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Academic Centers
Engage with leaders in the profession and world-class scholars addressing timely legal issues through our 11 academic centers.
Center for Bankruptcy The Bankruptcy Center encompasses all aspects of academic life at the Law School — a journal, moot court competition, specialized course Studies offerings, clinic, internships, externships, and more. The Center’s student-run journal, the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review, is the leading scholarly journal on bankruptcy law. The Center also hosts the Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition—the largest single-site appellate moot court competition in the nation and the only bankruptcy moot court competition. The Career Development Office has a bankruptcy career specialist who excels in federal clerkship placements. Students can pursue a traditional two semester LL.M. in Bankruptcy or a special one semester LL.M. in bankruptcy as either a St. John’s student or 3L transfer.
The Center for International and Comparative Law (CICL) promotes the study of international and foreign legal systems as a means for addressing pressing global problems. Through the broad range of curricular offerings, study abroad programs, experiential learning opportunities, and the participation of students in scholarly work, CICL helps prepare students for practice in a globalizing legal profession. CICL hosts regular academic symposia on international and comparative legal issues. 2L and 3L students have the opportunity to be a CICL fellow where student fellows work closely with professors on research projects and have the opportunity to be published. CICL oversees the publication of the New York International Law Review (NYILR), a student-edited journal of the International Law Section of the New York State Bar Association.
Center for Labor and Employment Law
A Distinguished History. A Visionary Future.
The Center for Labor and Employment Law is a forum where students, practitioners and scholars come together to explore the practice and theory of labor and employment law. Students gain a strong foundation for this work through the Law School’s comprehensive labor and employment law curriculum that includes classes and externships in the public and private sectors. They also have the opportunity to engage with labor and employment law professionals at a range of conferences, symposia, workshops and other programs hosted by the Center each year. With the generous support of alumni and friends, the Center provides hands-on opportunities for students to gain practical skills, relevant experience, and professional connections through scholarships, fellowships, networking events and competitions.
The Center for Law and Religion (CLR) at St. John’s School of Law provides a forum for the study of law and religion from domestic, international, and comparative perspectives. CLR hosts academic conferences, colloquiums, workshops and other programs, such as its 3-year initiative, “The Tradition Project,” on a wide range of subjects related to law and religion. Its guests and speakers have included Pope Francis, the late Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Samuel Alito of the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as many prominent academics, judges, journalists, and others interested in law and religion. CLR coordinates the Law School’s law and religion curriculum. It also hosts the Law and Religion Forum, a blog on recent law and religion scholarship and news, and Legal Spirits, a podcast series on law and religion issues in the courts. The directors receive assistance from CLR’s student fellows in its regular operations.
Advocacy is both an art and science. Great advocates weave together the law of evidence and procedure with the traditional tools of persuasion. At St. John’s Law, we have a long history of producing great trial and appellate advocates. The Center for Trial and Appellate Advocacy highlights St. John’s Law’s commitment to producing the next generation of outstanding advocates. The Center for Trial and Appellate Advocacy is home to students, faculty, alumni, and friends interested in advocacy of all forms: civil and criminal; trial and appellate; federal, state, and global. Current students can take advantage of our innovative curriculum, participate in our nationally-ranked trial advocacy and appellate advocacy co-curriculum programs (#8 nationally), and network with our faculty and alumni. The director is assisted by student fellows of the Center, who undertake research and support the Center’s events.
The Hugh L. Carey Center educates aspiring lawyers and accomplished practitioners in the essential values and effective skills necessary to resolve clients’ legal problems in today’s practice of law. In today’s legal reality, most lawsuits are settled and fewer than five percent go to trial. To practice effectively today, a lawyer must not only know how to resolve his client’s legal problems in court, but also how to negotiate settlements out of court. Whether you are interested in a career in international law, corporate, bankruptcy, criminal, labor and employment, public interest, family, intellectual property or have not yet decided your practice area of choice, the Hugh L Carey Center for Dispute Resolution will educate you about the problem-solving advocacy and dispute resolution skills you will need to become an effective lawyer in both the domestic and global arenas of today’s legal practice. The Hugh L. Carey Center for Dispute Resolution at St. John’s Law offers courses, conferences, clinics, student organizations, co-curricular activities, and the annual national Securities Dispute Resolution Triathlon competition (jointly with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) that make the Law School a leader in the growing field of alternative dispute resolution.
The Intellectual Property Law Center provides students opportunities to connect with and learn from leading legal authorities in the intellectual property (IP) field through events, networking, and practical experience. Courses cover patent, trademark, copyright, trade secrecy, privacy, and many more key topics relating to this dynamic area of the law. The school supports two IP student organizations, the Intellectual Property Law Society (IPLS) and the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Society (EASL). The Center hosts symposia, conferences, and roundtable discussions to give students opportunities to interact with leading attorneys and industry insiders. The Center hosts a biennial Intellectual Property Law Colloquium, which is a visiting speaker series that allows students to hone their critical and analytical skills through deep engagement with cutting-edge legal scholarship, presented by the authors themselves. The Center also helps students secure externships, summer internships, and employment in a wide variety of IP, entertainment, fashion, and related areas.
The Mattone Institute, the Law School’s focal point for real estate law, is dedicated to preparing aspiring real estate attorneys for practice through exceptional academic programs, unique career development opportunities, and extraordinary Mattone special events. The Mattone Institute oversees a robust calendar of programs and events for students interested in real estate I N S T I T U T E law, including conferences, site visits, roundtable discussions and networking events, which enable students to broaden their knowledge of real estate issues and expand their professional networks. The Mattone Institute also organizes real estate law externships and internships, which allow students to bolster their real estate law credentials and gain valuable practical skills experience. The Mattone Institute coordinates the Law School’s innovative real estate law curriculum, which includes advanced courses taught by leading practitioners. In addition, the Mattone Institute sponsors a Real Estate Law Fellowship Program, which provides selected 2L and 3L students a unique opportunity to pursue a unified course of study in real estate law and an annual monetary stipend. The Public Interest Center (PIC), organizes opportunities for students to use their education to better serve their communities. Each year, PIC organizes service and training days for students to help out in their communities through both legal and non-legal work. PIC is responsible for organizing the Public Interest Auction each year. The proceeds from the auction are used to fund the Spring Break Service Trips as well as the Summer Public Interest Fellowship Program. The Spring Break Service Trip allows students to take an alternative spring break by giving back to a community in need of legal services. In the past, St. John’s has traveled to Texas, Puerto Rico, and Louisiana to provide communities with pro bono legal assistance. The Summer Public Interest Fellowship Program provides a stipend to selected students who have chosen to dedicate their summer to pro bono work. The Center also hosts the Pro Bono Service Project, which awards students who have exemplified exceptional dedication to pro bono work throughout law school with recognition at graduation. PIC is home to the Pro Bono Scholars Program at St. John’s Law. The program allows students to devote their last semester of study to performing pro bono service and take the bar exam early, in February. The Center also helps students secure externships, summer internships, and employment in a wide variety of public interest fields.
RONALD H. BROWN C E N T E R
for C I V I L R I G H T S
The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights, focuses on issues of diversity and inclusion through discussions, events, and publications. The Center offers a select group of incoming law students the Ron Brown Scholarship, which helps students who have overcome economic, social or educational disadvantage and to support them financially and academically, while nurturing an interest in equality, civil rights, and social justice. The Center oversees the publication of the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development (JCRED). Each year students in JCRED are given academic credit and recognition for their articles on social and political issues in the legal sphere. The Center also partners with the student-led affinity groups and the Coalition for Social Justice to host events to discuss issues of diversity and inclusion at St. John’s Law, in the U.S., and around the world, including: After Charlottesville: Shaping Boundaries for the Expression of Polarizing Ideas, Family Separation at the Border, Gender in America, and #MeToo.
Writing The Law School’s Writing Center assists law students in developing their research and Center writing skills, blue booking, outlining, grammar, and conciseness. The Writing Center also helps law students enter and win writing competitions. Each year, St. John’s Law students excel in writing competitions and winners have received scholarships, publication, and recognition. There are competitions on virtually every topic: from administrative law to religious freedom, from labor law to women’s rights, from intellectual property to gun control. Some offer cash prizes (as much as $10,000) and others publish the winning papers. No matter what the prize, winning a writing competition is a great way to hone your writing skills, explore a new area of law, and enhance your resume.
