Albany Law School

History

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.

Beginning in 1878, the Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany Law School, Albany Medical College, Dudley Observatory and Union College created the loose association today known as Union University. It officially goes by the name Albany Law School of Union University with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Each member institution has its own governing board, is fiscally independent, and is responsible for its own programs.

Albany Law School has a historically close relationship with the New York Court of Appeals. One of the original members of the court, Greene C. Bronson, helped to found the law school. 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. 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.

Location

Albany Law is in upstate New York and the only law school located within 90 miles of New York's Capital District. It is within two miles of the New York State Legislature, New York Court of Appeals, the Appellate Division 3rd Department, the Federal District Court for the Northern District of New York, the New York State Bar Association, several state agencies, and a number of private law firms.

Programs and centers

Albany Law School offers 14 concentrations for J.D. candidates, as well as an L.L.M program, 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.

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, including videotapes of oral arguments before the New York State Court of Appeals dating back to 1989.

Notable alumni

Main article: List of Albany Law School Alumni

Albany Law School has numerous notable alumni. It is one of only twelve law schools in the United States to have graduated two or more justices of the United States Supreme Court: Robert H. Jackson and David Josiah Brewer. Nine judges of the New York State Court of Appeals, United States President William McKinley, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, former judge and television host Jeanine Pirro, and over a dozen members of the United States Congress also attended Albany Law School. The first woman admitted to the New York State Bar, Kate Stoneman, and the first African American man to graduate from law school in New York State, James Campbell Matthews, also both attended Albany Law School.

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.

Admissions

For the class entering in the fall of 2024, 47.62% of 1,892 applicants received offers of admission, with 24.53% of those accepted enrolling. The 50th Percentile LSAT score of enrollees was 156, and the 50th Percentile undergraduate GPA was 3.47. 4 transfer students enrolled. There was an attrition rate of 0%, meaning no students discontinued their education at Albany Law due to poor academic standing.

Academics

Albany Law School offers courses and concentrations for the following degree programs: J.D., LL.M., and M.S. It offers joint degrees with the University at Albany, Russell Sage College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical College, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, as well as other institutions. Albany Law School has an affiliation agreement with University at Albany that includes shared programs and access for students and faculty to learn from one another.

Employment and rankings

For 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked Albany Law School #117 out of 196 ranked ABA schools overall. It was one of 57 law schools placed on the "honor roll" for top law schools for health law{{cite web |title=Top law schools for family law

Albany Law School is known for preparing students for law careers in public service. In 2024, 86.3% of graduates attained long-term full-time bar passage required jobs. Over half of these were employed in the public service sector at non-profits or public defenders offices.

Median earnings were $65,381 of 2018 and 2019 graduates for the first full year calendar after graduation, reported in 2021 dollars.

Official ABA Employment Summary for 2024 Graduates:

Costs

The total annual cost of attendance, including tuition, fees, and cost of living at Albany Law School is $85,805 for the 2025–2026 academic year. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $326,239. Tuition is $61,186 per academic year. In 2024, Albany Law awarded $22.1 million in financial aid, and over 70% of first-year students received scholarships.

Leadership and faculty

President & Dean

1. Amos Dean (1851–1868)
2. Issac Edwards (1868–1879)
3. Horace E. Smith (1879–1889)
4. George W. Kirchway (1889–1891)
5. Lewis B. Hall (1891–1895)
6. J. Newton Fiero (1895–1924)
7. Harold D. Alexander (1924–1945)
8. Andrew V. Clements (1945–1965)

• J. Vanderbilt Straub (Acting) (1965)

1. Samuel M. Hesson (1965–1975)

• John C. Welsh (Acting) (1975)

1. Ralph D. Semerad (1975–1977)

• John C. Welsh (Acting) (1977–1979)

1. Richard J. Bartlett (1979–1985)
2. Martin Belsky (1986–1995)
3. John Baker (1991–1993)

• John C. Welsh (Acting) (1993–1995)

1. Thomas Sponsler (1995–2002)
2. Thomas Guernsey (2002–2011)
3. Penelope Andrews (2012–2015)
4. Alicia Ouellette (2015–2023)
5. Cinnamon P. Carlarne (2023–present)

Notable faculty

Full-time faculty:

• Alicia Ouellette, president and dean emeritus
• Ira Mark Bloom, trusts, estates, and property lawyer
• Vincent M. Bonventre, judicial and constitutional law lawyer and commentator
• Raymond H. Brescia, public interest law lawyer and commentator
• Patrick M. Connors, New York civil practice and legal ethics lawyer

Adjunct faculty:

• Mae D'Agostino, United States district judge for the Northern District of New York
• Lawrence E. Kahn, senior United States district judge for the Northern District of New York
• Eleanor Stein, administrative law judge, former member of Weather Underground and Students for a Democratic Society

Former faculty:

• Penelope Andrews, dean of the faculty of law at the University of Cape Town
• Learned Hand, United States judge and legal philosopher
• Patricia Salkin, dean of Touro Law Center
• David D. Siegel, commentator on New York civil practice

Law journals

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. Currently, the school publishes three journals, which are listed in order of their founding:

• Albany Law Review
• Albany Law Journal of Science and Technology
• Albany Government Law Review

Athletics

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.

References

References

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