Touro Law Center

Touro Law Center
Established	1980
Type	Private
Religious affiliation	Jewish
Academic staff	84
Students	805[1]
Location	Central Islip, New York, USA 40°45′43″N 73°11′16″W / 40.762°N 73.187738°W / 40.762; -73.187738Coordinates: 40°45′43″N 73°11′16″W / 40.762°N 73.187738°W / 40.762; -73.187738
Dean	Patricia Salkin
Website	www.tourolaw.edu

Touro Law Center,^[2] also known as the Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center,^[3] is a law school in Central Islip, New York. Touro Law Center is located in the justice complex which includes both the Suffolk County Courthouse and the Federal Courthouse for the Eastern District of NY.

History

The Touro Law Center was established in 1980 as part of Touro College, a private, coeducational institution based in New York City. Founded under Jewish auspices by Dr. Bernard Lander, the College was chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York in 1970.

In April 1986, it was officially named the Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, in honor of Judge Fuchsberg, who served as an associate justice of the New York State Court of Appeals from 1975 to 1983.

Touro Law Center had been housed in a former public school in Huntington, New York on Long Island, until December 2006. In January 2007, the law center opened a brand new & state of the art building in Central Islip. The school is adjacent to the Alfonse M. D'Amato United States Courthouse, John P. Cohalan, Jr. Courthouse and the neighboring Bethpage Ballpark, which were built on the 1,000-acre (4.0 km²) grounds of the Central Islip Psychiatric Center which closed in 1996. The school's proximity to a state and federal courthouse allows the school to offer a number of programs and opportunities for students to receive real world practical experience, making it unique among law schools.

In February 2008, a proposed purchase of the school by SUNY Stony Brook fell through.^[4][5]

Other programs

Touro hosts a number of specialized institutes and international law programs. Touro's 2005 conference at the site of the Nuremberg Trials has led to a new film, "Hitler’s Courts: The Betrayal of the Rule of Law in Nazi Germany," which premiered in the fall of 2006. Touro also hosts the Institute of Jewish Law, the Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, the Institute for Innovation, Business, Law and Technology, the Aging and Longevity Law Institute, and the Institute for Land Use and Sustainable Development Law, each of which offers courses for students and programs for attorneys and others.

Touro offers a host of clinic opportunities which give students a chance to represent actual clients with real legal problems. Under the close supervision of faculty, clinic students are able to advise clients and appear on their behalf in court or at administrative hearings. Currently, 8 clinics are offered: Civil Rights Litigation Clinic, Elder Law Clinic, Family Law Clinic, Not-for-Profit Corporation Law Clinic, Disaster Relief Clinic, Veterans’ and Service Members’ Rights Clinic, Mortgage Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Clinic and the Advancd Bankruptcy Clinic.

All first-year law students are required to attend an upperclasmen-run mentoring program based on a study group model. The program's goals are to help first-year law students navigate through their initial year of coursework and assist in learning legal theories and analysis, giving them critical tools for academic success. The program director is Professor Suzanne Darrow-Kleinhaus.

Touro Law Center maintains summer programs in Vietnam, Germany, India (the only ABA accredited program in India), Israel (Jerusalem) and Croatia.^[6]

Prominent faculty

• Sol Wachtler - Former Chief Judge of New York Court of Appeals. Judge Wachtler is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Touro.
• Joseph Frank Bianco - Appointed by President George W. Bush as a United States District Judge in the Eastern District of New York. Judge Bianco Teaches National Security and the Law.
• Leon D. Lazer - formerly a Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department.
• Arlene Rosario Lindsay - United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York.
• Leonard Wexler - Senior Judge Eastern District of New York. Distinguished Jurist in Residence.
• Peter Ausili - Chief Law Clerk, Chambers of Senior Judge Leonard D. Wexler, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Notable alumni

Government

• Joseph Addabbo, Jr. - New York State Senator, 15th Senate District
• Marc Alessi (2003) - former New York State Assemblyman
• John J. Flanagan (1990) - New York State Senator, 2nd Senate District
• Daniel Frisa - Former Congressman and former member of the NY State Assembly.
• Al Graf - New York State Assemblyman
• Kenneth LaValle (1987) - New York State Senator, 1st Senate District
• Kathleen M. Rice (1991) - Nassau County District Attorney (2005–present)

Other

• Sal Iacono - comedian, writer and game show host, best known for his roles on The Man Show and the late night television show Jimmy Kimmel Live!
• Gata Kamsky - chess grandmaster, and a former World Rapid Chess Champion
• Bikram Singh - housing attorney, said to be the most famous Bhangra fusion star in North America according to the New York Times^[7]
• U.S. Army Captain James Văn Thạch - first Vietnamese American military adviser to the Iraqi Army; only U.S. service member to be awarded the rank of Honorary Brigadier General in the Iraqi Army^[8][9]

References

External links

• Touro Law Center