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.
Globally, NYU Law is ranked as the fifth-best law school in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) for subject Law in 2022, after having ranked as the world's fourth-best law school in 2020. In 2017, NYU Law ranked as high as second best in the world by the same benchmark Shanghai Ranking ARWU. NYU Law is also consistently ranked in the top 10 by the QS World University Rankings. NYU Law is in the list of T14 law schools which has consistently ranked the Law school within the top 7, since U.S. News & World Report began publishing its rankings in 1987. In the SSRN (formerly known as the Social Science Research Network) ranking of the top 350 U.S. Law Schools for 2022, NYU Law ranked third best in the United States. NYU Law has been the leading Law school in the U.S. and in the world in both international law and tax law, consistently ranking the first in both. Additionally, NYU Law is the best law school in the U.S. for the study of criminal law and procedure for 2022. NYU Law ranks first (with a double tie) for business and corporate law in 2022. NYU Law also ranks the first in The Princeton Review rankings of top law schools for Best Career Prospects. NYU School of Law boasts the best overall faculty in the United States, having the leading scholars in every field of the law.NYU Law alumni include judges at the International Court of Justice, numerous Nobel laureates, prominent US lawyers such as David Boies, and leading human rights practitioners such as Amal Alamuddin Clooney. Some of the leading legal philosophers in the world are currently teaching at NYU Law, including 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.
NYU Law is known for a significant orientation in public interest. The school's Root-Tilden-Kern Public Interest Law Fellowship is widely recognized as the most prestigious public interest program of its kind.
According to the school's ABA-required disclosures, NYU Law's bar passage rate is 98.7% in 2022, the second highest in the United States.