice, and father of lawyer Roy CohnRoy Marcus Cohn was an American conservative lawyer who became famous during Senator Joseph McCarthy's investigations into Communist infiltration of U.S. government, and especially during the Army-McCarthy Hearings...
.
- Hon. Charles William Froessel
Charles William Froessel was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:...
, New York Court of Appeals (1949-1962).
- Hon. John Marshall Harlan II
John Marshall Harlan was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971. His namesake was his grandfather John Marshall Harlan, another associate justice who served from 1877 to 1911.Harlan was a student at Upper Canada College and Appleby College and...
, United States Supreme Court Justice from 1955 to 1971.
- Hon. Robert Alexander Inch
Robert Alexander Inch was a longtime United States District Judge in Brooklyn, New York.Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Inch obtained a bachelors degree from Princeton University in 1895 and then graduated from New York Law School in 1897...
, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
- Hon. Roger J. Miner, Chief Judge United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
- Hon. Francis T. Murphy, Presiding Justice New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 1977-97.
- Hon. Emilio Nuñez, became the first Latino judge in New York City.
- Hon. Samuel Seabury, associate justice of the Court of Appeals.
- Hon. Jonah Triebwasser, Justice of the Village and Town of Red Hook, New York
- Hon. Nicholas Tsoucalas, former chief judge, now senior judge U.S. Court of International Trade.
- Hon. James S. Watson, became a judge and was the first African American admitted to membership in the American Bar Association.
Political
- Henry C. Allen
Henry Crosby Allen was an American Republican Party politician who represented New Jersey's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1905 to 1907....
, U.S. Congressman from New Jersey (1905-1907).
- Michael Arcuri, present U.S. Congressman, New York's 24th district.
- Mario Biaggi
Mario Biaggi is a former American politician.-Early years:He was born in East Harlem, New York, on October 26, 1917, to poor Italian immigrants. His father, Salvatore Biaggi, was a marble setter. His mother, Mary, worked as a charwoman. He soon began working as a substitute letter carrier for the...
, U.S. Congressman from New York (1969-1988).
- Julio Brady, a former lieutenant governor, United States attorney, Attorney General and Territorial Court Judge in the United States Virgin Islands, presently a judge on the Superior Court.
- Harry H. Dale
Harry Howard Dale was a U.S. Representative from New York.Born in New York City, Dale moved with his parents to Brooklyn in 1870.He attended the public schools of Brooklyn and New York Law School....
, U.S. Congressman from New York (1913-1919).
- Isidore Dollinger
Isidore Dollinger was a Democratic U.S. Congressman from New York between 1949 and 1959.Dollinger was born in New York City. He graduated from New York University in 1925 and from New York Law School in 1928. He was admitted to the New York state bar in 1929...
. U.S. Congressman from New York (1949-1959).
- Eliot L. Engel
Eliot L. Engel is an American Democratic politician who currently represents New York’s 17th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. The district encompasses portions of the Bronx, Westchester County and Rockland County...
, presently U.S. Congressman, New York's 17th district.
- Otto G. Foelker
Otto Godfrey Foelker was a U.S. Representative from New York.Born in the city of Mainz, Germany, FoelkerImmigrated to the United States in 1888 with his parents, who settled in Troy, New York....
, U.S. Congressman from New York (1908-1911).
- John J. Fitzgerald
John Joseph Fitzgerald was a United States Representative from New York. Born in Brooklyn, he attended the public schools, La Salle Military Academy , and graduated from Manhattan College in 1891. He studied law in the New York Law School, was admitted to the bar in 1893 and commenced practice in...
, U.S. Congressman from New York (1899-1917).
- Franklin W. Fort
Franklin William Fort was a U.S. Representative from New Jersey.Born in Newark, New Jersey, Fort moved in 1888 with his parents to East Orange, New Jersey.He attended the public schools and Newark Academy....
(1880-1937), represented New Jersey's 9th congressional districtNew Jersey's Ninth Congressional District is currently represented by Democrat Steve Rothman.-Counties and municipalities in the district:For the 108th and successive Congresses , the district contains all or portions of three counties and 37 municipalities:Bergen County:Hudson CountyPassaic...
from 1925-1931.
- Benjamin A. Gilman
Benjamin Arthur "Ben" Gilman is a former Republican United States Representative from New York. Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, Gilman graduated from Middletown High School in Middletown, New York in 1941 and received a B.S. from the Wharton School of Business and Finance at the University of...
, former U.S. Congressman (1973-2003), Chair of House Committee on International Relations. Previously New York Attorney General.
- Elmer H. Geran
Elmer Hendrickson Geran was an American Democratic Party politician who represented from 1925-1927....
, U.S. Attorney, and U.S. Congressman for New Jersey.
- Daniel J. Griffin
Daniel Joseph Griffin was a U.S. Representative from New York.-Early Life:Born in Brooklyn, New York, Griffin attended the parochial schools, St. Laurent College near Montreal, Canada and St. Peter's College in Jersey City.-Public Life:Griffin graduated in law from the New York Law School...
, U.S. Congressman from New York (1913-1917).
- Clarence E. Hancock
Clarence Eugene Hancock was an American congressman.Born February 13, 1885 in Syracuse, New York, Hancock graduated from Wesleyan University in 1906 and New York Law School in 1908....
, U.S. Congressman from New York (1927-1947).
- Francis Burton Harrison
Francis Burton Harrison was an American statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives and appointed Governor-General of the Philippines by President of the United States Woodrow Wilson...
, U.S. Congressman from New York (1903-1913) and Governor-General of the PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
(1913-1921) under Woodrow Wilson.
- G. Murray Hulbert
George Murray Hulbert was a United States Representative from New York.-Biography:Hulbert was born in Rochester, New York on May 14, 1881 and moved to Waterloo, New York, where he attended the public schools...
. U.S. Congressman from New York (1915-1918), resigning to become commissioner of docks and director of the port of New York City; elected president of the Board of Aldermen of New York City (1921), and served as acting mayor during the long illness of Mayor Hylan.
- John F. Hylan
John Francis Hylan , nicknamed "Red Mike", was the Mayor of New York City from 1918 to 1925.-Biography:Hylan was born in Hunter, New York a town in upstate Greene County where his family owned a farm. Hylan married young, became dissatisfied with farm life and moved to Brooklyn with his bride, and...
, New York City mayor (1918-1925).
- Conrad A. Johnson, an immigrant from Barbados, became the first black Republican Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions. Historically the term could also refer to local municipal judges in small legal proceedings...
in New York City.
- Eugene W. Leake
Eugene Walter Leake was an American Democratic Party politician from New Jersey who represented the 9th congressional district from 1907 to 1909....
, U.S. Congressman from New Jersey (1907-1909).
- Warren I. Lee
Warren Isbell Lee was a U.S. Representative from New York.Born in Bartlett, New York, Lee attended the public schools....
, U.S. Congressman from New York (1921-1923).
- Frederick R. Lehlbach
Frederick Reimold Lehlbach was an American lawyer and politician. As a Republican, Lehlbach served as the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 10th congressional district from 1915 to 1933 and as the representative from New Jersey's 12th congressional district from 1933 to 1937. Lehlbach was also...
, U.S. Congressman from New Jersey (1915-1937).
- Michael McMahon
Michael E. "Mike" McMahon is an American Democratic politician from Staten Island, New York, currently serving as the U.S. Representative for the 13th Congressional District of New York...
, U.S. Congressman from the 13th Congressional District of New York (Staten Island/Bay Ridge), elected 2008.
- John Purroy Mitchel
John Purroy Mitchel was the mayor of New York from 1914 to 1917, and at age 34 the youngest ever; he was sometimes referred to as "The Boy Mayor of New York"...
, youngest person ever elected Mayor of New York City (1914-1917).
- Guy Molinari
Guy Victor Molinari is a former United States Representative and borough president of Staten Island, New York.-Education and Military Service:...
, former U.S. Congressman from New York (1981-1989). Father of Susan MolinariSusan Molinari is a politician, journalist, and lobbyist from New York. She was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for three terms.-Early life and family:...
, former U.S. Congresswoman from New York.
- Frederick W. Mulkey
Frederick William Mulkey was an American attorney and politician from the state of Oregon. A native of Portland, he began his political career on the Portland City Council, serving one year as its president. A Republican, he twice served as a United States Senator from Oregon, filling terms...
, U.S. Senator from Oregon, twice elected to finish out term of other Senators that died in office. (1907, and 1918 - both times did not seek re-election).
- Charles F.X. O'Brien
Charles Francis Xavier O'Brien was an American Democratic Party politician. He served as U.S. Representative from New Jersey's 12th Congressional District from 1921 to 1925.-Biography:...
(1879-1940), represented New Jersey's 12th congressional districtNew Jersey's Twelfth Congressional district is currently represented by Democrat Rush D. Holt Jr. The district is known for its research centers and educational institutions such as Princeton University, Institute for Advanced Study, Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb.-Voting trends:The...
from 1921 to 1925.
- James Oddo
James S. Oddo is a Republican politician from Staten Island, currently serving as Minority Leader in the New York City Council. He is one of three Republicans serving on the Council....
, currently New York City Council Member and Republican Minority Leader.
- Thomas Francis Smith
Thomas Francis Smith was a lawyer and politician from New York.Smith was born in New York City on , 1865. He attended St. Francis Xavier College, Manhattan College, and the New York Law School from 1899 to 1901...
, U.S. Congressman from New York (1916-1921).
- Oscar W. Swift
Oscar William Swift was a U.S. Representative from New York.Born in Paines Hollow, New York, Swift moved to Michigan with his parents, who settled in Adrian in 1877....
, U.S. Congressman from New York (1915-1919).
- John Taber
----John Taber was an member of the United States House of Representatives from New York....
, U.S. Congressman from New York (1923-1963).
- William L. Tierney
William Laurence Tierney was a U.S. Representative from Connecticut.Born in Norwalk, Connecticut, Tierney attended the public schools....
, U.S. Congressman from Connecticut (1931-1933).
- Robert F. Wagner
Robert Ferdinand Wagner was an American politician. He was a Democratic U.S. Senator from New York from 1927 to 1949.-Origin and early life:...
, Chairman of the National Labor Board, and then United States Senator from New York from 1927 to 1949, introduced and won passage of the National Labor Relations ActThe National Labor Relations Act is a 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector that labor unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in support of their demands...
, or Wagner Act. Father of Robert F. Wagner, Jr.Robert Ferdinand Wagner, Jr., usually known as Robert F. Wagner, Jr. served three terms as the mayor of New York City, from 1954 through 1965....
mayor of New York City.
- Alton R. Waldon, Jr.
Alton R. Waldon, Jr. was a Representative from New York. He was born in Lakeland, Florida on December 21, 1936. He graduated from Boys High School in Brooklyn, New York in 1954 and went on to earn a B.S. from John Jay College in New York City in 1968 and a J.D. from New York Law School in New...
, U.S. Congressman from New York (1986-1987).
- James J. Walker, New York Assemblyman, Senate Majority Leader, and New York City Mayor (1926-1932).
- Royal H. Weller
Royal Hurlburt Weller was a United States Representative from New York.Weller was born in New York City on 2 July1881. He attended the public schools and the College of the City of New York and graduated from the New York Law School in 1901...
, U.S Congressman form New York (1923-1929).
Sports
- Walter Dukes
Walter F. Dukes was a center for the New York Knickerbockers , Minneapolis Lakers and Detroit Pistons ....
, all-American basketball player at Seton Hall University, while averaging 26.1 points and 22.2 rebounds per game (still an NCAA record for rebounds in a season). The 2-time NBA All-Star played 8 seasons for the Knicks, Lakers and Pistons, as well as 2 seasons for the Harlem Globetrotters.
Name partners in prominent firms
- Abbey Spanier Rodd Abrams & Paradis: Arthur N. Abbey.
- Breed, Abbott & Morgan: Henry Hurlbut Abbott.
- Chadbourne & Parke
Chadbourne & Parke LLP, founded in 1902 by Thomas L. Chadbourne, currently has some 400 lawyers and tax advisors in 12 offices in nine countries...
: William Parke.
- Davis Polk: Edwin Sunderland.
- Heraty Law: Quinn Heraty.
- Kaye Scholer: Jacob Scholer.
- Kelley Drye & Warren: Reid Carr.
- LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae
LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP was an international law firm of more than 700 attorneys headquartered in New York City.Founded in 1929, LeBoeuf had practices in most areas and was well known for its representation of government regulated companies, particularly in the insurance and energy...
: Cameron R. MacRae.
- Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP is a United States law firm headquartered in New York City. It also has offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing....
: Albert Milbank and Walter Hope.
- Parker Chapin Flattau & Klimpl
Parker Chapin Flattau & Klimpl was a New York City-based law firm that practiced from 1934 to 2001, when it merged with Dallas-based Jenkens & Gilchrist. It was a prominent mid-sized New York firm, often called a corporate and securities boutique because of its highly-regarded middle market...
: Albert Parker.
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a law firm headquartered on Sixth Avenue in New York City. The firm has well-noted expertise in its corporate, personal representation, entertainment law and litigation practices, having long been a leader among national litigation firms...
: Randolph E. Paul and John F. Wharton.
- Pegalis & Erickson: Steven E. Pegalis.
- Proskauer Rose
Founded in 1875, Proskauer Rose, formerly known as Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn, LLP, is one of the United States' largest law firms, providing a wide variety of legal services to clients throughout the United States and around the world from offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington,...
: Alfred Rose.
- Walter, Conston, Alexander & Green
Walter, Conston, Alexander & Green, P.C. was a mid-sized full service New York-based law firm that existed from 1843-2001 when it merged with Atlanta-based Alston & Bird to launch the New York office of that national firm...
: Otto Walter.
External links