Your Future
“We train versatile professionals to forge a just society— leaders who are intellectually adventurous, emotionally intelligent, and actively engaged in solving the world’s problems.” GILLIAN LESTER DEAN AND THE LUCY G. MOSES PROFESSOR OF LAW
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Your Academic Life
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Your City
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Your Community
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Your Career
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Our Curriculum
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Financial Resources
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Dates and Deadlines
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The world looks to Columbia Law. For more than 160 years, the unique confluence of our unparalleled location, intellectual vitality, and innovative spirit has prepared Columbia graduates to guide society forward.
Be ready when the world looks to you. Live in the world’s most dynamic city. Learn from top-notch legal scholars deeply engaged with real-world issues. Connect with exceptional classmates and a global alumni community. Lead the way through a fulfilling career in any field you choose.
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Your Academ Life 4
mic To study at Columbia Law School is to immerse yourself in an intellectually challenging environment with all the benefits of a great university. Your classes will be taught by professors who are leading authorities in their fields of study. You will develop practical lawyering skills by participating in clinics, externships, simulations, and policy labs. You will find opportunities to collaborate with scholars and practitioners to tackle real-world challenges through advocacy, data science, and litigation. You will learn to think critically and responsibly about the law and its impact on individual lives, judicial institutions, and global affairs.
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AREAS OF STUDY
Explore our rich curriculum and curate your law school experience around our robust areas of study. Regardless of your chosen path, you’ll be guided, both in and out of the classroom, by world-class faculty who shape the law and public discourse on today’s most important global issues. You will also have access to experiential learning opportunities— through clinics, centers, externships, and more— to gain real experience tied to your legal interests. Find related faculty, courses, and clinics, and learn more about each area of study: law.columbia.edu/areas-of-study.
“Everyone is familiar with Columbia Law School’s reputation for talent and excellence among its students, faculty, and staff. But what you can’t see from the outside is the depth of engagement, thoughtfulness, and creativity flowing through Jerome L. Greene Hall.” PROFESSOR COLLEEN SHANAHAN ’03 FOUNDER OF COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL’S COMMUNITY ADVOCACY LAB
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The Constitution is a source of both stability and conflict in American society. Understanding the ways it is interpreted, debated, and implemented is essential for Constitutional Law, lawyers. Columbia Law Regulation, and Public Policy School is home to an ideologically diverse group of influential constitutional and administrative law scholars. Students gain a thorough understanding of constitutional law and history, the development and implementation of legislation and regulation, the role of the judiciary as the guardian of rights under the Constitution and civil rights acts, and comparative perspectives on constitutional law. Through the Center for Constitutional Governance and the Knight First Amendment Institute, students can engage with each other and legal thought leaders. The shifting legal landscape for businesses demands lawyers who are agile advisers, strategists, and problem-solvers. Law School faculty members are known Corporate, Business, and for their groundbreakTransactional Law ing scholarship and advisory roles in areas such as bankruptcy, contracts, fintech, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, securities regulation, taxes, and more. Students get experience through externships and clinics and can serve as research fellows in centers, such as the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Governance, and participate in interdisciplinary Deals Workshops taught by lawyers from top New York firms.
COMMUNITY ADVOCACY LAB
In this clinic, students promote social justice as creative researchers and strategic planners. Representing community groups, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies, they employ an expansive range of approaches beyond litigation to create a more just legal system. Recent projects have involved issues such as juvenile justice reform, public housing law, and workers’ rights. law.columbia.edu/community-advocacy-lab
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Any criminal justice system is imperfect but also an essential part of creating a well-functioning civil society. Columbia Law faculty examine criminal justice issues holistically, Criminal Justice raising questions about race, gender, socioeconomic status, and geography. Students contribute to real, timely cases that advance crucial reforms in areas such as cash bail, mass incarceration, sentencing, juvenile justice, and capital punishment. They also work on research projects that use data analytics to study crime rates and policing methodologies. Technology is revolutionizing the practice of law and the administration of justice. Today’s lawyers require fluency with cutting-edge technological tools, the skills to compile and analyze large data, and the ability to interpret findings for a broad Data Analytics audience. Columbia Law professors are leaders of integrating data analytics into legal research and practice. They employ state-ofthe-art data science methodologies in research across a range of disciplines, from securities law to criminal justice. Students benefit from their knowledge in the classroom and through the Empirical Legal Studies Lab, Columbia’s Data Science Institute, and other labs, institutes, and experiential learning programs. Protecting the environment requires leveraging tools that exist in a broad range of legal areas—including corporate, real estate, intellectual property, tax, criminal, and contracts law. The law not only shapes how governEnvironment and Energy ments, corporations, and nongovernmental organizations address threats to the planet and humanity, but it also empowers at-risk groups, such as climate refugees. Students engage with scholars and practitioners who have spent decades working in environmental litigation and advocacy to safeguard the planet. Columbia is also home to groundbreaking centers, clinics, and institutes—the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, the Environmental Law Clinic, the Earth Institute, and others—finding new ways to respond to environmental threats.
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“I chose Columbia Law because it presented an opportunity for a top legal education in an amazing city. In addition to having a rich curriculum that covers a wide array of legal topics, Columbia has knowledgeable faculty members who are approachable and willing to chat about their research with interested students.” ALEXIS DANIELLE CAMPBELL ’20
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Some of the most profound questions of justice and equality involve the ways in which the private lives of individuals intersect with modern notions of gender, sexuality, and family. Family, Gender, Columbia Law School pioneered and Sexuality the study of gender and sexuality law in the 1970s, when thenProfessor Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’59 introduced the first-of-itskind Sex Discrimination Law seminar. Today, students take a wide variety of courses covering family law as well as the cultural, political, and historical contexts of LGBTQ+ rights, queer theory, and sexual rights claims. Intellectual property (IP) and technology law—including patents, unfair competition, and antitrust—has become one of the most exciting and controversial areas of law; it is a critical area of study for lawyers advising on artistic or scientific endeavors. Law School faculty continue to lead the debate over potential antitrust action against big tech Intellectual Property firms. Through simulations and Technology and externships, students gain practice negotiating and drafting IP agreements and serving as counsel to emerging digital businesses. They can also draw on resources such as the Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts.
CENTER FOR GENDER AND SEXUALITY LAW
With its mission to formulate new approaches to complex issues facing gender and sexual justice movements, the center has helped establish Columbia Law School as the preeminent institution for the study of and specialization in the law of gender and sexuality. Students can supplement their coursework by taking advantage of the center’s lectures, panel discussions, conferences, and guest speaker series on a multitude of contemporary topics. law.columbia.edu/center-gender-sexuality
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“Scholars are more useful the closer they are to the facts of the world. New York City—a major market for commerce, communications, and science— is fertile ground for scholarship and practice in IP law and technology.” PROFESSOR TIM WU AUTHOR OF THE CURSE OF BIGNESS: ANTITRUST IN THE NEW GILDED AGE
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To work as a lawyer in a multinational arena requires an indepth understanding of distinct legal systems and cultures. Columbia Law remains at the forefront of scholarInternational and ship and policy on global Comparative Law human rights advocacy, international corporate and antitrust law, economic migration, and global governance. The Law School is the only institution of its kind with three centers focused on Asian law: Chinese Legal Studies, Japanese Legal Studies, and Korean Legal Studies. In addition, centers and programs host prominent thinkers, take on pressing policy issues, and enable students to collaborate with faculty on groundbreaking research that influences the development of law around the globe.
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STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS
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COUNTRIES
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INTERNATIONAL DUAL-DEGREE PROGRAMS
We live in the age of the gig economy and globalized labor. Questions surrounding regulations in the workplace, relationships between the individual and the employer, and even the very definition of “employee” significantly Law of the Workplace impact society and quality of life. Labor and employment law are central to these conversations. Columbia Law School gives students the opportunity to immerse themselves in this rapidly changing field and to debate new issues facing the world’s workplaces and workforce (for example, is Uber a workplace or technology?). They also can advocate for the rights of workers through externships and in the Human Rights and Immigrants’ Rights Clinics.
INTERNATIONAL DUAL-DEGREE PROGRAMS AND STUDY ABROAD
Students can choose from more than two dozen international study options offered by some of the world’s major centers of legal scholarship. Through partnerships with universities in Paris, London, and Frankfurt, they can earn two law degrees in approximately the same amount of time as one and at no additional cost. The Law School also offers study abroad and Global Alliance opportunities to supplement legal studies at Columbia. law.columbia.edu/study-abroad-international-dual-degrees
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“Cybersecurity is an area where interdisciplinary research and the search for solutions are critical because the problems are partly technical, they are partly political, and they are partly legal. At Columbia we have thinkers from all of those disciplines coming together.” PROFESSOR MATTHEW WAXMAN FACULTY CHAIR, NATIONAL SECURITY LAW PROGRAM
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The role of a lawyer is to advocate, persuade, engage in difficult conversations, and work with others to resolve conflicts or to achieve a common goal. In short, lawyers must lead. Acquiring a core set of skills can transform lawyers into Leadership strategic and creative thinkers with the vision to change the world for the better. Through the Davis Polk Leadership Initiative, the Reuben Mark Initiative for Organizational Character and Leadership, and other programs, Columbia Law offers courses, workshops, and professional development opportunities to teach students to be leaders in both the private and public sectors. Modern systems of justice are shaped by the history of the law. All students benefit from the Law School’s legal history curriculum, whether they are seeking to round out their legal education or pursuing an in-depth investigation of Legal History law and legal institutions in social, political, cultural, and economic currents across place and time. Students examine a broad range of topics, including American legal and constitutional history, English legal history, the legal history of American slavery, the history of the American bail system, the constitutional history of the American empire, the history of criminal law and justice, the legal history of civil liberties, and more. The ranks of faculty working in legal history have grown steadily as the field has flourished at Columbia Law. To successfully represent their clients, lawyers must determine the best method to resolve a civil or criminal dispute. The prospect of arguing a case in a courtroom is what Litigation and attracts many students to Dispute Resolution law: It involves strategy, advocacy, rhetorical skills, and knowledge of procedure and law, and it covers a wide range of legal areas. Corporations and jurisdictions in the United States and abroad also turn to arbitration, mediation, and negotiation for dispute resolution. Students explore these areas under the guidance of expert faculty. Courses in litigation strategy and “thinking like a litigator� along with simulations, including the popular Negotiation Workshop, enable students to test their skills and knowledge.
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“The Law School allows me to explore what Columbia and New York City have to offer outside of the traditional law school classroom through the greater university and experiential learning programs.” AUSTIN E. COLLIER ’21
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The evolving—and often competing—demands of national security, commerce, and privacy affect nearly every area of our lives. Understanding these complexities is critical for lawyers planning to operate in the public sphere. Led by faculty with senior government experience on both sides of the National Security aisle, Columbia’s curriculum and Privacy in national security law and privacy immerses students in the legal and constitutional intricacies posed by government intelligence gathering, use of military force, surveillance, cybersecurity threats, military courts, and other related post9/11 challenges. Students also participate in the National Security Law Program, the student-run National Security Law Society, and the Knight First Amendment Institute. Lawyers serving the public interest are powerful advocates for economic opportunity, criminal justice reform, racial justice, gender equality, immigrants’ rights, and more. Since the end of World War II and from the early Social Justice and days of the U.S. civil rights Human Rights movement, Columbia Law faculty and alumni have occupied pivotal roles in social justice and human rights organizations, such as the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the United Nations, and Amnesty International. The Law School continues to equip lawyers to use their skills for creating positive change and serving as leaders in the field.
HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTE
Founded in 1998, the Human Rights Institute (HRI) is one of the oldest and largest law school human rights centers in the world. HRI advances international human rights through education, advocacy, fact-finding, research, and scholarship. Partnering with communities and organizations, HRI promotes justice and accountability for human rights violations, strengthens human rights law and institutions, and builds collective power. For example, students have traveled to the Central African Republic to help a nongovernmental agency document war crimes and advocated for policy changes related to gender equity and racial justice in the United States. law.columbia.edu/hri
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STUDENTS WORKED AT DOMESTIC PUBLIC INTEREST, GOVERNMENT, OR JUDICIAL INTERNSHIPS THROUGH THE GUARANTEED SUMMER FUNDING PROGRAM IN 2020.
“You need a faculty that values what’s going on in the real world and that is interested in building places of reflection about the law. Columbia excels in making the connection between the classroom and practice.” PROFESSOR OLATUNDE JOHNSON LEGISLATION AND CIVIL RIGHTS EXPERT
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RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP
Columbia Law School’s vibrant intellectual life fosters a rich exchange of ideas, both in and out of the classroom. Students work with faculty on research that advances the understanding and application of law in the United States and around the world.
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JOURNALS AND LAW REVIEWS
The American Review of International Arbitration Columbia Business Law Review Columbia Human Rights Law Review
Columbia Journal of Asian Law Columbia Journal of Environmental Law Columbia Journal of European Law Columbia Journal of Gender and Law
Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems The Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts Columbia Journal of Race and Law
Columbia Journal of Tax Law Columbia Journal of Transnational Law Columbia Law Review The Columbia Science and Technology Law Review
Our faculty are leading scholars and thinkers who respond to the most urgent challenges of our time. Their work shapes policy and influences the world’s most powerful public and private institutions. The Law School’s specialized research centers and programs also bring students together with renowned theorists, practitioners, CEOs, judges, and policymakers to address a wide range of contemporary issues, including repercussions of COVID-19 and immigrants’ rights. Our centers regularly convene in-person and virtual conferences and symposia—often hosting leaders from government agencies, law firms, and NGOs—and invite students to serve as research assistants and co-authors on pressing issues of the day. Columbia’s student-run law reviews and specialized journals, many of which are the top publications in their areas, enable students to immerse themselves in scholarship of the highest quality.
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“Our students have an extraordinary array of options for finding an intellectual home here. Every day I see them working alongside their faculty mentors, making an impact on issues they care about, and seeking out new ideas and new challenges. It’s a joy and a privilege to teach—and to learn from— such talented students.” PROFESSOR BERT HUANG 2020 RECIPIENT OF THE REESE PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
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CENTERS AND PROGRAMS
American Constitution Society
Center for Israeli Legal Studies
Center for Chinese Legal Studies
Center for Japanese Legal Studies
Center for Constitutional Governance
Center for Korean Legal Studies
Center for Contract and Economic Organization Center for Gender and Sexuality Law Center for Institutional and Social Change Center for International Commercial and Investment Arbitration Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies
Center for Law and Economic Studies Center for Law and Liberty Center for Law and Philosophy Center for Public Research and Leadership Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity Center for the Study of Law and Culture
Center on Corporate Governance
Human Rights Institute
Center on Global Governance
Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership
Center on Global Legal Transformation
Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts
The Charles Evans Gerber Transactional Studies Center
National Security Law Program
Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Columbia Law School Mindfulness Program Davis Polk Leadership Initiative The Earth Institute at Columbia University European Legal Studies Center
Program in the Law and Economics of Capital Markets The Reuben Mark Initiative for Organizational Character and Leadership Richard Paul Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
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PUBLIC INTEREST AND PUBLIC SERVICE
At Columbia Law School, we believe that every legal professional has a responsibility to serve, whether through human rights or social justice advocacy, a career in government or at a nonprofit, or pro bono lawyering at a private firm. Our faculty members are renowned scholars with extensive experience in public interest and public service. They design courses and seminars that equip students with innovative approaches to advocate for social justice as well as impart substantive knowledge of the law. In addition to the robust curriculum, students do hands-on work through clinics, externships, internships, and research. Columbia is home to important centers such as the Center for Public Research and Leadership, highly regarded academic journals such as the Human Rights Law Review, and pro bono initiatives such as A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual, a guide for prisoners pursuing claims pro se. Student organizations help the community flourish by hosting service projects and events and coordinating mentoring programs. And the recently created three-year Public Interest/Public Service Fellows Program provides students with peer and faculty mentoring, occasions to connect with practitioners and alumni, and end-to-end career counseling to prepare for the competitive public service jobs market. Our diverse public interest community is anchored by the Office of Social Justice Initiatives (SJI). SJI brings leading advocates to campus and provides support to students and graduates in pursuing public sector career and professional development opportunities. SJI administers our Guaranteed Summer Funding Program, which provides funding for summer internships in the public sector and counsels students who want to take advantage of Columbia’s generous Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), and our Human Rights Internship Program, which funds students to spend summers working on human rights issues all over the world. (For information on LRAP, see page 53.) 20
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29,758
HOURS OF PRO BONO SERVICE PERFORMED BY CLASS OF 2019 STUDENTS
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SPRING BREAK PRO BONO CARAVANS IN 16 U.S. CITIES AND FOUR OTHER COUNTRIES IN 2019
During week-long spring break pro bono caravans, students are immersed in an intensive legal experience volunteering at public interest organizations in the United States and abroad. Left: Students traveled to Alaska to provide free legal services to an organization serving low-income residents. Below: A team of students and faculty worked with scientists to investigate human rights abuses in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea.
“Columbia has perhaps the most generous LRAP program, and that alone is going to allow me to do what I am passionate about: Go straight into public service.� SUZ KROEBER ’21
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EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Experiential learning is infused into every piece of our curriculum; it’s a fundamental way we ensure that students become proactive, effective, and ethical lawyers. From clinics and externships to simulations, labs, and workshops, experiential learning is central to a Columbia Law education. Our moot court program gives students experience with timely issues in social justice, environmental, intellectual property, and gender identity law. Under the guidance of full-time faculty members and distinguished practitioners, students gain hands-on training that prepares them for leadership roles in a variety of settings, including firms, nonprofits, government agencies, and academia.
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Arts and Entertainment Law Civil Litigation: Employment Civil Needs of Domestic Violence Survivors With Sanctuary for Families Constitutional Rights in Life and Death Penalty Cases Copyright Dispute Resolution Criminal Appeals Criminal Prosecution: District Attorney’s Office, Manhattan/ Brooklyn Domestic Violence Prosecution Federal Appellate Court Federal Court Clerk: EDNY, SDNY Federal Government: Semester in Washington, D.C. Federal Prosecution: U.S. Attorney’s Office, EDNY, SDNY, DNJ Holistic Defense With the Bronx Defenders
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EXTERNSHIPS
Immigration Defense Immigration Law and the Family Court In-House Counsel Knight First Amendment Institute Law, Power, and Social Change Lawyering for Social Justice (Pro Bono Scholars Program) NAACP Racial Justice Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem Community Defense New York Attorney General’s Office Antitrust Enforcement New York Attorney General’s Office Financial Enforcement and Economic Justice New York Attorney General’s Office Social and Environmental Justice Representing NYC: New York City Law Department United Nations Wills, Trusts, and Estates
SIMULATIONS
Advanced Bankruptcy: Deals and Issues in the Current Environment Advanced Legal Research Techniques Advanced Negotiation Workshop Advanced Trial Practice American Litigation Practice Appellate Advocacy Bioethics Mediation Construction Industry Law: Transactional Practice, Dispute Avoidance, and Resolution Counseling the Digital Innovator Deals Deals Litigation Deals Workshop Deals Workshop: Acquisition and Corporate Finance Deals Workshop: Acquisition Finance Deals Workshop: Dealmaking in Mergers and Acquisitions Deals Workshop: Mergers and Acquisition Transactions
Deals Workshop: Public Mergers and Acquisitions Deals Workshop: Transactional Legal Strategies Electronic Evidence and Discovery Workshop Empirical Studies Lab Entrepreneurship Environmental Issues in Business Transactions IP Transactional Practice: Counseling, Negotiating, and Drafting Law and Finance in Theory and Practice Experiential Lab Law and Theatre Negotiation Workshop Negotiation Workshop: International Negotiation Practicing International Law Pretrial Commercial Litigation Real Estate M&A and Restructuring Deals Workshop Thinking Like a Litigator Trial Practice
“At Columbia Law School, students do substantive legal work in classes, clinics, and externships where our studies are applied to real-world issues. It’s exciting to see that the work I do has an impact.” UDOKA OKAFOR ’20
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CLINICS
Community Advocacy Lab Entrepreneurship and Community Development Environmental Law Human Rights Immigrants’ Rights Lawyering in the Digital Age Mediation Sexuality and Gender Law
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PRACTICUMS/POLICY LABS
Abolition: A Social Justice Practicum Capital Post Conviction Defense Practicum International Arbitration Lawyer Leadership: Leading Self, Leading Others, Leading Change Structural Change in Public Education Policy and Social Change Lab
* Experiential learning options subject to change. Examples listed were offered in 2019–2020 and fall 2020.
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YOUR UNIVERSITY
As a student at Columbia Law School, you will have access to the vast curricular and extracurricular resources of a historic Ivy League university. You will study side by side with students and scholars from around the world. In taking courses at other Columbia graduate schools, you will have the opportunity to leverage your law school education and to pursue alternative legal careers in the arts, diplomacy, finance, journalism, public health, technology, or urban planning. You will learn from renowned professors in an environment where innovation, excellence, and integrity are core values. Students also have a multitude of interdisciplinary options through events and study with the Data Science Institute, the Earth Institute, the Knight First Amendment Institute, and other university centers.
DUAL AND JOINT DEGREES
Columbia University’s outstanding graduate and professional schools provide law students with abundant opportunities to engage in interdisciplinary study and collaboration. Options at another graduate or professional school are available on an ad hoc basis. (For information on international dual degrees, see page 12.) law.columbia.edu/dual-degrees Business School MBA, three- and four-year programs Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation M.S. in urban planning
School of International and Public Affairs M.I.A., M.P.A., and special programs
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Ph.D. in select programs
School of Social Work M.S.W.
Journalism School M.S.
School of the Arts M.F.A. in theater management and producing
Mailman School of Public Health M.P.H.
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Princeton School of Public and International Affairs M.P.A.
Above: George and Amal Clooney (center), co-presidents of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, launched the TrialWatch initiative at the Law School in 2019. Bottom: Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch spoke at the annual Constance Baker Motley Gala in 2020.
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Your City 26
When you come to Columbia Law School, you become a New Yorker. You will take pride in your new home—the world’s most diverse and vibrant city—the crossroads of culture, finance, advocacy, media, and law.
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YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Home is Morningside Heights on Manhattan’s historic Upper West Side, a friendly community with the vibe of a traditional college town. Everything you will need for a full life is within walking distance: You will run into classmates and professors at the biweekly farmers market or at one of the countless restaurants in nearby Harlem, and you can find tranquility and recreational options at one of the three magnificent parks surrounding Columbia’s iconic campus.
YOUR OPPORTUNITIES
During the school year, venturing beyond Columbia on foot or by bike, subway, or bus is easy. It’s a short trip to your externship at the United Nations or a federal court, your internship at a district attorney’s office or the national headquarters of the ACLU or NAACP, or your job interview at a top law firm or nonprofit.
YOUR LEISURE TIME
Live, learn, and play in the greatest city in the world. From attending cultural activities and sporting events to exploring the city and its hidden gems, you’ll have endless possibilities in your free time.
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“Whatever you could possibly want to do with a law degree, Columbia’s alumni, staff, and, to a greater extent, New York will allow you to get there.” ISAIAH STRONG ’22
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IN THE HEART OF IT ALL
New York is the epicenter of law, business, and culture—federal courthouses, the financial exchanges, and myriad museums, theaters, and restaurants. At Columbia Law you can dive into a world of new experiences.
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APOLLO THEATER Morningside Park
COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL
Riverside Park
LaGuardia Airport
Central Park NEW JERSEY
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
LINCOLN CENTER
Newark Liberty International Airport
TIMES SQUARE PENN STATION
GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL UNITED NATIONS QUEENS
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
MANHATTAN
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE 2ND CIRCUIT
BROOKLYN
U.S. DISTRICT COURT (SDNY)
NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
U.S. DISTRICT COURT (EDNY)
John F. Kennedy International 31 Airport
Your Commu
Columbia Law School fosters an ethos of inclusion and collaboration in a supportive, student-centered environment. Your remarkable classmates and professors will inspire you with their fierce intelligence and determination to make a difference. They will be your allies, mentors, and lifelong friends.
unity
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YOUR CLASSMATES
Columbia Law School students have a zeal for learning, a commitment to excellence, and a resolve to effect change in the world. They are endlessly curious, imaginative, mindful, and resourceful. Their broad range of backgrounds and experiences is integral to the social and intellectual life of our community.
Student Profile 48% 42%
WOMEN
STUDENTS OF COLOR
14% INTERNATIONAL
200+ COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
100+ UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS
8%
OF STUDENTS HAVE A GRADUATE DEGREE
81
LANGUAGES SPOKEN/READ
REGIONAL BREAKDOWN
45
STATES + D.C.
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35
COUNTRIES ACROSS SIX CONTINENTS
AS REPRESENTED BY THE ENTERING J.D. CLASSES OF 2017, 2018, AND 2019 IN ATTENDANCE DURING THE 2019–2020 ACADEMIC YEAR
“My class and the school at large are full of razor-sharp people with incredible and diverse backgrounds. It has been a great privilege and pleasure to get to know them.” EITAN AROM ’21
“This is my first time in an academic setting where I have instantly felt a part of a larger community. . . . Columbia does an amazing job of making sure that you feel support from both the institution and your peers.” ALLEGRA COLLINS ’22
“The first word that comes to mind when I think about the CLS community is ‘diversity’ not just in terms of racial or ethnic diversity, but the student body encompasses a wide spectrum of worldviews and lived experiences. . . . I often find these student perspectives challenge my own views and beliefs in a way that helps me grow and sharpen my own analytical reasoning.” MARINA A. HERNANDEZ ’20
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STUDENT LIFE
You will have endless opportunities to bond with your extraordinary classmates. Students come together for study and sports, for parties and pro bono work, and for exploration of New York City. You will make connections and friendships that will enrich, and likely define, your Columbia Law experience and beyond.
85+
S TUDENT GROUPS, INCLUDING
American Constitution Society Asian Pacific American Law Students Association Black Law Students Association Columbia International Arbitration Association Columbia Law and Entrepreneurship Society Columbia Law Couples and Family Association Columbia Law First Generation Professionals Columbia Law for Disability Rights Columbia Law School Military Association Columbia Law School Women’s Association Columbia Society of International Law Empowering Women of Color Federalist Society Latinx Law Students Association Middle Eastern Law Students Association Muslim Law Students Association National Security Law Society Native American Law Students Association OutLaws (LGBTQ+ students) Public Interest Law Foundation Queer and Trans People of Color Society for Immigrant and Refugee Rights South Asian Law Students Association
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From top: Columbia Law and NYU School of Law face off annually in the Deans’ Cup basketball game. Students perform in the Columbia Law Revue, a comedic musical satire of the school and the legal profession. For 26 years, the Black Law Students Association has honored civil rights advocate Paul Robeson ’23 at its annual gala.
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Your Career
A Columbia Law School education prepares you to lead. Whether you envision yourself at a law firm, a district attorney’s office, a startup, or an international NGO, your Columbia degree positions you for success.
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GUIDING YOUR FUTURE
Columbia Law career advisers are with you from the beginning, providing career and professional development counseling that continues through your time in law school and beyond graduation. Our extensive alumni network and close connections with leading employers provide unrivaled access to a world of opportunities. The Office of Social Justice Initiatives (SJI) serves as the hub for career advising, pro bono options, and an array of events to support students and alumni pursuing public interest and public service. SJI helps students Public Interest and apply for fellowships Public Service and offers funding for first- and secondyear students to work for public interest organizations and government agencies. SJI regularly invites leading public servants and social justice advocates to speak on campus and hosts networking events and career skills workshops. SJI also oversees the Public Interest/Public Service Fellows Program. Columbia Law’s Office of Career Services and Professional Development helps students and graduates explore opportunities in top law firms and businesses around the world. From global firms to boutique firms, from multinational corporations to Silicon Valley startups, our counseling team will assist you in developing a career road map tailored to your Private Sector goals, passions, and geographic preferences. From editing résumés to conducting mock interviews, they will guide you every step of the way. Through interview programs held every year, prestigious law firms and organizations in New York City and other major legal centers interview our students for sought-after positions.
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YOUR NETWORK: MORE THAN
27,000 ALUMNI IN
119
COUNTRIES
Nike General Counsel Hilary Krane taught a four-week course as part of her role as visiting Leader-inResidence in 2019.
“Columbia shaped and enriched my life in ways that I am still realizing and continuing to appreciate.” ERIC HOLDER JR. CC ’73, LAW ’76 82ND ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES
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One of the best ways to build a solid foundation for your legal career is by securing a clerkship in a state or federal court. At Columbia, we have a staff dedicated solely to clerkship counseling. The Office of Judicial Clerkships offers a variety Judicial of programs in which judges, faculty, Clerkships and alumni share information about opportunities and experiences. In any given year, at least 100 Columbia Law School graduates begin judicial clerkships around the country. For graduates seeking careers in the legal academy, our Careers in Law Teaching Program provides training and expert guidance. Professors work with Academic Careers students and graduates to develop their individual research agenda and scholarship in preparation for an academic career. Our semester- and yearlong postgraduate fellowship programs enable fellows to participate in the intellectual life of the Law School and serve as a springboard for prestigious jobs at leading law schools around the world.
RECENT GRADUATE TEACHING PLACEMENTS
Boston College Law School Brigham Young University Law School Columbia Law School Cornell Law School Georgetown University Law Center The George Washington University Law School Harvard Law School King’s College London Princeton University Santa Clara Law School University of California Berkeley School of Law
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University of Pennsylvania Law School University of Richmond School of Law University of Texas at Austin School of Law University of Washington School of Law Villanova Law School Wake Forest University Law School Washington College of Law at American University William and Mary Law School
98.8%
OF 2019 GRADUATES EMPLOYED 10 MONTHS AFTER GRADUATION
Law Firm 82.6% Public Interest 5.9% Government and Clerkships 10.8% Business 0.7%
“I would not have had the opportunities I was privileged to experience without the dedicated contingent of Columbia professors in my corner.” ALYSSA BARNARD-YANNI ’15
Barnard-Yanni, an associate at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, served as clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’59 in 2019. Previously, she clerked for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.
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Our Curricu 44
ulum Columbia Law School offers innovative courses in both emerging and traditional areas of law. The faculty continually develop new seminars and workshops to address urgent legal issues and to prepare students for the complexities of lawyering in an increasingly globalized world.
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FIRST-YEAR FOUNDATION CURRICULUM Civil Procedure
Students are introduced to the principal elements of the civil litigation process, including the major phases of a lawsuit, issues of standing and jurisdiction, the effects of prior adjudication, the role of the jury, and alternatives to formal adjudication. This course also covers pleadings, discovery, pretrial adjudication, pre- and post-trial motions, and remedies such as injunctions and punitive damages. Constitutional Law
This course explores the architecture of the Constitution, the American tradition of judicial review, and theories of constitutional interpretation and enforcement. Students learn about the individual and group rights afforded by the Constitution, its amendments, and two centuries of judicial interpretation, and they consider the foundations of constitutional consent, authorization, and limitations on states and the federal government, including separation of powers. Contracts
Contract law examines the nature of promises. Students explore how contracts are formed, interpreted, breached, and enforced. Contracts are considered within a range of contexts, such as the sale of goods or land and employment or family agreements. The legal doctrines governing contracts are also discussed in light of theories of justice, economic analysis, and other frameworks for evaluating public policy. Criminal Law
Defining and administering the penal code is at the forefront of policy debates across the United States. This course considers crimes and defense strategies in light of the purposes of punishment (e.g., deterrence or retribution), the application and adjudication of law by the judicial system, and the role of criminal sanctions in modern society. The course also addresses the intersection of criminal law with criminology, jurisprudence, and social theory. Foundation-Year Moot Court
To help students develop the core skills of legal practice, such as writing and delivering an argument, the Foundation-Year Moot Court requires each student to write a legal brief and argue the case orally in front of a panel of judges. Students also may choose to participate in one of many approved extramural moot court competitions in specialized areas of law, such as international or intellectual property.
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Legal Methods I and II
Legal Methods I offers an intensive introduction to the legal system and case analysis. All students take Legal Methods I, and each section shares a virtually uniform curriculum. Legal Methods II builds on that introduction, exposing students to important legal methods and jurisprudential, ethical, social, or cultural perspectives relevant to different areas of the law. Students have the opportunity to choose which section of Legal Methods II they take, depending on their own intellectual and professional interests. Legal Practice Workshop I and II
In the fall semester, students are given intensive training in the research, writing, and analytical skills needed in legal practice through written assignments situated in practice contexts, seminar discussions, and personal conferences. The second part of the workshop, in the spring, emphasizes appellate advocacy. Students research, write, and argue an appellate brief through the Foundation-Year Moot Court program or one of the alternative extramural competitions. Property
As a core social institution, property law poses fundamental questions about efficiency, fairness, the distribution of wealth, and the tension between public and private rights. This course examines the history and theory of ownership, government regulation, and the legal devices for allocation and development of resources. Questions about ownership of intellectual property (such as artistic and digital creations) are considered, and emerging issues, such as the ownership of body parts and cyberspace, also are explored. Torts
Tort law focuses on the common-law doctrines and precedents that assign duties of care and liability for noncontractual wrongs. This course considers negligence, the role of custom, malpractice, emotional and economic harm, causation, strict liability, products liability, nuisances, damages, defenses, and alternatives to litigation.
FIRST-YEAR ELECTIVE COURSE OPTIONS First-year students can choose one elective course during the spring semester. Recent offerings have included the following: Corporations
Law and Contemporary Society
Empirical Analysis of Law
Law and Legal Institutions in China
Federal Income Taxation
Lawyering for Change
Ideas of the First Amendment
Legislation and Regulation
International Law
Transnational Litigation
Labor Law
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UPPERCLASS CURRICULUM The following list of courses and seminars constitutes the course of study originally approved by the Faculty of Law for the academic years 2018–2019, 2019–2020, and fall 2020. You can expect some changes to be made. To view the official and updated course of study, please consult our online curriculum guide (law.columbia.edu/ courses), where you will find comprehensive descriptions of the curriculum, special programs, law journals, and opportunities for independent study, community externships, court clerkships, and moot court experiences. Constitutional Law, Regulation, and Public Policy Administrative Law Advanced Administrative Law Advanced Constitutional Law: First Amendment Advanced Constitutional Law: Religious Liberty Advanced Constitutional Law: Separation of Powers Comparative Constitutional Law Constitutional Governance Constitution and Foreign Affairs Drug Product Liability Litigation Energy Regulation Federal Courts Health Law Ideas of the First Amendment Information Privacy Land Use Law of the Political Process Military Law and the Constitution Modern Constitutional Interpretation and Scholarship Reproductive Rights and Practices State and Local Government Law Topics in Education Law Unfair Competition and Related Topics in Intellectual Property Seminars: Adolescence Advanced Constitutional Law: Reading the Constitution Advanced Issues in the First Amendment American Jurisprudence: Judicial Interpretation and the Role of Courts The Antimonopoly Tradition: Law, Policy and History Bioethics Mediation Church and State Congress in American Foreign and Defense Policy The Constitution Constitutional Design in Post-Conflict Democracies Constitutional Ideas of the Founding Era Constitutional War Powers The Crisis of Constitutional Democracy Current Issues in Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Democracy and Distribution Drugs, Law, and Policy Food Law and Policy
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Freedom: Individual, Political, and Academic The Future of Administrative Law: Regulatory Innovation and Judicial Review Genetics and the Law Illiberal Constitutionalism and the Future of Constitutional Democracy Innovation and Judicial Review Intelligence Law Jewish Law and Ethics: Biomedical Ethics Law and Regulation of Social Media Legal Interpretation Media Law Mental Health Law Political Theory and the First Amendment Presidential Impeachment Private Law, Public Health: Uses and Limits of Tort Law for Advancing Public Health Regulation and Intermediation: Unearthing Old Ideas to Address New Challenges The Roberts Court September 11 and the Rights of Noncitizens Social and Legal Regulation of Firearms Supreme Court Corporate, Business, and Transactional Law Advanced Corporate Law Advanced Corporate Law: Mergers and Acquisitions American Contract Law American Corporate Law Antitrust and Trade Regulation Bankruptcy Law Behavioral Law and Economics Biases and Behavioral Economics in Legal Institutions Capital Markets Regulation Commercial Finance Complex Deal Structuring: Spin-offs and IPOs Contracts and Economic Organization Corporate Finance Corporate Finance and Valuation Corporate Reorganization and Bankruptcy Corporate Taxation Corporations Deals Economics, Law, and Public Policy Federal Income Taxation Financial Crises, Regulatory Responses
Financial Statement Analysis and Interpretation International Securities Regulation International Taxation Law and Economics Law and Finance in Theory and Practice Litigation, Economics, and Statistics Mergers and Acquisitions Negotiating M&A Transactions Partnership Taxation Planning Your Practice Real Estate Development Real Estate Finance Regulation of Financial Institutions Secured Transactions Sports and the Law Taxation of Financial Instruments Trusts and Estates Seminars: Advanced Bankruptcy: Deals and Issues in the Current Environment Advanced Real Estate Transactions Advising Complex Corporations Antitrust in Action Architecture of Financial Regulation Becoming a Trusted Advisor: The Role of the General Counsel in the Modern Multinational Corporation Black Letter Law / White Collar Crime Capital Markets: Developments, Structure, and Policies Catastrophe: Avoiding Regulation Contemporary Corporate Law Scholarship: Reading Group Contracts, Collaboration, and Interpretation Contract Theory and Commercial Practice Corporate Governance Corporate Governance and the Public Corporation Deals Litigation Deals Workshop Deals Workshop: Acquisition and Corporate Finance Deals Workshop: Dealmaking in Mergers and Acquisitions Deals Workshop: Energy Industry Restructuring Deals Workshop: Mergers and Acquisitions Transactions Deals Workshop: Public Mergers and Acquisitions Deals Workshop: Transactional Legal Strategies Drafting and Negotiating Commercial Real Estate Documents
Drafting Wills and Trusts Entrepreneurship Fintech Innovation and the Transformation of Financial Services: Business Models, Regulatory Structures, and Policy Issues The Framework of Global Financial Regulation Global Challenges of Inside Counsel Governance of Financial Reporting International Banking and Finance: The Challenges International Bankruptcy and Insolvency Issues on Global Regulatory Reform Nonprofit Institutions Nonprofit Law and Policy Organizational Misconduct Private Capital Real Estate M&A and Restructuring Deals Workshop Securities Regulation Strategic International Commercial Transactions Tax Deals Workshop Technology and Venture Capital Transactions Criminal Justice Advanced Criminal Law: The Death Penalty Comparative Criminal Procedure Criminal Adjudication Criminal Investigations Federal Criminal Law The Jurisprudence of Crime: Interdisciplinary Perspectives Landmark Criminal Trials Seminars: The American Bail System Criminal Law and Neuroscience Empirical Studies Lab Internal Investigations International Criminal Investigations Internet and Computer Crimes Mass Incarceration National Security Investigations and Prosecutions Policing the Police Sentencing Social Science and the Criminal Justice System Topics in Criminal Prosecution and Defense Victims’ Rights Environmental and Energy Law Climate Change Law and Policy Environmental Law International Environmental Law
JANUARY TERM Between the fall and spring semesters, Columbia Law School typically offers a range of intensive one-week courses on cutting-edge legal topics. January Term, or J-Term, is a time for students to explore areas of the law that may not be part of their regular course of study. Classes are designed by full-time faculty to be pedagogically innovative and provide experiential learning opportunities. Offerings have included Bioethics Mediation; Conflict Resolution and Diplomacy; Financial Methods for Lawyers; Social Justice Advocacy; and the Technology, Business, Law, and Policy of AI.
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Seminars: Advanced Climate Change Law Energy Industry Restructuring Environmental Issues in Business Transactions Food Systems and U.S. Environmental Law Natural Resources Law Family, Gender, and Sexuality Law Advanced Family Law: Prenups, Property Distribution, and Alimony in Divorce Family Law Gender Justice Seminars: Domestic Violence and the Law Intellectual Property and Technology Law Computers, Privacy, and the Law Copyright Law Data and Predictive Coding for Lawyers Law in the Internet Society Patents The Technology, Business, Law, and Policy of AI Trademarks Seminars: Advanced Antitrust: Issues in Contemporary Competition Law and Policy Advanced Patents Algorithms and the Law Authors, Artists, and Performers Counseling the Digital Innovator Current Issues in Copyright Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, and Surveillance Law Federal Court Litigation: Trademark and Copyright Intellectual Property in the Digital Age Internet Platforms: Law and Responsibility IP Transactional Practice: Counseling, Negotiating, and Drafting Law and Theatre Law and the Music Industry Law and Visual Arts Law in the Age of Digital Platforms International and Comparative Law African Legal Theory, Law, and Development Brexit: Reading Group Colloquium in Global Business Law Commercial Arbitration in a Global Economy Comparative and International Antitrust Comparative Constitutional Studies Comparative Corporate Governance European Union Law and Institutions Geopolitics of Law and Conflict on the Korean Peninsula Global Constitutionalism International Arbitration in Latin America International Business Transactions International Commercial Arbitration International Criminal Law International Investment Law and Arbitration International Law International Taxation
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Issues on Global Regulatory Reform Japanese Law, Society, and Economy Jurisprudence of War Law and Legal Institutions in China Law, Development, and Emerging Politics in Africa: Reading Group The Law of Genocide Law of the W.T.O. Rebuilding Government Refugee, Migration, and Citizenship Law: A Comparative Perspective The Regulation of Sport: Competitive Balance, Corruption and Adjudicating Disputes in Global and U.S. Sports Transnational Litigation Seminars: Art, Cultural Heritage, and the Law China in U.S. Courts Comparative and International Law Contemporary Challenges to the International Laws of War Drafting and Negotiating Cross-Border M&A Transactions Enforcing International Law Extractive Industries and Sustainable Development Fighting Corruption in Sports Foreign Direct Investment and Public Policy Geopolitics of Law and Conflict on the Korean Peninsula Global Political Thought International Economic Migration International Humanitarian Law International Human Rights Advocacy International Investment Arbitration International Lawyering for Governments International Trade Regulation Issues Labor Rights in a Global Economy Practicing International Law Russia in the International Order Topics in Jewish Law Transnational Business and Human Rights U.S. Civil and Criminal Enforcement of International Cartels Law of the Workplace Disability Law Labor Law Seminars: Employment Discrimination Litigation Legal History American Constitutional History American Legal History Civil Liberty and Segregation in 20th-Century America English Legal History Nuremberg Trials and War Crimes Law Seminars: Extraterritorial Constitutional Law: History, Theory, Doctrine The Legal History of American Slavery
Legal Theory Anthropology and the Law Ideas of the First Amendment Law and Philosophy Legal Theory Workshop Seminars: Animal Law Biblical Jurisprudence Contemporary Critical Thought Foundations of Practical Thought Jewish Law and Business Ethics Law and Philosophy Lawyer Leadership: Leading Self, Leading Others, Leading Change Native American Law Problems in Philosophy of Law Sovereignty, Human Rights, Judicial Review Litigation and Dispute Resolution Advanced Lawyering in the Digital Age Conflict of Laws Courts and the Legal Process Ethics on the Edge: Business, Nonprofit, Government Evidence International Commercial Arbitration Mass Torts Products Liability Professional Responsibility Professional Responsibility for the Transactional Lawyer Professional Responsibility in Criminal Law Professional Responsibility in Global Business Professional Responsibility Issues in Business Practice Professional Responsibility Issues in Public Interest Practice Professional Responsibility: Representing Business Organizations Workshop in Briefcraft Seminars: Advanced Civil Procedure: Scholarly and Lawyerly Perspectives Advanced Federal Prison Litigation Advanced International Commercial Arbitration Advanced Legal Research Techniques Advanced Negotiation Workshop Advanced Trial Practice Aggregate Litigation Appellate Advocacy The Changing World of Large Law Firms Complex Litigation Conflict Resolution and Diplomacy Construction Industry Law: Transactional Practice, Dispute Avoidance, and Resolution Electronic Evidence and Discovery Workshop Exploring the Role of the General Counsel Interplay of Civil and Criminal Law Law Firm Financial Management Law, Justice, and Reflective Practice Legal and Ethical Obligations in Complex Litigation
Negotiation Workshop Patent Litigation Pretrial Commercial Litigation Professional Responsibility: Becoming a Lawyer Representing Nonprofit Organizations: A Lawyering Skills Simulation Course Science and the Courts Thinking Like a Litigator Trial Practice Trial Skills: Immigration National Security and Privacy Law National Security Law Terror and Consent Seminars: Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, and Surveillance Law National Security Law and Policy: Case Studies Social Justice and Human Rights Civil Rights Educational Equality: The Role of Law Human Rights Immigration Law Law, Culture, and Notions of Justice Public Health Law and Social Justice Refugee Law and Policy Seminars: Abolition: A Social Justice Practicum Access to Justice: Current Issues and Challenges Adolescence Civil Rights Lawyering in the Modern Era: Theory and Practice Columbia Law School and Slavery Critical Race Theory Workshop The Defense of Freedom of Expression Around the World: The Role of the Advocate Human Rights and the Question of Culture Human Rights at Home: Advancing U.S. Social Justice Human Rights Reparations Under Domestic and International Law International Criminal Courts: Progress, Problems, and Prospects Law and Policy of Homelessness Managing Human Rights The Psychology of Racial Justice and Policing Racial Justice Advocacy Workshop Reading Group in Movement Lawyering Schools, Courts, and Civic Participation Socioeconomic Rights: Theory and Practice Structural Change in Public Education Policy and Social Change Lab Theater of Change: Artistry, Law, and Activism Transitional Justice Vision, Action, and Social Change
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Financial Resources FINANCING YOUR LEGAL EDUCATION Admissions decisions at Columbia Law School are made without regard to an applicant’s financial need.
Tuition $72,352 Fees $2,643
Therefore, grant applications are reviewed only after a student has been admitted. If you are interested in grant assistance, you must complete your application as early as possible so that it can be evaluated soon after you have been admitted. Students admitted under the Early Decision Plan are reminded that they should not expect to be notified of their financial aid package before the end of March, at the earliest.
Room and Board $19,449
We strongly recommend that all applicants file the required forms no later than February 15, even if they have not yet received an offer of admission.
Total expenses, including tuition and student fees, are estimated at $104,420. Budget components are adjusted annually.
The Law School awards grant assistance primarily on the basis of demonstrated financial need. However, there are a number of fellowships that are not based on need that are awarded at the time an applicant is admitted to the Law School. There is no separate application for these fellowships. Each year a substantial portion of the entering class receives a Law School grant in the form of a partial tuition waiver. However, the majority of law students utilize educational loans to finance their expenses in whole or in part.
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2020–2021 TUITION AND EXPENSES
Books and Supplies $1,500 Personal Expenses $4,800 Health Insurance $3,676
THE LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Columbia Law School’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) supports Columbia J.D. graduates who pursue public interest and public service careers by providing them with financial assistance to service the educational debt they assumed while at the Law School. In addition to the traditional LRAP, participants may elect to participate in both the Columbia Law School LRAP and the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. All Columbia J.D. graduates in qualifying employment are entitled to its generous assistance, and there is no salary cap. In some cases, graduates who demonstrate exceptional dedication and potential for contribution to the public good are awarded public interest fellowships, which provide enhanced loan repayment assistance to the fellows. For more information, please visit law.columbia.edu/financial-aid.
LRAP SUMMARY
Participants are not expected to contribute to annual loan payments if their calculated income is less than $55,000. Graduates may elect to participate in the Columbia Law School LRAP, the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, or a combination of the two programs.* raduates may join the G program up to seven years after graduating. RAP loans are partially L forgiven from years three to five and fully forgiven on an annual basis in years five to 10. Spousal educational debt service up to $10,000 may be included in the repayment formula. LRAP participants with dependent children are eligible for an allowance of up to $10,000 per child. Program eligibility provisions are available for graduates on parental leave or in part-time employment. *Please consult with the LRAP administrator for complete LRAP terms and limitations.
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“As a proud alumna and having served as dean of admissions for more than 15 years, I can confidently say that Columbia is a very special place to pursue a legal education: We provide exceptional legal training to remarkable students in an incomparable location.” NKONYE IWEREBON ’93 ASSOCIATE DEAN AND DEAN OF ADMISSIONS
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Connect With Us We invite you to connect with the Office of Admissions via email, phone, and our online information sessions. We are happy to answer any questions you may have about the admissions process and life at Columbia Law School. For more information about connection opportunities, visit our website. We look forward to hearing from you. Learn more at law.columbia.edu/jd-visit. Mailing address: 435 West 116th Street, Box 4004 New York, NY 10027 Office location: 1125 Amsterdam Avenue, 5th Floor New York, NY 10025
2020– 2021 Dates and Deadlines Early Decision November 15, 2020 Financial Aid February 15, 2021 Regular Decision February 15, 2021 Leadership Experience Admission Deferral (LEAD) Program May 17, 2021 Transfer July 15, 2021 For more information, please visit law.columbia.edu/jd-apply.
T 212-854-2674 admissions@law.columbia.edu
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law.columbia.edu/admissions/jd Columbia University admits students of any race, color, and national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the university. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, gender (including gender identity and expression), pregnancy, religion, creed, marital status, partnership status, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, military status, or any other legally protected status in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other universityadministered programs.