New York Law School is delighted to be honored in preLaw magazine’s winter 2023 issue. preLaw assigned NYLS top grades for our public policy, trial advocacy, real estate law, government law, and technology law programs and noted Joseph Solomon Distinguished Professor of Law and Co-Dean for Faculty Scholarship Rebecca Roiphe for her contributions to the media landscape.
Rebecca Roiphe in the Media
A frequent feature in national media, preLaw noted Professor Roiphe for her many contributions to national discourse. Her scholarship focuses on the mediating role of prosecutors in American democracy, centering the American tradition of prosecutorial independence with special emphasis on the President’s relationship to the Department of Justice. Professor Roiphe’s writing has appeared in Slate, the New York Review of Books, Politico, U.S. News, and other outlets. Journalists frequently rely on her expert analysis on legal ethics and criminal justice, including in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg News, Vice News, and the New York Law Journal. Professor Roiphe has appeared on MSNBC and CNN, and she is a contributing legal analyst at CBS News, where she appears regularly to discuss national legal issues.
Trial Advocacy
NYLS’s trial advocacy programming is robust and comprehensive: Students can enroll in multiple lawyering skills courses that provide focused study and practical training for motion argument, hearings, trials, administrative proceedings and arbitration. Along with readings, lectures, and discussions, students participate in simulation exercises led by professors who are themselves skilled trial advocates.
Students can also flex their trial advocacy muscles on our invitation-only Trial Competition Team, which offers an introduction to case theory, storytelling, and witness examination. The team competes in inter-school competitions, including the American Association for Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition, National Black Law Students Association Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Competition, Judge Paul Joseph Kelly Jr. Invitational Trial Competition, Queens County District Attorney’s Mock Trial Competition, and Texas Young Lawyers Association National Trial Competition.
Public Policy
preLaw singled out NYLS as a leader in public policy, giving special mention to our new NYLS in D.C. Honors Externship Program. During the externship, NYLS students work and learn at a number of D.C. organizations and institutions, including at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice, leading advocacy groups and technology firms, and law firms, among others.
But beyond the externship, NYLS offers a broad array of public policy programming, coursework, and clinics. The Wilf Impact Center for Public Interest Law recently launched three institutes—the 21st Century Policing Project (P21), the Criminal Justice Institute, and the Education Law and Policy Institute—which invite students to gain hands-on experience in New York City and beyond.
P21 responds to an urgent need for racial justice and police reform, and the program develops strategies to implement police reforms. NYLS’s Criminal Justice Institute brings together sectors of the criminal justice system to reduce both crime and incarceration. Our Education Law and Policy Institute responds to a time of unprecedented learning loss for New York City schoolchildren and the pandemic’s exacerbated systemic exclusion of low-income, Black, Hispanic, and special education students from a quality education.
Real Estate Law
Real estate law at NYLS is the subject of spirited scholarship and student involvement, including at the Center for Real Estate Studies (CRES). The Center offers a broad selection of courses, advanced seminars, independent study projects, and externships in governmental offices and real estate firms. CRES’s programming reflects current concerns about ensuring environmental sustainability, creating affordable housing, preserving historical landmarks, safeguarding the financial stability of the residential and commercial mortgage markets, and assessing public costs and social justice issues arising from development. The Center fosters an open dialogue around the mortgage and secondary mortgage market, landlord/tenant issues, co-ops and condominium development, financing and management, and intensive development of land resources.
Among the broad array of real estate law programming at NYLS is the Rooftops Project which hosts an ongoing dialogue about topics relating to the effective occupancy, use, and management of real estate in the social sector; highlights and celebrates the diverse roles played by real estate in supporting the mission of not-for-profit organizations of every type; and increases awareness of how a disciplined approach to real estate can benefit not-for-profit organizations of every size.
Government Law
Located in the heart of New York City’s government centers and with deep connections to government leaders, NYLS is uniquely positioned to offer access and connection to local, state, and national activities.
Our Center for New York City Law is a one-of-a-kind-program which provides information about New York City’s laws, rules, and procedures; sponsors publications, symposia, and conferences on city governance topics; and suggests reforms to make city government more effective and efficient. The Center also hosts the beloved CityLaw Breakfasts, which bring together New York City leaders—including recent appearances by Meera Joshi, NYC Deputy Mayor for Operations; Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, Department of Sanitation; and David C. Banks, Chancellor, NYC Department of Education—to discuss pressing issues facing our City.
Students can also rely on the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono Initiatives, a resource for New York Law School students seeking public interest-focused academic and career advising.
Technology Law
NYLS is at the forefront of technology law, led by the School’s Innovation Center for Law and Technology. The Center offers courses like LegalTech, Legal Operations, and the Future of Practice which examines the areas in which legaltech is changing the practice of law—e-discovery, legal operations, and privacy/security. NYLS also offers experiential learning courses, like the Patent Law Clinic, which recently secured a patent for a nonprofit seeking to address a water crisis in Central Africa.