Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York . It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association as well as the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and has an affiliation agreement with University at Albany that includes shared programs. The school is located near New York's highest court, federal courts, the executive branch, and the state legislature.
24-662: It officially goes by the name Albany Law School of Union University with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education . 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
48-659: A separate entity in Pennsylvania as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education doing business as the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. On July 1, 2019, MSCHE withdrew from MSA completely. List of law schools attended by United States Supreme Court Justices The Constitution of the United States does not require that any federal judges have any particular educational or career background, but
72-703: 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 , and over a dozen members of the United States Congress also attended Albany Law School. The first woman admitted to
96-451: Is $ 234,466. Tuition is $ 43,248. In 2015, the school awarded $ 7 million in financial aid, and over 60% of first-year students received merit scholarships. 42°39′08.51″N 73°46′38.40″W / 42.6523639°N 73.7773333°W / 42.6523639; -73.7773333 Middle States Commission on Higher Education The Middle States Commission on Higher Education , abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as
120-526: Is 18%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2015 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation. Employment summary for 2016 graduates The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Albany Law School for the 2014–2015 academic year is $ 59,728. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years
144-614: Is recognized by the U.S. Department Education to accredit degree-granting institutions. Its traditional region includes the U.S. states of New York , New Jersey , Pennsylvania , Delaware , and Maryland , and Washington, D.C. and the American territories and commonwealths of Puerto Rico , and the U.S. Virgin Islands that wish to participate in Federal "Title IV" student loan programs. The commission conducts business in 48 states;
168-790: 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. For the class entering in the fall of 2022, class, 50.2% of applicants were accepted with 29.2% of those accepted enrolling,
192-612: The Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education , is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evaluation and accreditation of public and private universities and colleges in the United States and foreign higher education institutions. Its headquarters are in Wilmington, Delaware . Until federal regulations changed in July 2020, it was considered one of
216-690: The New York State Court of Appeals dating back to 1989. 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 College of Saint Rose , Union Graduate College , The Sage Colleges , University at Albany , Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical College , and Mount Sinai School of Medicine . Albany Law School also has an affiliation agreement with University at Albany that includes shared programs and access for students and faculty to learn from one another. In 1875, Albany Law published
240-608: The 50th Percentile LSAT score of enrollees being 155 and the 50th Percentile GPA being 3.48. 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
264-724: 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. Albany Law School
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#1732780907860288-548: The United States in that day, prior to his admission to the bar in 1812. However, Woodbury did not earn a law degree . Woodbury's successor on the Court, Benjamin Robbins Curtis , who received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1832, and was appointed to the Court in 1851, was the first Justice to bear such a credential. Associate Justice James F. Byrnes , whose short tenure lasted from June 1941 to October 1942,
312-488: 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
336-589: 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. Albany Law is the only law school located within 90 miles of New York's Capital District . It
360-403: The equivalent of an undergraduate level, but did not receive legal education at the graduate level, the model under which law schools in the United States are currently organized. Some justices received no education in a university setting, but were instead either trained through apprenticeships or were self-taught, as was common with many lawyers prior to the mid-20th century. This practice
384-538: The loose association today known as Union University . Each member institution has its own governing board, is fiscally independent, and is responsible for its own programs. As of 2021, there were discussions about "the continued viability of the Union University relationship." Albany Law School has a historically close relationship with the New York Court of Appeals . One of the original members of
408-494: 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: For 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked Albany Law School #105 out of 196 ranked schools. Albany Law School has one of the oldest law school rugby clubs in
432-637: 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. Full-time faculty: Adjunct faculty: Former faculty: Albany Law School has numerous notable alumni. It
456-535: The seven regional accreditation organizations dating back 130 years. The commission is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation . It accredits nearly 600 institutions, primarily in Delaware , Washington, D.C. , Maryland , New Jersey , New York , Pennsylvania , Puerto Rico , and the U.S. Virgin Islands . The Middle States Commission on Higher Education
480-472: The time, completed their legal studies by " reading law " (studying under and acting as an apprentice to more experienced attorneys) rather than attending a formal program. The first Justice to be appointed who had attended an actual law school was Levi Woodbury , appointed to the Court in 1846. Woodbury had attended Tapping Reeve Law School in Litchfield, Connecticut , the most prestigious law school in
504-541: The two exceptions are Montana and North Dakota , two U.S. territories, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands , and Washington, D.C. . It operates in 94 countries. MSCHE grew out of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA), an organization established in 1887 to improve education using evaluation and accreditation. MSCHE itself was established in 1919 and was one of three commissions of MSA until 2013 when MSCHE incorporated as
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#1732780907860528-440: The work of the Court involves complex questions of law – ranging from constitutional law to administrative law to admiralty law – and consequentially, a legal education has become a de facto prerequisite to appointment on the United States Supreme Court . Every person who has been nominated to the Court has been an attorney . Before the advent of modern law schools in the United States , justices, like most attorneys of
552-701: Was ranked 106th in U.S. News & World Report ' s 2018 ranking of law schools. The winter 2016 issue of preLaw magazine ranked Albany Law number 1 for government careers, citing its "A" grades in curriculum and employment, and number 6 for public defender and prosecutor jobs. According to Albany Law School's 2016 ABA-required disclosures, 81% of the class of 2016 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment ten months after graduation. 126 of 151 graduates obtained full-time, long-term work and 4 graduates obtained either part-time short-term, part-time long-term or full-time short-term positions. Albany Law School's 2016 Law School Transparency under-employment score
576-493: Was the last Justice without a law degree to be appointed; Stanley Forman Reed , who served on the Court from 1938 to 1957, was the last sitting Justice from such a background. In total, of the 114 justices appointed to the Court, 49 have had law degrees, an additional 18 attended some law school but did not receive a degree, and 47 received their legal education without any law school attendance. Currently serving justices are listed in bold below. These justices were educated at
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