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Fordham Law School has provided a complete education in the law for more than a century. While the legal profession has changed during that time, the core mission of a Fordham Law education has not. We value academic excellence, the pursuit of justice, and the ethical practice of the lawyer’s craft. We impart the warmth of community within the School and wherever Fordham Law alumni are found around the globe. Fordham lawyers are dedicated to the highest standards of the legal profession and using the law “in the service of others.”
11.0:1
LSAT | GPA | |
25th-75th Percentile | 160-165 | 3.38-3.68 |
Median* | 163 | 3.53 |
The above LSAT and GPA data pertain to the 2016 entering class.
Director of admissions | Kathryn Espiritu |
Application deadline | March 31 |
Law School Admissions details based on 2016 data.
*Medians have been calculated by averaging the 25th- and 75th-percentile values released by the law schools and have been rounded up to the nearest whole number for LSAT scores and to the nearest one-hundredth for GPAs.
Approximate number of applications | 4251 |
Number accepted | 1623 |
Percentage accepted | 38.2% |
The above admission details are based on 2016 data.
JD Day Division (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Year) | JD Evening Division (1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th Year) | |
Tuition | $55,444 | $41,584 |
Fees | $702 | $612 |
Room and Board | $19,618 | $19,618 |
Books and Supplies | $1,840 | $1,840 |
Travel | $1,742 | $1,742 |
Miscellaneous/Personal Expenses | $4,120 | $4,120 |
TOTAL: | $83,466 ($86,010 with *health insurance) |
$69,516 ($72,060 with *health insurance) |
For the purposes of calculating weighted averages, numerical equivalents will be used for the letter grades as follows:
Effective Fall 2014 | |
A+ | 4.333 |
A | 4.000 |
A- | 3.667 |
B+ | 3.333 |
B | 3.000 |
B- | 2.667 |
C+ | 2.333 |
C | 2.000 |
C- | 1.667 |
D | 1.000 |
F | 0.000 |
The minimum grade that will be recorded in a course is "F". The grade of "D" constitutes a passing mark in a subject. To continue in good scholastic standing, however, a student must maintain a true weighted average of at least 2.0 in every academic year. In computing a true weighted average, hours in a pass/fail course that was passed will be disregarded. If such a course was failed, an "F" will be entered on the student's transcript and a 0.0 will be used in computing the student's true weighted average. For the purposes of this rule, an academic year shall begin with the summer term, provided that where a summer term is the student's final term in law school, it will be considered part of the academic year that commenced the preceding summer.
Pass/Fail
All courses receive a standard letter grade, with the exception of Clinical Externship Fieldwork, Journals and Independent Studies. The one exception pertaining to courses is the Trial and Arbitration Advocacy and Advanced Trial and Arbitration Advocacy courses, where students may select to receive the Standard letter grade or select Pass/Fail. This Pass/Fail option must be communicated to the Registrar prior to the end of the second week of classes. Once a grade format is selected it may not be reverted. Except for pass/fail courses, the standing of students will be indicated by the following letter grades.
No student who fails to attain the required year average of 2.0 will be permitted to advance into the next year. An average of 2.0 in the final academic year and overall is required to graduate. Such a student may, however, seek permission to repeat the failed year by filling a Petition for Permission to Repeat with the Dean of Admissions and by appearing personally before the Readmission Committee at its stated sittings, usually in late July. The Readmission Committee may consider any information it considers relevant, including without limitation not only the applicant's law school record but also information revealed in his or her law school application file. Permission to repeat is granted only under extraordinary circumstances, such as where the applicant has shown a reason for his or her failure, which reason is not likely to recur. The transcript of any student who is readmitted will contain all grades received in the failed year.
Failed courses aggregating in credit value more than one quarter of the credits taken by a student in any academic year will constitute a failed year irrespective of the weighted average obtained by the student. In such case, the student will not be permitted to continue in the school or to graduate. For purposes of this rule any failed course that is retaken will be treated as if it had not been retaken.
A student who fails a required course must retake that course. The student must retake the course, if feasible, during the next semester in which it is offered in the class division in which the student is registered, and must pass the examination in it. A student who fails an elective course, other than a paper course (see Article V of the Academic Regulations) may, if the course is offered again, retake that course. Transcripts will reflect both the original failure and, where applicable, the new grade. The numerical equivalent of the new grade will be averaged with the failure 0.00 for cumulative grade point average purposes.
A student who, although not required to repeat the year, repeats and passes a course in which an examination was failed, or, in the case of a failed elective paper course, who submits a paper that earns a "pass," will receive credit for that course in the semester in which it was first taken. No credit for such a course will be counted toward residence credit in the semester in which the course was re taken.
By a resolution adopted in April 2014, the faculty made the percentage distribution of grades listed below mandatory for all first year courses and upper-division courses with a minimum J.D. enrollment of 21 students. The percentage distribution of grades for these and first year courses will be strictly enforced.
A+ | 0–3% |
A and above | 0–12% |
A- and above | 15–30% |
B+ and above | 45–60% |
B | 30–45% |
B- and below | 10–20% |
C+ and below | 0–10% |
Effective Fall 2014 by a resolution adopted in Spring 2014.
Honor | Percentage of Class Receiving |
Order of the Coif | A graduating student is eligible to be inducted into the Order of the Coif (1) who has completed at least 75 percent of his or her law courses in graded courses and (2) whose grade record ranks in the top 10 percent of all graduating students of the school. “Graded courses” are those for which academic accomplishment is recorded on the basis of educational measurement involving four or more discriminators. |
summa cum laude | Top 1 percent of the graduating class with the highest weighted cumulative GPA |
magna cum laude | Top 12 percent of the graduating class with the highest weighted cumulative GPA |
cum laude | Top 33 1/3 percent of the graduating class with the highest weighted cumulative GPA |
Dean’s List | Top 25 percent of the entire J.D. class based on annual weighted GPA. Annual GPA is calculated by coursework taken in previous summer session, fall and spring semester |
Name of Award | Awarded for/to |
The Abraham Abramovsky Award | The Abraham Abramovksy Award is presented to a member of the graduating J.D. class in recognition of his/her outstanding performance in Trial Advocacy. |
The Class of 1911 Prize | Awarded for the best essay submitted by a student in the graduating J.D. class of the law school on a legal subject that is designated annually by the Dean |
Crowley Award | Award will be given to the graduating J.D. student(s) who during his/her career at the law school best emulated the qualities of the late Dean Crowley |
The Mary Daly Prize | Awarded to the graduating J.D. student who publishes the most significant writing relating to lawyers’ professional responsibility and/or the legal profession |
Dean's Special Achievement Award | This award is given to a student in the graduating J.D. class who has made a singular and distinctive contribution to the Law School community. |
Donald J. Feerick Prize in Labor Law | Awarded to the J.D. student who submits the best paper on a subject in labor law, which is interpreted broadly to include alternative dispute resolution approaches to problem solving |
The Eugene J. Keefe Award | Award is presented to the person who has made the most important contribution to the Fordham community |
The Donald Magnetti Award | Award is presented to a member of the graduating J.D. class in recognition of his/her outstanding public commitment and contribution to those beyond the Law School Community |
The Adele Monaco Memorial Award | Award is presented to a member of the graduating J.D. class in the evening division who has made a positive impact on the lives of evening division students through the demonstration of compassion, courage, determination and commitment to public service. |
The Ann Moynihan Award | Award is presented to a member of the J.D. graduating class in recognition of his/her outstanding performance in the Law School’s Clinical program. |
National Association of Women Lawyers Award | Award for the outstanding J.D. law graduate of each American Bar Association approved law school |
The Walter B. Kennedy Award | Award is presented to a J.D. member of the Fordham Law Review in recognition of extraordinary service that exemplifies the commitment to legal excellence of Professor Walter D. Kennedy, who served as the Law Review’s moderator from 1935 to 1945. |
The Monsignor James J. Murray Prize for Achievement in Public Service | The prize is given to a graduating Fordham Law School J.D. student who is committed to a career in public service |
The Keith C. Miller Memorial Award | Is presented to a member of the graduating J.D. class who has demonstrated unselfish dedication to the Fordham Moot Court program. It is named in memory of Keith Miller who was the managing editor of the Moot Court Board in 1986-87. |
The Robert Aram Renzulli Prize in Criminal Law | Is presented to the graduating J.D. student who has excelled in the area of criminal law during his/her three years at Fordham Law School, and who intends to engage in public service criminal law work upon graduating |
The Jorene Frenkl Robbie '79 Memorial Legal Research Prize | Is presented to a graduating student who has demonstrated excellence in the Advanced Legal Research Program. |
The Philip R. Fusco Memorial Award | Is presented by the Student Bar Association to a J.D. student who participated in the intramural athletic program while demonstrating dedication, enthusiasm, good sportsmanship and academic achievement. |
The Adjunct Teacher of the Year Award | Is presented by the Student Bar Association to the adjunct professor selected by students for excellence inside and outside the classroom and for exhibiting the highest level of education to his or her students. |
The Teacher of the Year Award | Is presented by the Student Bar Association to the professor students identify as being a master teacher. |
The Actum Foundation Prize | Is awarded to a graduating LL.M. student who, in the judgment of the administration, has done distinguished work in the Banking, Corporate and Finance Law Program |
The Chapin Prize | Is awarded to the student in the graduating J.D. class who has attained the highest weighted average throughout law school |
The David F. and Mary Louise Condon Prize | Is awarded to the J.D. student who attains the highest grade in American legal history. |
The John D. Feerick Award in International Dispute Resolution | Is established through the generosity of Dennis Kenny ’11. It is awarded to the graduating LL.M. student in the International Dispute Resolution program who attains the highest cumulative average. |
The Benjamin Finkel Prize | Is awarded to that member of the graduating J.D. class who has excelled in the course in bankruptcy |
The Fordham Law Alumni Association Medal in Constitutional Law | Is awarded to the member of the graduating J.D. class who excelled in Constitutional Law in his or her first year. |
The Whitmore Gray Prize | Is awarded to the graduating J.D. student who, in the opinion of a committee of the Faculty, has been outstanding in courses or activities relating to international law practice |
The Emily C. and John E. Hansen Award | Is awarded to the graduating LL.M. student in the Intellectual Property and Information Technology Program who attains the highest cumulative average |
The Edward J. Hawk Prize | Is awarded to the graduating LL.M. student in the International Business and Trade Law program who attains the highest cumulative average. |
The Carlos Hawker Prize | Is awarded to the graduating LL.M. student in the Corporate Compliance program who attains the highest cumulative average |
The Hugh R. Jones Award | In law and public policy is presented to the student in the graduating J.D. class who has attained the highest combined weighted average in the subjects of Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice and Professional Responsibility |
The James Leitner Award | Is established by faculty and alumni of the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice. |
The Emmet J. McCormack Foundation Prize | Is awarded to the J.D. student who has attained the highest grade in Admiralty Law. |
The Lawrence J. McKay Prize | Is awarded to the graduating J.D. students who represented the Law School in the National Moot Court Competition. |
The Honorable Joseph M. McLaughlin Prize | Is awarded to the J.D. student who attained the highest combined weighted average during his or her first year. |
The Addison M. Metcalf Labor Law Prize | Is awarded to the student in the graduating J.D. class who has received the highest grade in the basic labor law course |
The Henrietta Metcalf Prize | Is awarded to the student in the graduating J.D. class who has received the highest grade in contracts. |
The Peter J. O'Connor Prize | Is awarded to the J.D. student with the highest weighted average in courses in Evidence and New York Practice |
The Thomas F. Reddy, Jr. Prize | Is awarded to the graduating J.D. student with the highest grades in courses in intellectual property |
The Robert Schuman Prize | Is awarded to the graduating J.D. and LL.M. student who has achieved the highest grades in courses in European Union Law. |
The Senior Prize | Is awarded to the students in each division of the graduating J.D. class who attain the highest weighted average throughout the year. |
The William Michael Treanor Award | Is named for former Fordham Law School Dean William Michael Treanor and is awarded to the graduating LL.M. student in the U.S. and Comparative Law Program who attains the highest cumulative average. Established through the generosity of Professor Thomas Lee and Assistant Dean Toni M. Fine, this award recognizes the extraordinary contributions made by Dean Treanor to the development of the Law School’s LL.M. and international programs. |
The Milton Young Prize | Is awarded to that member of the graduating J.D. class who has excelled in courses in the field of taxation. It is named in memory of Milton Young, a member of the class of 1931 and has been endowed through the generosity of the Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation. |
The Michael M. Martin award | The Michael M. Martin award is given to the graduating M.S.L. student with the best grades in the M.S.L. program in Compliance. |
Fashion law LL.M and M.S.L. Awards | Awards to recognize students in the LL.M. and M.S.L. in Fashion Law programs are in development and will be announced when available. |
Fordham’s specialized publications are also lauded: The Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law is ranked #1 among all banking and finance journals, the Fordham Urban Law Journal is ranked second among all public policy journals, and the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal is ranked fourth among all IP journals.
The Fordham Law Review
Founded in 1914 and operating continuously since 1935, the Fordham Law Review is a scholarly journal committed to serving the legal profession and the public by discussing current legal issues. The Law Review is both an honor society and a working journal that publishes six issues per year, three each semester, totaling over 3,000 pages. The Law Review is managed by a board of twenty student editors and comprises an additional eighty student staff, members, and associate editors.
The Fordham Law Review publishes works in various formats, including Articles, Essays, Symposia, and Student Notes. The Law Review also administers Res Gestae, the online companion to the Law Review, which provides a forum for scholars to respond to articles and to comment on timely legal issues.
The Fordham Law Review is the seventh most cited law review in cases, ninth most cited law review in other journals, and ranked nineteenth in Washington & Lee University’s most recent annual study.
The Fordham International Law Journal
Currently in its 39th year of publication, the Fordham International Law Journal is one of the most competitive international law periodicals in the world—and, according to a recent study, one of the most frequently cited student-edited legal publications dedicated to the study of international law. The ILJ attracts contributions from prominent statespersons and members of the academic, legal, and political communities. Journal pieces have been cited in numerous US federal court decisions, US Supreme Court briefs and decisions, international courts decisions, law review articles, and CFR and ALR annotations.
The Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal
The Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal was organized in 1990. Each year the Fordham IPLJ publishes one volume, comprised of four separate books in all areas of intellectual property law including: Patent law, Copyright law, Trademark law, Telecommunications, Internet law, Counterfeiting, Bootlegging and piracy issues, Entertainment and sports law, First Amendment rights, and Mass media law. Each book includes Articles, Essays, Comments, and Notes written by distinguished outside contributors, such as law professors, judges, and practicing lawyers, as well as student members of the Fordham IPLJ and Fordham University School of Law.
The Fordham Environmental Law Review
The Fordham Environmental Law Review explores a broad range of domestic and international environmental issues as well as social policy issues. The Review hosts an annual symposium each spring that draws leading scholars, lawmakers, and regulatory officials in the environmental law field.
The Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law
The Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law is one of the premier student-edited business law journals in the country. Our articles, essays, notes, and comments, as well as the transcripts from our annual symposia and the annual lectures sponsored by the Fordham Corporate Law Center, address important issues arising in banking, bankruptcy, corporate governance, capital markets, finance, mergers and acquisitions, securities, and tax practices. These scholarly works, which have made the Journal the #1 most-cited specialty journal in banking and finance, provide judges, policymakers, regulators, practitioners, and market participants with timely analyses of important developments in business law.
Fordham has developed a tradition of accomplished advocacy through the Moot Court Board, consistently fielding championship competition teams year after year. All first year students are introduced to appellate briefs and arguments as part of their Legal Writing Course. Many students follow this initial experience with voluntary participation in the Moot Court Program during their subsequent years at the school. Staff members of the Board are from students who have earned exceptionally high scores for brief writing and arguing in either of two intramural competitions.
In whichever of our 17 clinics you choose, you will represent and provide legal advice to real clients -- under the supervision of clinical faculty, who are practicing attorneys.. You will gain a more complete understanding of and appreciation for the law while experiencing real people, real issues, and real outcomes.
Appellate Litigation - In the Appellate Litigation Clinic, yours are the last eyes searching for error and injustice in a criminal case.
Community Economic Development - The Community Economic Development Clinic helps sustain effective community and worker organizations and build institutions that enable participants to keep key resources in community control.
Consumer Litigation - In 2009-10, Fordham Law's Tax & Consumer Litigation clinic helped a consumer, Jared King, present his case against Portfolio Recovery Associates, a large debt-buying company. The case was heard by the New York Court of Appeals.
Corporate Social Responsibility - In the Corporate Social Responsibility Clinic, you will explore the legal, business and moral arguments for corporate sustainability while working on real-world projects that will expose you to the challenges and prospects for maximizing social and environmental outcomes alongside profits.
Criminal Defense - From the start of the Criminal Defense Clinic, you'll be out front representing clients in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Entrepreneurial Law - As the inaugural class of ELC students, you will help in the clinic's formation -- representing clients, participating in community outreach, and providing services to entrepreneurs via pop-up clinics.
Family Advocacy - In the Family Advocacy Clinic, you can develop marketable legal skills and make a difference.
Federal Litigation - To represent our clients, you will hone your interviewing skills under a variety of challenging circumstances. You will engage in multifaceted legal and factual research, develop sophisticated case theories and engage in cycles of complex counseling and negotiation. Our civil docket presents opportunities to take and defend depositions and appear in federal court on the record. Our criminal docket will give you direct experience with all phases of contemporary criminal practice.
Federal Tax - You will learn the tools necessary to represent clients in court and before administrative agencies. Students do not need to have extensive experience with tax law to enroll and succeed in this clinic. Through seminar and supervision, you will be given the tools necessary to advocate on behalf of your clients.
Immigrant Rights - Students in the Immigration Rights Clinic provide legal representation to individuals facing deportation before the Immigration Court, Federal Court of Appeals and the Administrative Agency. Clinic students represent clients from around the world in a range of immigration matters -- those who are fleeing persecution from their native lands as a result of sexual orientation, religion, or political activities and beliefs; those who are victims of domestic violence and other crimes; youth who have been abandoned, neglected or abused by their parents; and those who are long-standing permanent residents with families and lives entrenched in the United States.
International Human Rights - The Walter Leitner International Human Rights Clinic will train you to become a strategic, reflective, and creative social justice advocate.
International Law and Development in Africa - You will work with African law faculty, students, NGOs and public and private institutions to research and undertake small-scale legal projects aimed at promoting sustainable development, access to justice and poverty alleviation.
Mediation - You will work with a co-mediator partner in actual mediations, learning to view dispute resolution in ways other than litigation or adversarial tactics while enhancing your communication and process management skills. You will also explore the legal, policy, and professional responsibility issues of mediation practice with an emphasis on the role of the attorney as a neutral third party facilitator.
Queens DA Prosecution - As a legal intern in the Queens County DA’s Office, you will participate in cases from inception through trial and sentencing, working with police officers, interviewing victims and witnesses, determining charges, drafting accusatory instruments, and representing the People of the State of New York in the New York City Criminal Court.
Samuelson-Glushko Intellectual Property and Information Law - In doing so, the Clinic helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, authors, artists, musicians, actors, playwrights, designers, inventors, and non-profit organizations navigate the divide. As a student in the clinic, you’ll play a pivotal role in a variety of matters that fall into one of five categories: litigation, deals, trademark registrations, patent applications and risk counseling.
Securities Litigation and Arbitration - The clinic provides legal representation to investors who have limited resources. Cases are typically brought against brokers and their firms for engaging in unsuitable investment practices, trading excessively to earn commissions, making material representations, and failing to supervise. In many cases, students advocate for people whose claims represent their life savings.
Starting Salaries (2015 Graduates Employed Full-Time)
Private sector (25th-75th percentile) | $80,000 - $160,000 |
Median in the private sector | $160,000 |
Median in public service | $60,000 |
Employment Details
Graduates known to be employed at graduation | 56.3% |
Graduates known to be employed ten months after graduation | 75.9% |
Areas of Legal Practice
Graduates Employed In | Percentage |
Law Firms | 60.5% |
Business and Industry | 19.3% |
Government | 7.8% |
Judicial Clerkships | 5.6% |
Public Interest Organizations | 3.1% |
Academia | 2.5% |
Unknown | 0% |
Externships38
You’re already well acquainted with the classroom, now get familiar with the practice of law. From concert halls to City Hall to the hallowed halls of federal, state, and local courts, Fordham’s Externship program provides numerous opportunities across New York City to develop the skills, experience, and confidence you need to become a complete lawyer.
You’ll receive supervision from a mentor-attorney, guidance from a seminar professor, and support from your classmates as you experience legal practice in action across diverse areas of the law. You’ll also gain a better understanding of how the law impacts institutional structures, consider issues of ethics, professionalism, and accountability in the legal workplace, and have the opportunity to do meaningful public service.
Internships39
International internships
Fordham Law School offers JD students the opportunity to work in excellent law firms and courts around the globe.