Founded in 1891, New York Law School (NYLS) is an independent law school located in the heart of New York City's legal, government, financial, and emerging tech centers. Known as "New York's law school," NYLS embraces the City as its classroom by complementing a rigorous legal education with an innovative and diverse set of "uniquely New York" experiential learning opportunities. Since NYLS opened its doors 125 years ago, its graduates have held high elected and appointed office in the City led large and small firms, and gained broad recognition as captains of business and industry. Our renowned faculty of prolific scholars has built the School's strength in such areas as constitutional law, civil and human rights, business and finance law, media and information law, tax law, real estate, and several interdisciplinary fields.
NYLS has more than 17,000 graduates and currently enrolls approximately 900 students in its full-time and part-time programs. The School also offers an advanced-degree program in Tax Law. Click here to see our viewbook.
We believe that a law degree is the most valuable professional degree available today. Indeed, as our world becomes increasingly complex and regulated, the study of law provides an extraordinary range of knowledge and skills that are highly valued, not only in the rapidly evolving legal profession, but in the business, government, nonprofit, and technology arenas as well. As the profession adapts to a structurally changed marketplace, NYLS is staying ahead of the curve. Our Strategic Plan addresses this exciting new landscape and provides a clear framework for our students to be the new leaders of the profession and beyond. That is why we focus on critical areas of employment and growth in the local and global economies, including in business and financial services, government and public interest and intellectual property, media, and emerging technology.
To enhance the learning experience, we are leveraging our location in the heart of the City's legal, financial, government, and tech centers by embracing and integrating New York City as our classroom. This is where it all happens. And what happens in New York City matters everywhere. Indeed, our nationally ranked clinical and experiential learning programs afford every student the chance to gain real-world legal experience and contacts needed to be competitive in the new job market.
Of course, our academic program's success depends on a strong, engaged, and influential school community. That is why our faculty of renowned legal scholars and practitioners are dedicated to student learning both inside and outside the classroom. They produce acclaimed scholarship and lead advocacy programs that help ensure access to justice, shape legal and public policy debates, and influence legislatures, the courts, and businesses. And they involve students in the process every step of the way. Further, our committed and diverse student body is focused on developing the knowledge, skills, and professional values necessary to succeed. Our students are as supportive of and excited about their classmates' success as they are about their achievements.
Our mission is to provide an extraordinary and innovative educational experience that embodies the legal system's fundamental values and creates a bridge from scholarship and service to leadership and practice. To offer a vibrant, diverse, and forward-thinking center of legal studies where students develop the knowledge, skills, and professional values to serve their clients and have thriving careers advancing justice, building the economy, and serving the various needs of modern society and to serve as an incubator of ideas and actions to be emulated throughout New York City, the nation, and the world.
As "New York's law school," we are committed to ensuring that our institution reflects the diversity and excellence for which New York is known. Towards this goal, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion supports students, administration and staff, faculty, and alumni in addressing all aspects of diversity, focusing on underrepresented communities and military veterans.
For students, this means providing an educational environment that educates, challenges, and develops the knowledge, values, cultural competency, and professional skills needed to become a twenty-first-century attorney, prepared to serve in an increasingly global workplace. From application through graduation and admission to the bar, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion helps diverse students fully engage in the academic programs, student and career services, and law school opportunities.
New York Law School immediately attained a formidable reputation due to its student's and faculty's excellence.Dedicated to providing diverse routes to achievement through innovation in scholarship, service, and professional training, by 1904, New York Law School was the country's largest law school. That year, the Law School's founders created one of the nation's first evening divisions to provide a flexible alternative to full-time legal education for those in the workforce or with family obligations. The Evening Division also allowed students to build upon previously established successful careers or begin a second career.
Videos
