Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Benjamin N. Cardozo
School of Law
Motto צדק צדק תרדף
Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof
(Justice, justice, shall you seek)
Established 1976
Type Private
Dean Matthew Diller[1]
Academic staff 85
Postgraduates 1300
Location New York City, New York, United States
Campus Urban
Journal Cardozo Law Review
Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution
Cardozo Arts and Entertainment Law Journal
Website www.cardozo.yu.edu

The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University, located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. Cardozo's success as a young school has been remarkable, leading some to characterize Cardozo as a "rising star" among law schools.[2] Among the top 100 law schools, only two schools are younger than Cardozo, which graduated its first class in 1979.[3] Cardozo is currently ranked 50th[4] by U.S. News and World Report, which is the most widely read[5] ranking of law schools.

While Cardozo is noted for its academic strengths in numerous areas of study,[6] its Intellectual Property and Dispute Resolution programs are particularly well-reputed and consistently ranked within the top ten in the country by U.S. News. The school is also home to the Innocence Project, run by Cardozo Professor Barry Scheck, known for using DNA profiling to help free innocent prisoners. The project is frequently reported on in the national news, and its work has been instrumental in some high-profile cases.[7] Signifying its recognition by long-established law schools, in 1999 Cardozo became a member of the Order of the Coif, an honor society for law scholars.[8] Cardozo also recently had its second graduate chosen to Clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court.[9] Many of Cardozo's 12,000 alumni reside in the New York metropolitan area, and they have a considerable presence in New York City, although many Cardozo graduates pursue their careers internationally and can be found across the country in 50 states.[10]

Contents

Namesake

Founded in 1976, the Law School is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. Cardozo, who was born in 1870 in New York City, was renowned for his integrity, social consciousness, and important opinions. Cardozo rose to prominence during 23 years of private practice, becoming known as a lawyer’s lawyer before appointment to the New York State Court of Appeals in 1914. His tenure was marked by a number of original rulings, in tort and contract law in particular. This is partly due to timing; rapid industrialization was forcing courts to look anew at old common law components to adapt to new settings. He became the nation’s best known and most admired state court judge. He added to his reputation through highly acclaimed off-the-bench writings, of which the most important is The Nature of the Judicial Process (1921). Shortly thereafter, Cardozo became a member of the group that founded the American Law Institute, which crafted a Restatement of the Law of Torts, Contracts, and a host of other private law subjects. He wrote three other books that also became standards in the legal world.[11] By asking, and answering, the monumentally simple question, “What is it that I do when I decide a case?”, he helped many see the judicial role with greater clarity. In 1932, President Herbert Hoover appointed Cardozo to succeed Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. on the Supreme Court. In his six years as an Associate Justice, he handed down opinions that stressed the necessity for the law to adapt to the realities and needs of modern life. The New York Times said of Cardozo's appointment that "seldom, if ever, in the history of the Court has an appointment been so universally commended."[12] Democratic Cardozo's appointment by a Republican president has been referred to as one of the few Supreme Court appointments in history not motivated by partisanship or politics, but strictly based on the nominee's contribution to law.[13]

Rankings

General rankings
Specialty rankings
Miscellaneous rankings
Bar examination passage rates

In 2007, Cardozo had the third-highest bar-exam passage rate among the fifteen law schools in New York State, becoming the first school in recent memory other than Columbia Law School, New York University School of Law, and Cornell Law School to place in the top three.[34] Cardozo's bar passage rate was 93.2% in 2008.

Admission

Admission to Cardozo has become increasingly competitive. The GPA and LSAT scores of entering students are consistently higher than schools with similar rankings.[35]

The class entering in Fall 2009 had a 3.73 median GPA and a 164 median LSAT score.[35] The top quarter of LSAT scores were 169 or higher, and the top 25% of the incoming class had a 3.79 GPA or higher.[36]

The top undergraduate feeder schools for Cardozo have been Cornell University, New York University, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and the University of California Schools.[37][38][39] Approximately 20% of incoming students hail from the Ivy League.[39]

Location and facilities

Located on lower Fifth Avenue at the corner of 12th Street in New York City’s Greenwich Village, Cardozo's urban campus is in a large building, known as the Brookdale Center. Over the course of the last several years, Cardozo has enjoyed a physical transformation, undergoing renovation, expansion, and redesign. The multimillion dollar capital improvement plan also included the acquisition of a residence hall just one block away. The addition of more space at the Brookdale Center also allowed for a larger and significantly enhanced library, new offices and clinic spaces, as well as a new and larger lobby, moot court room, and ground-floor seminar room. In addition, older classrooms were renovated and now include state-of-the-art audio visual equipment. In fall 2006, the Greenberg Center for Student Life, given in honor of Dean David Rudenstine, opened and immediately became the most popular place for students to spend time with friends and to study. This addition to Cardozo includes a completely new student lounge and a cafe on the third floor. Also completed recently were several new seminar rooms, new internal stairways between floors, new windows were installed on every floor, and the elevator cabs were redesigned.

Brookdale Center – 55 Fifth Avenue

Cardozo is located in the 18 story Brookdale Center. The law school occupies the first 11 floors. The top floors are used as office space and are accessed through a separate entrance.

  • 1st Floor -- The newly renovated lobby, which occupies most of the first floor, is frequently used as a space for large events. The Jacob Burns Moot Court room and a classroom are also on the first floor.
  • 2nd Floor -- The second floor has classrooms and a bookstore. Recently, the school exhibited Sara Lederman's (first-year student) artwork throughout the floor.
  • 3rd Floor -- On the third floor, also recently renovated, students enjoy a large student lounge, a cafe, and a cafeteria which offers kosher food.
  • 4th Floor -- The fourth floor has classrooms, faculty offices, and offices for student organizations.
  • 5th Floor -- The fifth floor contains faculty offices, the faculty lounge, a seminar room, and the offices of the student law journals.
  • 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Floors -- The Dr. Lillian and Dr. Rebecca Chutick Law Library is the center of student and faculty research at Cardozo. Encompassing four floors of Cardozo's building, the library holds more than 535,000 volumes,[40] has over 140 computers, and study space for nearly 500 students.[36] The library entrance is on the seventh floor. Faculty offices also occupy part of the ninth floor.
  • 10th Floor -- Floor ten houses administrative offices for the law school.
  • 11th Floor -- Floor eleven is home to career services, the admissions office, and the clinics.
The Alabama – 15 East 11th Street

The Alabama is Cardozo's nine-story residence hall and is just around the corner from Brookdale Center. The Alabama has over 100 units.[41]

The Innocence Project – 100 Fifth Avenue

The Innocence Project recently moved from the 11th floor of Brookdale Center to a new office space three blocks from the law school. The move allowed the Innocence Project to hire more staff and significantly increase the number of cases it takes.

Fogelman Library of The New School – 65 Fifth Avenue[42]
The Cooper Union Library – 7 East 7th Street[43]

Both the Fogelman Library and the Cooper Union library serve as Cardozo's secondary libraries when the main library is closed on the Sabbath or on holidays.

Course and degree offerings

Juris Doctor

For J.D. students, Cardozo offers a selection of over 130 courses[44] in addition to the eight courses required[45] during the first year. Students may choose to graduate with a concentration in one of the following areas:[46]

Cardozo also offers "pathways" in both Public Law and Regulation and Jurisprudence and Legal History, which are not formal concentrations.[46] Students may also earn a Certificate in Dispute Resolution.[47]

Master of Laws

For those who already have a law degree, Cardozo offers LL.M. degrees in General Studies, Comparative Legal Thought, and Intellectual Property.[48] LL.M. students can take almost any of the courses offered to J.D. students. The LL.M. program may be entered in the Spring Term or in the Fall Term.

Study abroad

Cardozo students may study abroad through the following programs:

Students may apply for individual study abroad programs to study abroad at other institutions.

Alternative Entry Plan (AEP)

While most Cardozo students begin their legal studies in September,[53] some students are allowed the flexibility to begin in January[54] or May[55] AEP students are able to take classes part-time and during the summer, which gives AEP students the option of graduating in three years or a semester early.

Publications

Students of the Juris Doctor (JD) program are involved in preparing and publishing six law journals and the school newspaper The Cardozo Jurist.

The law journals are:

Clinics

  • Alexander Fellows Program
  • Bet Tzedek Legal Services Clinic
  • Criminal Appeals Clinic
  • Criminal Defense Clinic
  • Divorce Mediation Clinic
  • Family Court Clinic
  • Holocaust Claims Restitution Practicum           
  • Housing Rights Clinic
  • Human Rights and Genocide Clinic
  • Immigration Justice Clinic
  • The Innocence Project[56]
  • Intensive Trial Advocacy Program (ITAP)
  • Labor and Employment Law Clinic
  • Mediation Clinic
  • Prosecutor Practicum
  • Securities Arbitration Clinic
  • Tax Clinic

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

Former faculty

References

  1. ^ Matthew Diller, Dean and Professor of Law
  2. ^ "New York Law Schools". http://www.top-law-schools.com/new-york-law-schools.html. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  3. ^ http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/about_us/factsheet.asp
  4. ^ "Best Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report". http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/brief/lawrank_brief.php. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  5. ^ "Brian Leiter The U.S. News Law School Rankings: A Guide for the Perplexed". http://www.leiterrankings.com/usnews/guide.shtml. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  6. ^ "Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Benjamin_N._Cardozo_School_of_Law#Rankings. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  7. ^ Arango, Tim. "The New York Times: Search for 'cardozo innocence project'". http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?query=cardozo+%22innocence+project%22&srchst=nyt&d=&o=&v=&c=&sort=newest&n=10&dp=0&daterange=full&frow=0. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  8. ^ "member chart". http://www.orderofthecoif.org/COIF-members.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  9. ^ "2005 Cardozo Graduate Sara J. Klein to Clerk for US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, Yeshiva University News". 2006-07-14. http://spider.mc.yu.edu/news/articles/article.cfm?id=101215. 
  10. ^ "Office of Alumni Affairs". http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/alumni/index.asp. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  11. ^ Christopher L. Tomlins (2005). The United States Supreme Court. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 467. ISBN 9780618329694. http://books.google.com/?id=Fy8DjOIxDm0C. Retrieved 2008-10-21. 
  12. ^ "Cardozo is named to Supreme Court". New York Times. 1932-02-16. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40913FE355A16738DDDAF0994DA405B828FF1D3. 
  13. ^ James Taranto, Leonard Leo (2004). Presidential Leadership. Wall Street Journal Books. ISBN 9780743272261. http://books.google.com/?id=zxBAnuWpg5kC. Retrieved 2008-10-20. 
  14. ^ "America's Best Graduate Schools 2007: Top Law Schools". U.S. News & World Report. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/brief/lawrank_brief.php. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  15. ^ "Faculty Quality Rankings: Scholarly Reputation, 2003-04". Leiter's Law School Rankings. http://www.leiterrankings.com/faculty/2003faculty_reputation.shtml. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  16. ^ "The Go-To Schools". National Law Journal. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202443758843&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1. Retrieved 2010-02-26. 
  17. ^ Paul L. Caron. "Princeton Review's Top 50 Law Schools". Concurring Opinions. http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2007/10/princeton-rev-7.html. Retrieved 2009-01-21.  Ranked by Academic Experience, Admissions Selectivity, Career Preparation, and Professors: Accessible & Interesting
  18. ^ "Rankings of Law School by Student Quality, 2010". Leiter's Law School Rankings. http://www.leiterrankings.com/new/2010_top40lawschools.shtml. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
  19. ^ "Top Law Schools by Specialty Area, 2002-03: Law & Literature". Leiter's Law School Rankings. http://www.leiterrankings.com/faculty/2002faculty_topchoices.shtml#lawlit. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  20. ^ "Faculty Quality in Critical Theories, 2003-04". Leiter's Law School Rankings. http://www.leiterrankings.com/faculty/2003faculty_criticallt.shtml. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  21. ^ "Faculty Quality in Law & Philosophy, 2003-04". Leiter's Law School Rankings. http://www.leiterrankings.com/faculty/2003faculty_philo.shtml. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  22. ^ "America's Best Graduate Schools 2007: Law Specialties: Dispute Resolution". U.S. News & World Report. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/brief/lawsp01_brief.php. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  23. ^ "America's Best Graduate Schools 2007: Law Specialties: Intellectual Property Law". U.S. News & World Report. http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/intellectual-property-law-rankings. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  24. ^ "2006 Rankings of American LL.M/Master of Law". American Universities Admission Program. http://www.auap.com/llm.html. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  25. ^ "Faculty Quality in International & Comparative Law, 2003-04". Leiter's Law School Rankings. http://www.leiterrankings.com/faculty/2003faculty_international.shtml. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  26. ^ "Law Journals: Submissions and Rankings". Washington & Lee Law School. http://law.wlu.edu/library/mostcited/index.asp. Retrieved 2006-11-20.  Filtered by "Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law" and "2006 Jnls."
  27. ^ "Law Journals: Submissions and Rankings". Washington & Lee Law School. http://law.wlu.edu/library/mostcited/index.asp. Retrieved 2006-11-20.  Filtered by "Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law," "2006 Cases" and "2006 IF." The Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court three times. See Eldred v. Ashcroft, 537 U.S. 186, 780-81 (2003); Arkansas Educ. Television Com'n v. Forbes, 523 U.S. 666, 687 n.7 (1998); Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569, 578 (1994).
  28. ^ "Per Capita Productivity of Articles in Top Journals, 1993-2008 Law Schools Outside U.S. News Top 50". Roger Williams University School of Law. http://law.rwu.edu/facultyproductivity/. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 
  29. ^ "Bar Pass Rates at Law Schools in New York State". Law.com. http://www.law.com/jsp/nylj/PubArticleNY.jsp?hubtype=TopStories&id=1196361713386. Retrieved 2007-12-01. 
  30. ^ Lindgren, James; Seltzer, Daniel (1996). "The Most Prolific Law Professors and Faculties". Chicago-Kent Law Review 71: 781, 793. 
  31. ^ "Law Journals: Submissions and Rankings". Washington & Lee Law School. http://law.wlu.edu/library/mostcited/index.asp. Retrieved 2006-11-20.  Filtered by "Student-Edited" and "2006 Jnls"
  32. ^ Dave Hoffman. "Fun With SSRN Law School Rankings". Concurring Opinions. http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2006/08/fun_with_ssrn_l.html. Retrieved 2006-09-23. 
  33. ^ "Yeshiva University: Rankings & Lists". Princeton Review. http://www.princetonreview.com/law/research/profiles/generalinfo.asp?listing=1035853&LTID=5. Retrieved 2006-10-16. 
  34. ^ Abovethelaw.com
  35. ^ a b Brian Leiter Student Quality, 2008
  36. ^ a b SchoolPage
  37. ^ Cardozo Life : Spring 2006
  38. ^ Around Campus
  39. ^ a b Cardozo Life : Winter 2004
  40. ^ "Dr. Lillian & Dr. Rebecca Chutick Law Library". http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/library/index.asp. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  41. ^ "Cardozo Goes Residential -- Spring 1998 Cardozo Life". http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/life/spring1998/housing/. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  42. ^ "New School University Libraries - Fogelman Social Science and Humanities Library". http://library.newschool.edu/fogelman/. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  43. ^ "The Cooper Union Library". http://www.cooper.edu/facilities/library/library.html. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  44. ^ http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/academic_prog/jd_program/upper_level.asp
  45. ^ http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/academic_prog/jd_program/first_year.asp
  46. ^ a b Microsoft Word - Guide to Course Selection2005.doc
  47. ^ http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/kukin/certificate.asp
  48. ^ http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/academic_prog/llm_program.asp
  49. ^ http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/academic_prog/jd_program/bucerius.asp
  50. ^ http://www.hamline.edu/law/adr/ecus/ http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/kukin/budapest.asp
  51. ^ http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/squadron/abroad.asp
  52. ^ http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/academic_prog/jd_program/heyman.asp
  53. ^ http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/admissions/admission_opt/sept_matr.asp
  54. ^ http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/admissions/admission_opt/january_matr.asp
  55. ^ http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/admissions/admission_opt/may_mtr.asp
  56. ^ The Innocence Project - Home
  57. ^ Geoffrey Bowers
  58. ^ Cliff Elgarten - Washington DC Lawyer - Crowell & Moring
  59. ^ "The Chat", The Washington Post , August 7, 2006. Accessed December 5, 2007. "Josh Saviano is a lawyer who is better known for his acting career, playing Paul Pfeiffer on "The Wonder Years." A Yale and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law graduate, he is a lifelong New Yorker who bleeds blue, as in Rangers, Mets and Giants blue."
  60. ^ Ivan Wilzig
  61. ^ NYU Law - Faculty, Barton Beebe: Overview
  62. ^ University of Michigan Law School
  63. ^ NYU Law - Faculty, David Golove: Overview
  64. ^ John O. McGinnis,Faculty & Research: Northwestern University Law School
  65. ^ Yale Law School | Scott J. Shapiro
  66. ^ Vanderbilt University Law School :: Faculty Detail
  67. ^ Bio Page

External links