MAILING ADDRESS1
P.O. Box 208215 New Haven, CT 06520-8215
MAIN PHONE
203-432-4992
REGISTRAR'S PHONE
203-432-1678
ADMISSIONS PHONE
203-432-4995
CAREER SERVICES PHONE
203-432-1696
WEBSITE
http://www.law.yale.eduLocated in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale Law School is one of the world’s premier law schools. It offers an unmatched environment of excellence and educational intimacy in the form of world renowned faculty, small classes, limitless opportunities for clinical training, and strong encouragement of public service. The Law School is small by design; its impact on the world is measured by its accomplished graduates and its ongoing scholarship and outreach through numerous centers and projects.
For students, the experience is unparalleled. The faculty-student ratio supports a vast array of courses and opportunities for independent research and student-organized seminars. Students get practical training by representing real clients in clinics starting in their first year.
Throughout, a spirit of collaboration reigns. All first-term courses are ungraded, and subsequent classes are graded honors/pass/low pass.
6.8:1
LSAT | GPA | |
25th-75th Percentile | 170-175 | 3.79-3.97 |
Median* | 173 | 3.89 |
Director of admissions | Craig Janecek |
Application deadline | February 28 |
Approximate number of applications | 2735 |
Number accepted | 259 |
Percentage accepted | 9.5% |
Expenses 6
Tuition and feesTuition and fees Full-time: | $59,865 per year |
Room and board | $17,000 |
Books | $1,100 |
Miscellaneous expenses | $2,264 |
All first-term courses are ungraded, and subsequent classes are graded honors/pass/low pass with the option to take classes credit/fail. Individual class rank is not computed.
Grades for all degree students are:
Honors | Performance in the course demonstrates superior mastery of the subject. |
Pass | Successful performance in the course. |
Low Pass | Performance in the course is below the level expected for the award of a degree. |
Credit | The course has been completed satisfactorily; no particular level of performance is specified. All first-term courses and certain advanced courses are offered only on a credit/fail basis. |
Failure | No credit is given for the course. |
Requirement Completed | Indicates J.D. preparticipation in Moot Court or Barristers’ Union. |
Name of Award | Awarded for/to |
Neale M. Albert Fund | Established by gifts from clients in honor of Neale M. Albert. LL.B. 1961, for a prize awarded to the best student paper on the subject of art law, as determined by the Law School faculty. Excess income from the fund shall be used to support any activity at the Law School in the areas of intellectual property, artists’ rights, or copyright laws. |
Charles G. Albom Prize | Established by alumni and friends of Charles G. Albom, LL.B. 1934. To be awarded annually to a student who demonstrates excellence in the area of judicial and/or administrative appellate advocacy in connection with a Law School clinical program. |
Thurman Arnold Appellate Competition Prize | Established by alumni and friends of the School. To be awarded annually for the best student argument in advanced Moot Court competition. |
John Fletcher Caskey Prize | John Fletcher Caskey, LL.B. 1924. For the best presentation of a case on final trial in the Thomas Swan Barristers’ Union. |
The Joseph A. Chubb Competition Prize | Established by a gift from Joseph A. Chubb, B.A. 1962, LL.B. 1966. Two prizes to be awarded annually to individual students or two-person teams for legal draftsmanship, which shall be open to candidates for the J.D. degree. |
The Barry S. Cohen, J.D. 1950, Prize | Established by Barry S. Cohen, J.D. 1950, for a prize to be awarded for the most meritorious writing on a subject related to literature and the law, reflecting either upon the law in literature, the law as literature, the law of literature, or literature in the law. The fund also provides financial assistance to Yale Law School students and graduates including scholarships, summer internships, and loan forgiveness. |
Felix S. Cohen Prize | Gift in honor of Felix S. Cohen, former visiting lecturer in law. For the best essay by a student or fellow on some subject relating to legal philosophy with special reference to Mr. Cohen’s main fields of professional work: human rights, jurisprudence, protection of the rights of Indians and aliens, and comparative ethical systems and legal ideals. |
Edgar M. Cullen Prize | William B. Davenport, B.A. 1867, in memory of Edgar M. Cullen, formerly Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals of New York. For an outstanding paper written by a member of the first-year class. |
John Currier Gallagher Prize (1917). | Gift from Mrs. Gallagher in memory of her husband, John Currier Gallagher, Ph.B. 1879, LL.B. 1881, and later increased by a gift from her son, J. Roswell Gallagher, B.A. 1925, M.D. 1930. For the student showing most proficiency in the presentation of a case on final trial in the Thomas Swan Barristers’ Union. |
Ambrose Gherini Prize (1923) | Ambrose Gherini, M.A. and LL.B. 1902. For the student writing the best paper upon a subject of international law, either public or private. |
Jerome Sayles Hess Prize for International Law (2005) | Established by a bequest of Harriett Peloubet Hess, widow of Jerome Sayles Hess, B.A. 1903, to be awarded annually to a student who demonstrates excellence in the area of international law. |
Jewell Prize (1928) | Estate of Marshall Jewell, M.A. Hon. 1873, to capitalize the prize founded by him in 1871. For a member of the second-year class who has written an outstanding contribution to a Law School journal other than The Yale Law Journal. |
Quintin Johnstone Prize in Real Property Law (2006) | Established by the CATIC Foundation, to be awarded at Yale Law School annually to a second- or third-year student in recognition of excellence in the area of real property law. |
Florence M. Kelley ’37 Family Law Prize (2001) | Established in memory of New York City judge Florence M. Kelley, a member of the Class of 1937, by her husband, David Worgan, to provide periodic awards to students who, in the judgment of the faculty, demonstrate exceptional interest or achievement in the area of family law. |
William T. Ketcham, Jr. Prize (2007) | Established by a bequest of William T. Ketcham, Jr., B.A. 1941, LL.B. 1948, to be used annually for a prize for such student scholarship in the field of private international law as the dean in his sole discretion shall determine. |
Raphael Lemkin Prize (1989) | Awarded from proceeds of the scholarship fund established in memory of the distinguished scholar and activist Raphael Lemkin, for outstanding student papers in international human rights. |
Judge William E. Miller Prize (1976) | Gift from Victor S. Johnson, Jr., LL.B. 1941, in memory of William E. Miller, LL.B. 1933, formerly judge of the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. For the student writing the best paper on a subject concerning the Bill of Rights. |
C. LaRue Munson Prize (1921) | Gift from C. LaRue Munson, LL.B. 1875. To be divided equally between two students for excellence in the investigation, preparation, and (where permitted under the Legal Internship Rule) presentation of civil, criminal, or administrative law cases, under a law school clinical program. |
Joseph Parker Prize (1899) | Bequest of Eliza Townsend Parker of New Haven, in memory of her father. For the best paper on a subject connected with legal history or Roman law. |
Israel H. Peres Prize (1933) | Hardwig Peres in memory of his brother, Israel H. Peres, B.A. 1889, LL.B. 1891, a chancellor of the Tenth Chancery Division of Tennessee. For the best student contribution to The Yale Law Journal. If no award is made, income of fund is used for purchase of books for the law library. |
Clifford L. Porter Prize (1980) | Cahill Gordon & Reindel in memory of Clifford L. Porter. Awarded annually for outstanding student performance in taxation. |
Edward D. Robbins Memorial Prize (1932) | Mrs. Robbins in memory of her husband, Edward D. Robbins, B.A. 1874, LL.B. 1879. For a member of the third-year class who has written an outstanding contribution to a Law School journal other than The Yale Law Journal. |
Benjamin Scharps Prize (1935) | Tessie K. Scharps in honor of her brother, Benjamin Scharps, B.A. 1884. For a member of the third-year class for the most meritorious essay or research in one course on some legal subject designated by the faculty under prescribed regulations. |
Colby Townsend Memorial Prize (1942) | Established by gifts from friends in memory of Colby Townsend, B.A. 1933, M.A. 1937, LL.B. 1938. For a member of the second-year class for the best individual research done for academic credit, if such work is of sufficiently high quality to justify the award. |
William K. S. Wang Prize (1998) | A gift from William K. S. Wang, J.D. 1971, to recognize superior performance in the introductory course in corporate law. |
Francis Wayland Prize (1902) | Gift from Francis Wayland, M.A. Hon. 1881, dean of the Law School from 1873 to 1903. For the student showing greatest proficiency in preparing and presenting a case in negotiation, arbitration, and litigation. |
Burton H. Brody Prize in Constitutional Law (1998) | A gift from Burton H. Brody, B.S. 1945, J.D. 1950, for the student who, in the estimation of the Law School, shall write the best paper on a subject to be selected by the dean on the extent of the protection of privacy afforded by the U.S. Constitution. |
Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition Prize (1938) | To be awarded annually to one or two students who prepare the best paper(s) on the subject of copyright law. |
Benjamin N. Cardozo Prize (1947) | Gift from an anonymous donor in honor of Justice Cardozo, for the best brief submitted by a student in Moot Court. |
Michael Egger Prize (1973) | For the best student Note or Comment on current social problems in The Yale Law Journal, on recommendation of the board of officers. |
Thomas I. Emerson Prize (1978) | For a distinguished paper or project on a subject related to legislation. |
Margaret Gruter Prize (1988) | For the student writing the best paper on how ethology, biology, and related behavioral sciences may deepen our understanding of law. |
A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Prize (2015) | Established in honor of Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Awarded each year to recognize the best performance in the first-year Moot Court competition. |
Quintin Johnstone Prize in Real Property Law (2006) | Established by the CATIC Foundation, to be awarded at Yale Law School annually to a second- or third-year student in recognition of excellence in the area of real property law. |
Khosla Memorial Fund for Human Dignity (1995) | Established by Dinesh Khosla, LL.M. 1977, J.S.D. 1981, to provide an annual award to a student at Yale Law School who demonstrates an active engagement in advancing the values of human dignity in the international arena. |
Stephen J. Massey Prize (1993) | Established by gifts from classmates and friends in memory of Stephen J. Massey, J.D. 1984. To be awarded to the student who best exemplifies, in work on behalf of clients and in other community service, the values of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at Yale Law School. |
Potter Stewart Prize (1981) | Established by the friends of Justice Stewart upon his retirement. Awarded each term to the student team that presents the best overall argument in the Moot Court trial argument. The prize is designed to recognize both oralists and “on brief” students for their cooperative efforts in researching and presenting outstanding legal arguments. |
Harlan Fiske Stone Prize (1947) | Gift from an anonymous donor in honor of Chief Justice Stone. For the best oral argument by a student in Moot Court. |
Yale Law Journal
The Yale Law Journal is one of the nation’s leading legal periodicals. The Journal publishes articles, essays, and book reviews by legal faculty and other professionals, as well as student notes and comments. An editorial board of second- and third-year students manages and produces eight issues of the Journal per year.
Yale Law & Policy Review
The Yale Law & Policy Review (YLPR) is a biannual publication of the Yale Law School dedicated to publishing legal scholarship and policy proposals by lawmakers, judges, practitioners, academics, and students.
Yale Journal of Law and Feminism
The Yale Journal of Law and Feminism (LawFem) is the only journal at Yale devoted to exploring women's experiences as they have been structured, affected, controlled, discussed, and ignored by the law. We publish pieces featuring differing feminist perspectives on a variety of topics.
Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities
The Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities publishes scholarship exploring the intersection between law and the humanities. Our membership consists of students interested in humanities-related disciplines.
Yale Journal of International Law
The Yale Journal of International Law (YJIL) is a student-run law journal devoted to scholarship on international, transnational and comparative law.
Yale Journal on Regulation
The Yale Journal on Regulation (JREG) is a biannual student-edited law review covering regulatory, administrative, and corporate law topics.
Yale Human Rights & Development Law Journal
The Yale Human Rights and Development Law Journal publishes scholarly pieces that explore the theory and practice of human rights. Interested students participate in various capacities throughout the publication and submissions process.
Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics
The Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics (YJHPLE) strives to provide a forum for interdisciplinary discussion on topics in health policy, health law, and biomedical ethics.
Yale Journal of Law and Technology
The Yale Journal of Law and Technology (YJoLT) is the #1 online-only journal in the U.S. The journal offers a network of tech-focused law students and exposure to cutting-edge legal scholarship. If you are passionate about robotics, science, privacy and beyond, join our community!
The Morris Tyler Moot Court competition takes place each semester at Yale Law School, culminating in the Harlan Fiske Stone Prize Finals in the fall and the Thurman Arnold Prize Finals in the spring. All second- and third-year law students are eligible and encouraged to participate.
The moot court organization also oversees a "pre-part" program in which first-year students may participate during the spring semester.
Students represent pro se clients before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Under the supervision of Yale faculty and attorneys from the appellate group at Wiggin and Dana, teams of students will work on cases referred through the Pro Bono Counsel Plan for the Second Circuit.
Capital Punishment Clinic
Students spend two to three weeks in August at the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta or the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, AL, where they meet attorneys, investigators, and mitigation specialists working on capital cases and become a part of a team representing people facing the death penalty.
Education Adequacy Project Clinic
The Education Adequacy Project is a clinic devoted to representing clients who wish to improve the quality of educational opportunities being provided to children.
Educational Opportunity and Juvenile Justice Clinic
The Educational Opportunity and Juvenile Justice Clinic (EOJJC) began taking clients in October 2013. We represent children in expulsion hearings and in general educational advocacy in the New Haven School District.
Environmental Protection Clinic
The Environmental Protection Clinic is an interdisciplinary clinic that addresses environmental law and policy problems on behalf of client organizations such as environmental groups, government agencies, and international bodies.
Ethics Bureau
The Ethics Bureau advises lawyers on how to proceed when faced with violations of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and other ethical dilemmas. Students draft amicus briefs in cases involving professional responsibility; help people with ineffective assistance of counsel claims; and offer ethics advice to nonprofit organizations.
Global Health and Justice Practicum
The Global Health and Justice Practicum addresses critical topics at the intersection of public health, rights, and justice in the 21st century.
Immigration Legal Services
The Immigration Legal Services clinic represents immigrants seeking asylum in the United States.
International Refugee Legal Assistance
This seminar and practicum introduces students to international refugee law, with an emphasis on fieldwork. Class sessions combine project rounds with a consideration of the development and content of the international refugee legal regime, U.S. policy toward refugees, and the particulars of the Iraqi and Syrian refugee crises.
Landlord-Tenant Clinic
Every day, scores of New Haven families must deal with serious housing issues. Rented homes are often substandard, lacking basic amenities such as heat and running water; landlords may unjustifiably withhold security deposits; tenants’ rights to privacy may be violated.
Legislative Advocacy Clinic
Students of the Legislative Advocacy Clinic (LAC) actively participate in the state legislative process by advancing and defending the interests of Connecticut public interest organizations.
Lowenstein Clinic
The Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Law Clinic is a Law School course that gives students firsthand experience in human rights advocacy.
Ludwig Center for Community & Economic Development
The Ludwig Center for Community & Economic Development (CED) provides transactional legal services to clients seeking to promote economic opportunity and mobility. CED’s clients include affordable housing developers, community development financial institutions, farms and farmer’s markets, fair housing advocates, and neighborhood associations.
Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic
The Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic (MFIA) is a law school clinic dedicated to increasing government transparency, defending the essential work of news gatherers, and protecting freedom of expression through impact litigation, direct legal services, and policy work.
Mortgage Foreclosure Litigation Clinic
Students in this clinical seminar will represent homeowners fighting foreclosure in Connecticut state courts. They will conduct motion practice and discovery, including legal research and writing.
New Haven Legal Assistance Clinic
This clinical program involves working at the New Haven Legal Assistance office, the community’s local legal aid office, providing legal services to the indigent residents of the New Haven area.
Prosecution Externship
Students in this clinical externship can earn up to 3 units of credit to assist state or federal prosecutors with their responsibilities, both before and at trial.
Samuel Jacobs Criminal Justice Clinic
Students in the Samuel Jacobs Criminal Justice Clinic ("CJC") represent defendants in criminal cases in the Geographical Area #23 courthouse (the “GA”) on Elm Street in New Haven.
San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project
The San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) is a partnership between Yale Law School and the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office.
Sol and Lillian Goldman Family Advocacy for Children and Youth Clinic
The Sol and Lillian Goldman Family, Advocacy for Children and Youth Clinic opened in spring 2003. Under the supervision of Jean Koh Peters, students represent children in neglect or uncared-for proceedings in the New Haven Superior Court for Juvenile Matters.
Supreme Court Advocacy Clinic
The Yale Supreme Court Advocacy Clinic provides clients with the highest quality pro bono representation before the Supreme Court of the United States. The Clinic maintains an active docket of cases at both the certiorari and merits stages.
Temporary Restraining Order Project
In conjunction with the Clerk's Office of the Connecticut Superior Court (New Haven County Family Division) and the Family Division of New Haven Legal Assistance, the Yale Law School Temporary Restraining Order Project (TRO) staffs an office at the courthouse to assist individuals seeking temporary restraining orders (TROs).
Transnational Development Clinic
In the Transnational Development Clinic, students work on a range of litigation and non-litigation projects designed to promote community-centered international development, with an emphasis on global poverty.
Veterans Legal Services Clinic
There are approximately 250,000 veterans currently residing in Connecticut, many with acute and unique legal needs related to their military service or return to civilian life. In this clinic, established in 2010, students have represented Connecticut veterans in litigation before administrative agencies and courts, on benefits, discharge upgrade, immigration, and pardon matters.
Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic
Students in the Worker & Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic (WIRAC) represent immigrants, low-wage workers, and their organizations in labor, immigration, criminal justice, civil rights, and other matters.
Appellate Litigation Project
Students represent pro se clients before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Under the supervision of Yale faculty and attorneys from the appellate group at Wiggin and Dana, teams of students will work on cases referred through the Pro Bono Counsel Plan for the Second Circuit.
Arbitration Project
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection provides residents with the option to resolve disputes regarding Connecticut’s New Car Lemon Law Program and the Lottery Delinquency Assessment process through arbitration. Students will oversee and resolve contested cases as arbitrators and hearing officers.
International Refugee Assistance Project
This seminar and practicum introduces students to international refugee law, with an emphasis on fieldwork. Class sessions combine project rounds with a consideration of the development and content of the international refugee legal regime, U.S. policy toward refugees, and the particulars of the Iraqi and Syrian refugee crises.
Reproductive Rights and Justice Project
Students in this project gain firsthand experience in fast-paced litigation and timely and strategic advocacy in a highly contested area of the law, confronting knotty procedural problems as well as substantive constitutional law questions in an area where established doctrine is under siege. Students advocate for reproductive health care providers and their patients, learning the vital importance of client confidentiality, as well as the impact of political movement strategy and management of press and public messaging.
San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project
The San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) is a partnership between Yale Law School and the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office.
Temporary Restraining Order Project
In conjunction with the Clerk's Office of the Connecticut Superior Court (New Haven County Family Division) and the Family Division of New Haven Legal Assistance, the Yale Law School Temporary Restraining Order Project (TRO) staffs an office at the courthouse to assist individuals seeking temporary restraining orders (TROs).
Starting Salaries (2015 Graduates Employed Full-Time)
Private sector (25th-75th percentile) | $160,000 |
Median in the private sector | $160,000 |
Median in public service | $62,476 |
Graduates known to be employed at graduation | 84.5% |
Graduates known to be employed ten months after graduation | 84.5% |
Graduates Employed In | Percentage |
Law Firms | 41.7% |
Business and Industry | 3.5% |
Government | 5.5% |
Judicial Clerkships | 39.2% |
Public Interest Organizations | 8.5% |
Academia | 1% |
Unknown | 0% |
Externships13
Prosecution Externship:
Students in this clinical externship can earn up to 3 units of credit to assist state or federal prosecutors with their responsibilities, both before and at trial. Placements are available in New Haven and surrounding cities and in a variety of fields, including misdemeanors, felonies, or specialized areas such as career criminal, traffic, or appellate work.
Internships14
Each summer the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization of Yale Law School (LSO) has a fellowship program of approximately 20-25 part and full time students, from Yale and other law schools. The 2017 program is scheduled to run from May 23 to August 18, 2017. Most students work full time (40 hours per week) for twelve weeks.