New York Law School (NYLS) is honored to be ranked among the “Top Schools” in preLaw magazine. In preLaw’s latest issue, NYLS earned high marks in practical training, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), environmental law, and intellectual property law. Learn more about the School’s standout programs in these areas.
Practical Training
Experiential learning is an integral component of the innovative legal education that students receive at NYLS. The School offers a wide array of opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience through The Plumeri Center, which houses our many clinics, externships, simulation courses, and more programs that enable students to put the skills they learn in the classroom into practice.
Simulation courses prepare students to work with clients by giving them the opportunity to practice lawyering skills in a controlled classroom environment led by experienced faculty. NYLS also offers more than 20 clinics, like the Asylum Clinic, the Nonprofit and Small Business Clinic, and the Post-Conviction Innocence Clinic, where students can use their lawyering skills to represent real clients under faculty supervision
In the Externship Program, upper-level students earn academic credits while gaining real-world experience. Students can find placements in practice areas that match their interests, such as the Financial Services Law Externship program or the Judicial Externship program. They can also apply to two full-time Honors Externship programs that provide students with vital legal experience in the public sector: one in Washington, D.C. and one in the heart of New York City.
Through the Harris Keenan & Goldfarb Advocacy Program at NYLS, students have exciting opportunities to develop advocacy, litigation, and negotiation skills by participating in co-curricular competition teams and other experiential learning programs.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
NYLS’s recognition in ADR reflects the School’s commitment to training future lawyers in innovative methods of resolving legal conflicts outside the traditional courtroom setting. preLaw highlights two standout aspects of our comprehensive ADR program: our moot court and competition teams and the ADR Skills Program.
NYLS excels in moot court and mediation competitions, offering students numerous opportunities to compete nationally and internationally. Every year, the School sends a team to the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, held in Vienna, Austria. Members of the student-led Dispute Resolution Team (DRT) also frequently compete in the competitive International Commercial Mediation Competition in Paris.
The ADR Skills Program provides students with the necessary skills to navigate and excel in the evolving practice area, empowering them to become effective negotiators and problem-solvers. Students can advance their study in areas of conflict avoidance, management, and resolution and develop practical skills in area-specific dispute resolution regimes such as employment, securities, and family law dispute resolution. A focused externship program also affords students opportunities to observe and participate in actual arbitration and mediation procedures and to develop professional contacts in the field.
Environmental Law
At NYLS, students can explore environmental law—another area in which the School received high marks—through a variety of courses and hands-on opportunities where they can make an impact. NYLS offers environmental law courses such as Environmental Law and Policy or Brownfields Redevelopment, designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills to address complex environmental challenges.
With growing concerns about environmental sustainability and justice, students also have the opportunity to learn from and engage with leaders in the field. In the fall semester, students had the opportunity to attend the 2023 Summit on Climate, Environmental Justice, Racism, and the Law as part of the Civil Rights and Disability Justice Clinic, which is currently working to represent Brooklyn community members impacted by a fracking gas pipeline built through their neighborhoods. Students in the Conservation Law and Policy Clinic gain practical experience as they work with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a leading national and global conservation organization, on projects covering legal and policy issues related to public and private arenas.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property law is another area where NYLS shines. Students can take specialized coursework and gain hands-on experience in areas such as copyright, patent, and trademark law. In fact, students in the Patent Law Clinic (PLC) recently helped an inventor patent technology to assist children with hearing disabilities and one who created a new exercise device. The students benefited from engaging with real-world issues that prepared them for careers in intellectual property law practice.
Through the Innovation Center for Law and Technology, law students gain access to a cutting-edge approach to education and skills training in intellectual property and other intersections of law and technology. Through courses, projects, events, and research, the Innovation Center brings together practitioners, students, and scholars to create the future of legal practice.