New York University School of Law

The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New York State. Located in Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, NYU Law offers J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law. NYU Law alumni include judges at the International Court of Justice, Nobel laureates, lawyers such as David Boies, Amal Alamuddin Clooney, Jeremy Waldron and Thomas Nagel. NYU Law private practice lawyers include the four founders of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore partner and former chairman Evan Chesler, the leading law firms in the United States. The current president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Deborah N. Archer, is a Clinical Professor and member of the faculty. According to the school's ABA-required disclosures, NYU Law's bar passage rate is 94.9% in 2023, the sixth highest in the United States. New York University School of Law was founded in 1835, making it the oldest law school in New York City. It is also the oldest surviving law school in New York State and one of the oldest in the United States. The only law school in the state to precede it was a small institution conducted by Peter van Schaack in Kinderhook, New York, from 1785 to his death in 1832. Founded just four years after the establishment of New York University, NYU Law is also the university's oldest professional school. The school was founded by Benjamin Franklin Butler, the United States Attorney General, at the request of the Council of the New York University. Butler submitted to the chancellor of the university, James M. Mathews, a "Plan for the organization of a law faculty in the University of the City of New York," which defined a three-year course of study. This plan was formally accepted by the university council on June 2, 1835, marking the inception of the school of law. Instruction began, and Butler was elected the school's first principal professor in March 1838.