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Albany Law School is a privatelaw school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at Albany that includes shared programs. The school is located near New York's highest court, federal courts, the executive branch, and the state legislature.[3]
Albany Law School is the oldest independent law school in the United States. It was founded in 1851 by Amos Dean (its dean until 1868), Amasa J. Parker, Ira Harris, and others.[5]
Albany Law School has a historically close relationship with the New York Court of Appeals.[7] One of the original members of the court, Greene C. Bronson, helped to found the law school.[8][9] Since that time, Albany Law School alumni have been members of the court nine times with two serving as Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals.[7] In addition, the school hosts the Fund for Modern Courts' Hugh R. Jones Memorial Lecture, which is typically given by a current or former member of the court.
The law school inducted its first permanent female President & Dean, Penelope Andrews, on July 1, 2012. On July 1, 2015, Alicia Ouellette became President & Dean.
For the class entering in the fall of 2022, class, 50.2% of applicants were accepted with 29.2% of those accepted enrolling, the 50th Percentile LSAT score of enrollees being 155 and the 50th Percentile GPA being 3.48.[10]
Programs and centers
Albany Law School offers 14 concentrations for J.D. candidates,[11] as well as an L.L.M program,[12] and joint J.D./M.B.A, J.D./M.P.A., J.D./M.R.P., J.D./M.S., and J.D./M.S.W. programs.[13]
Albany Law School is home to several centers of legal study: The Government Law Center, The Center for Excellence in Law Teaching, The Institute of Legal Studies, The Institute for Financial Market Regulation, and The Center for Judicial Process.
In addition, under the auspices of its Law Clinic and Justice Center, Albany Law School operates several public interest clinics. Some of the clinics available include the Health Law Clinic, Community Development Clinic, Domestic Violence Prosecution, and Family Violence Litigation.
Albany Law School's Schaffer Law Library holds a collection of more than 730,000 volumes and equivalents,[14] including videotapes of oral arguments before the New York State Court of Appeals dating back to 1989.
In 1875, Albany Law published the nation's first student-edited legal periodical, the Albany Law School Journal, which existed for only one academic year before being discontinued.[16] Currently, the school publishes three journals, which are listed in order of their founding:
Albany Law School has one of the oldest law school rugby clubs in the nation. The Albany Law School Rugby Football Club annually hosts the William Watkins tournament in the spring to honor its club founder, Professor William Watkins ("The Wat"), who was a faculty member, player, coach, mentor, and friend to all ruggers and students alike. The Wat established the first Albany Law School Rugby Football Team in 1966. Incredibly, since its inception, Albany Law is undefeated in inter-league law school rugby competition.
Other notable alumni include: Richard D. Parsons '71, Former Chairman, Citigroup, Lawrence H. Cooke '39, Former Chief Judge of New York State, Victoria A. Graffeo '77, Former Associate Judge, New York State Court of Appeals, Leslie Stein '81, Associate Judge, New York State Court of Appeals, and Thomas J. Vilsack '75, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Governor of Iowa.[22]
Employment and rankings
Albany Law School was ranked 106th in U.S. News & World Report's 2018 ranking of law schools.[23] The winter 2016 issue of preLaw magazine ranked Albany Law number 1 for government careers, citing its "A" grades in curriculum and employment, and number 6 for public defender and prosecutor jobs.[24]
According to Albany Law School's 2016 ABA-required disclosures, 81% of the class of 2016 [25] obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment ten months after graduation.[26] 126 of 151 graduates obtained full-time, long-term work and 4 graduates obtained either part-time short-term, part-time long-term or full-time short-term positions.[27]
Albany Law School's 2016 Law School Transparency under-employment score is 18%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2015 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.[25]
The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Albany Law School for the 2014–2015 academic year is $59,728.[28] The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $234,466.[29] Tuition is $43,248. In 2015, the school awarded $7 million in financial aid, and over 60% of first-year students received merit scholarships.[30]
^ abJonathan Lippman, The New York Court of Appeals, Albany Law School, and The Albany Law Review: Institutions Dedicated to the Evolution of the Law in New York State, 75 Alb. L. Rev. 9, 10 (2011/2012)
^Kevin T. Bezio, Greene C. Bronson, in The Judges of the New York Court of Appeals: A Biographical History 11–15 (Albert M. Rosenblatt ed. 2007)
^Elizabeth K. Allen; Diana S. Waite (2000). Albany Law School 1851–2001: A Tradition of change. Albany Law School. p. 3.
^Jonathan Lippman, The New York Court of Appeals, Albany Law School, and The Albany Law Review: Institutions Dedicated to the Evolution of the Law in New York State, 75 Alb. L. Rev. 9, 10 (2011/2012); Spencer M. Ritchie, The Journal's Journey: a History of the Mississippi Law Journal, 81 Miss. L. J. 1527, 1528 n.7 (2012); Whit Pierce & Anne Reuben, The Law Review is Dead; Long Live the Law Review: A Closer Look at the Declining Judicial Citation of Legal Scholarship, 45 Wake Forest L. Rev. 1185, 1188 n.17 (2010); Michael Closen & Robert Dzielak, The History and Influence of the Law Review Institution, 30 Akron L. Rev. 15, 34 (1996); Michael Swygert & Jon Bruce, The Historical Origins, Founding, and Early Development of Student-Edited Law Reviews, 36 Hastings L. J. 739, 764 (1986).
