Dean’s Message
Since 1891, NYLS has provided an innovative legal education, delivered by a world-class faculty, in the most important city in the world.
Our curriculum and nationally recognized clinical and experiential learning programs give students the skills, experience, and contacts they need to be competitive in the new job market.
Our faculty and staff are caring, empowering, and dedicated. And we take full advantage of our prime location, steps from the courts, government agencies, and Wall Street.
We are New York’s law school. Come see what makes this place extraordinary.
Anthony W. Crowell
Dean and President, Professor of Law
Anthony W. Crowell was named NYLS’s 16th Dean and President in May 2012. He also teaches state and local government law courses. Prior to his appointment, Dean Crowell was Counselor to New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
<Read full bio>
A Message From Dean Anthony W. Crowell
New York Law School Virtual Tour
J.D. Programs
Choose the path that fits your career trajectory. We’ll support you along the way.
Full-Time Day Division
The Day Division is a three-year, full-time program. It offers core foundational courses, more than 250 upper-level electives, and hands-on experience through clinics, externships, and competition teams. Students can also affiliate with one or more of NYLS’s six academic centers.
Part-Time Evening Division
The Evening Division is a flexible four-year, part-time program created for those with full-time jobs or other daytime obligations. Evening students study with the same faculty as daytime students, and they engage in many of the same activities, including law review, moot court, and clinics.
Curriculum
Specialize in a fast-growing field. Be practice-ready for any field.
NYLS’s Think BIG curriculum lets you choose the specialty path that matches your ambitions.
BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
Take courses like these:
Compliance Within Financial Services Companies
International Business Transactions
Business Planning: Start-Up Business and Venture Capital
Affiliate with an academic center:
Center for Business and Financial Law
Center for Real Estate Studies
Innovation Center for Law and Technology
Center for International Law
Find a career path you’ll love:
Business immigration
Corporate transactions
Health care management and compliance
In-house and corporate counsel
Real estate
Risk management and compliance
Tax
Trusts and estates
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND PRIVACY
Take courses like these:
Cybersecurity Compliance and Due Diligence From an In-House Perspective
Entertainment Law
Legaltech, Legal Operations, and the Future of Practice
Affiliate with an academic center:
Innovation Center for Law and Technology
Wilf Impact Center for Public Interest Law
Center for Business and Financial Law
Find a career path you’ll love:
Cybersecurity and privacy
Fashion law
Intellectual property/copyright and trademark
Media and entertainment law
Patent law and litigation
Sports law
Tech entrepreneurship
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC INTEREST LAW
Take courses like these:
Civil Rights and Disability Justice Clinic
Housing Rights Clinic
Law, Corruption, and Government Oversight
State and Local Government
Affiliate with an academic center:
Wilf Impact Center for Public Interest Law
Center for New York City Law
Center for International Law
Find a career path you’ll love:
Civil rights litigation
Criminal defense
Criminal prosecution
Family law
Government/public sector
Immigration law
International law/human rights
Labor and employment
Real-World Training That Prepares You for Any Field
At NYLS you’ll find wide-ranging opportunities to develop your skills while helping New Yorkers in need of legal assistance.
Many NYLS clinics operate in partnership with government agencies or nonprofits, a relationship that benefits students, partner organizations, and their clients.
Asylum Clinic • Civil Justice and National Advocacy Clinic* • Civil Rights and Disability Justice Clinic (New) • Conservation Law and Policy Clinic • Criminal Defense Clinic • Criminal Prosecution Clinic (Brooklyn) • Criminal Prosecution Clinic (Manhattan) • Cyberharassment Clinic* • Family Law Clinic* (New) • Housing Rights Clinic • Immigration Law and Litigation Clinic • Juvenile Rights Law Clinic* (New) • Legislative Advocacy Clinic–Everytown for Gun Safety* • Legislative Advocacy Clinic–New York Civil Liberties Union* • Mediation Clinic • Nonprofit and Small Business Clinic* • Patent Law Clinic* • Post-Conviction Innocence Clinic* • PTO Trademark Clinic*
(Clinic offerings vary each year.)
* These clinic seminars meet in the late afternoon or evening.
Faculty
Thought leaders in their fields. Champions for their students.
Meet 1L Faculty
Academic Dean
Harvard, A.B. 1973 summa cum laude, A.M. 1975, J.D. 1978 cum laude, Ph.D. 1987
University of KwaZulu-Natal B.A. 1980, LL.B 1982; Columbia, LL.M. 1984
University of Florida, B.S. 1997 with honors; Harvard, J.D. 2000 cum laude
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, B.A. 1999; NYLS, J.D. 2004
Haverford, B.A. 1979 magna cum laude; Yale, J.D. 1982
Yale, B.A. 1989 cum laude; New York University, J.D. 1992
Fordham, B.A. 1982 summa cum laude; Harvard, J.D. 1985 magna cum laude
University of California, Berkeley, B.A. 1998 with high honors; University of Southern California, J.D. 2002
Brandeis, B.A. 1975 summa cum laude; Boston College, J.D. 1981; Columbia, LL.M. 1985, J.S.D. 1989
New York University, B.A. magna cum laude; Washington & Lee, J.D. cum laude
Harvard-Radcliffe, A.B. 1973; Yale, J.D. 1976
University of Rochester, B.A. 1980; George Washington, J.D. 1985 with High Honors
The faculty made my law school experience very positive and stimulating. They dedicated numerous hours outside of class time to ensuring that we understood the material, and they were deeply committed to our success as future lawyers.
–Ryan Callinan ’19
Life at NYLS
A buzzing urban campus that feels like a small, friendly town.
Academic Planning and Career Development
At NYLS, academic planning and career development are seamlessly integrated.
Professional Development: Beginning your first year, professional development skills—such as crafting an effective résumé, writing persuasive cover letters, and developing a strong network—are integrated into your coursework.
Individual Counseling: As a first-year student, you’ll be paired with a counselor to refine your academic and career plans. Counselors continue to guide upper-level students through one-on-one and small group sessions and workshops.
Networking: Events throughout the year bring together students and professionals from various practice areas. NYLS’s accomplished and talented alumni are eager to mentor students.
Employment Opportunities: The Office of Academic Planning and Career Development hosts large-scale recruitment programs each fall and spring. In addition, the Office works with hundreds of employers throughout the year to fulfill their internship and full-time employment needs by connecting our students.
Diversity and Inclusion
NYLS is “New York’s law school,” and reflecting the city’s diversity is critical to its mission. The Institutional Diversity Plan provides a roadmap for ensuring that NYLS students from all backgrounds thrive on campus and in the profession. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion stays in close touch with students and offers dialogues, trainings, networking events, and job fairs. A commitment to diversity and inclusion is also a powerful theme in NYLS’s 2020 Strategic Plan. <more>
Student Life
Cultivating a warm, supportive, and collegial learning environment is one of NYLS’s top priorities. The Office of Student Life helps make each student’s experience as productive and meaningful as possible. <more>
Co-Curricular Teams
Three award-winning teams—Dispute Resolution Team, Moot Court Association, and Trial Competition Team—enable students to travel and compete for NYLS while sharpening in-demand courtroom skills. The New York Law School Law Review and the Family Law Quarterly—a new offering in cooperation with the ABA—provide opportunities for scholarly research and writing.<more>
Student Organizations
NYLS has an active Student Bar Association and dozens of student-led affinity groups that create opportunities to network on and off campus, find mentors, and build community. <more>
Contact Us
The Admissions and Financial Aid team is here for you! We invite you to contact our office if you have any questions. If you haven’t done so already, we strongly encourage you to explore our state-of-the-art facilities in the virtual tours above. We would love to digitally introduce you to the NYLS community.
Office of Admissions and Financial Aid
185 West Broadway
New York, NY 10013
T 212.431.2888
E admissions@nyls.edu
Ella Mae S. Estrada
Associate Dean and Vice President, Enrollment Management; Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Ed Coughlin
Executive Director of Admissions
Leslie Shannon
Director of Federal Workstudy Program and Financial Literacy
Russie Allen
Financial Aid Counselor
Human Rights Policy
It is the policy of NYLS not to discriminate in its educational programs, admission policies, financial aid programs, employment practices, and other school-sponsored activities because of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, citizenship, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, disability, AIDS diagnosis, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital or parental status, military status, domestic violence victim status, or any other classification protected by local, state, or federal law (“Protected Classification”). The placement facilities of the School are available only to employers whose practices are consistent with this policy. (In the wake of the 2006 U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming the Solomon Amendment, the faculty of NYLS voted on March 27, 2006 to suspend its ban on military recruitment on campus.) Inquiries regarding compliance with Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments, relative to nondiscrimination on the basis of sex, or any other aspect of the School’s equal opportunity policy, may be directed to the Associate Dean and Vice President of Enrollment Management and Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and the Title IX Co-Coordinators. You may also contact the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, Department of Education, Washington, D.C.
Qualifications for Admission to the Bar
In addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction directly. Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners (Standard 504a).