Founded in 1891, New York Law School is an independent law school located in Lower Manhattan near the city’s centers of law, government, and finance. New York Law School’s renowned faculty of prolific scholars has built the School’s strength in such areas as constitutional law, civil and human rights, labor and employment law, media and information law, tax law, real estate and urban legal studies, international law, financial services and regulation, and a number of interdisciplinary fields. The School is noted for its nine academic centers: Center on Business Law & Policy, Center on Financial Services Law, Center for International Law, Center for New York City Law, Center for Professional Values and Practice, Center for Real Estate Studies, Diane Abbey Law Center for Children and Families, Institute for Information Law & Policy, and Justice Action Center. New York Law School has more than 13,000 graduates and currently enrolls some 1,365 full-time students and 400 part-time students in its J.D. New York Law School was founded by the faculty, students, and alumni of Columbia College Law School led by their founding dean, Theodore Dwight, a major figure in the history of legal education. In 1904, the Law School established one of the nation's first evening divisions to provide those in the workforce, or with family obligations, a flexible alternative to full-time legal studies. From its inception, New York Law School's Lower Manhattan location, in the midst of the country's largest concentration of government agencies, courts, law firms, banks, corporate headquarters, and securities exchanges, has made immersion in the legal life of a great city an essential part of the School's identity and curriculum. In 2012, New York Law School, continuing its tradition of bold and innovative leadership, named Anthony W. Crowell, former Counselor to New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Board Chair of the Brooklyn Public Library, the 16th Dean and President of the Law School. Dean Crowell joined the School in May 2012 and is poised to maximize New York Law School’s strengths and bring it recognition as a leader in legal education.
