NYC's only public law school, training public interest lawyers since 1983 with top-ranked clinical education.
CUNY Law integrates clinical teaching with traditional legal studies, emphasizing civil rights law, indigent defense, and systemic inequality. The curriculum requires all first-year students to take Critical Race Theory and divides constitutional law into two courses (Liberty, Equality, and Due Process in 1L; Constitutional Structures in 2L). Every third-year student must complete a clinic or concentration (12–16 credits), with options including Community & Economic Development, CLEAR, Defenders, Disability Rights, Family Law, Immigrant Rights, and Human Rights & Gender Justice clinics. The school is ranked #4 nationally for clinical education.
For the entering 2025 class, CUNY Law accepted 28.65% of applicants. Full-time admitted students averaged 155 LSAT and 3.54 GPA; part-time students averaged 153 LSAT and 3.27 GPA. The school uses a holistic admissions process valuing diverse experiences and commitment to social justice. Pipeline to Justice, CUNY's signature access initiative, provides LSAT prep, mentorship, and academic resources to aspiring law students who may not fit traditional metrics.
The 2 Court Square campus in Long Island City is LEED Gold-certified and within walking distance of subway, buses, and Long Island Rail Road. The incoming class of 2025 is nearly two-thirds BIPOC (26% Hispanic/Latinx, 22.8% Black/African American, 12.6% Asian, 5.1% Indigenous), with 42% first-generation college students and 42% identifying as LGBTQ+. The school has ranked as the nation's most diverse law school for three consecutive years. Student life includes numerous organizations, an LGBTQI+ Hub, wellness programming, and no-cost bar preparation.
For the Class of 2022, 63.83% obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment within nine months, including 48.12% in public interest law and 22.5% in government. The 2022 first-time bar passage rate was 74.56%; the ultimate bar passage rate for 2020 graduates was 84.51%. Mean salary for 2017 respondents was $62,360; median was $59,438. The school's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 16.5%.
CUNY Law supports multiple justice initiatives including the Community Legal Resource Network (CLRN, founded 1998), Center on Latinx Rights and Equality (CLRE), Center for Urban Environmental Reform (CUER), and Economic Justice Project (EJP, launched 1997). The Haywood Burns Chair in Civil Rights brings prominent civil rights figures to campus. The Contemplative Lawyering Program offers yoga and meditation. Alumni benefit from the Launchpad for Justice Fellowship, City Counseling Program, and CUNY LawWorks co-working space.