New York Law School

New York Law School is one of the oldest independent law schools in the United States. The Law School was founded in 1891 by a group of faculty, students, and alumni of Columbia Law School led by their founding dean, Theodore William Dwight, a prominent figure in the history of American legal education. Dwight and his fellow trailblazers broke away from Columbia College to protest teaching methods they did not support. They established New York Law School in Lower Manhattan?where it has remained ever since?in the heart of the city?s legal, financial, government, and corporate headquarters. In 1894, the Law School established one of the nation?s first evening divisions in order to provide an alternative to full-time legal studies. New York Law School quickly achieved success. In 1892, after only a year in operation, it was the second-largest law school in the United States; by 1904, it was the largest. It experienced steady growth in its early years, that was only interrupted for one year when the school closed during World War I. During these early years, the Law School saw some of its most famous alumni graduate. The Law School was forced to close a second time from 1941 to 1947, for the duration of World War II. After reopening, the Law School started a new program that was influenced by a committee of alumni headed by New York State Supreme Court Justice Albert Cohn. This led to accreditation by the American Bar Association in 1954; continued growth led to membership in the Association of American Law Schools in 1974.

Contact information

• (Website) http://www.nyls.edu/
• (Admissions Dean) admissions@nyls.edu
• (Location) New York, NY