Brooklyn Law School
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Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a law school located in Downtown Brooklyn, New York.
[edit] History
The school was founded in 1901 by William Payson Richardson and Norman Haffey. It opened with 18 students. The school is noted for its diversity. Photographs indicate that by 1909, African Americans and women attended the school. The school was affiliated with St. Lawrence University from 1903 to 1943. In that year, the university decided to close the law school, but faculty and alumni bought it and Brooklyn Law became an independent institution. The school moved into its current home at 250 Joralemon Street in 1969.
BLS produces four legal journals: the Brooklyn Law Review, the Brooklyn Journal of International Law, the Journal of Law and Policy, and the new Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial and Commercial Law, the first writing competition for which will be held in the spring semester of 2006. The student-run organization Unemployment Action Center has a chapter at BLS.
In August 2005, Brooklyn Law School opened Feil Hall, which provides luxury apartments for 360 students. Feil Hall also houses the new "Geraldo's Cafe," named for famous alumnus Geraldo Rivera. Geraldo's is a coffee and snack bar that also serves as a student lounge. The opening of the residence hall has helped attract students from all over the country and will have a major impact on the school's goal of acquiring a more national reputation. Brooklyn Law School owns nine brownstone buildings in the surrounding neighborhood which provide additional housing for students.
According to the Leiter Report, a compendium of law school rankings published by Brian Leiter, Brooklyn Law School places 31st for quality of students and a runner-up for top 30 for faculty. See this link. The ranking for faculty is based on a survey of faculty from other institutions; the ranking for students is based on GPA and LSAT scores. In the 2007 U.S. News and World Report ranking, BLS places 58th. See this link. The US News ranking emphasizes entering student LSAT scores and GPA.
[edit] Notable alumni/students
- Frank X. Altimari
- Herman Badillo
- Bruce Cutler
- Steven Cymbrowitz
- David Dinkins
- Jeffrey Dinowitz
- Morris Michael Edelstein
- Steve Harrison
- Adam Kidan
- Irving Paul Lazar
- Errol Louis
- Alexander Lowen
- Tom Ognibene
- Geraldo Rivera
- Benjamin Stanley Rosenthal
- George H. Ross
- Nicholas Scoppetta
- Sheldon Silver
- Larry Silverstein
- Paul Simon
- Gerald Shargel
- Percy Sutton
- Edwin Torres
- James Lopez Watson
