Pace University School of Law

Infobox_University
name = Pace Law School


established = 1976
type = Private
dean = Michelle S. Simon, Appointed to full Dean on May 21, 2008
city = White Plains
state = New York
country = USA
students = 760 ^{[http://www.law.pace.edu/aboutpace/factSheet.html]}
campus = Suburban
13 acres (5.3 hectares)
website = [http://www.law.pace.edu www.law.pace.edu] Pace University School of Law, known colloquially as "Pace Law School", is the law school of Pace University, a comprehensive, independent, and diversified university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County. Located approximately convert|25|mi|km north of Times Square, Pace Law School is situated on a 13 acre (5.3 hectares) landscaped suburban campus of historic and modern buildings, between the Cross-Westchester Expressway (I-287) and NY Route 22 (North Broadway), in White Plains, New York.

Founded in 1976, Pace Law School is the only law school located between New York City and the state capital of Albany, New York, 136 miles (219 km) away. The School of Law ranks number three in the nation in environmental law. [US News and World Report [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/brief/lawsp03_brief.php Law Specialties: Environmental Law] ] Overall, US News and World Report ranks Pace as a "Tier 3" law school. ["America's Best Graduate Schools - 2008" U.S. News and World Report http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/grad/directory/dir-law/brief/glanc_03111_brief.php]

Pace Law School's campus is home to the New York State Judicial Institute, which serves as a statewide center for the education, training, and research facility for all judges and justices of the New York State Unified Court System.Fact|date=January 2008 On the Law School's campus is the nationally recognized Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic where Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law, and alumnus of Pace, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. serves as co-director.Fact|date=January 2008

The Women's Justice Center, located on the campus, is dedicated to eradicating domestic violence and furthering the legal rights of women, children and the elderly through the skillful and innovative use of the lawFact|date=January 2008. In 2001, the Women's Justice Center opened a second site at the Westchester County Family Court in Yonkers, New York. The Westchester County Family Court in Yonkers is one of three family courts in Westchester County. [Westchester Family Court-Yonkers branch [http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/9jd/Westchester/family_yonk.shtml http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/9jd/Westchester/family_yonk.shtml] ] The Yonkers office of the Women's Justice Center is located at the Westchester Family Court, 53 South Broadway in Yonkers. [Pace Women's Justice Center information [http://www.wlln.org/english/detail.cfm?ID=195 http://www.wlln.org/english/detail.cfm?ID=195] ]

Curriculum

The majority of classes have fewer than 35 students, which enables close faculty-student relationships. Deans, administrators, and faculty members maintain an open-door policy for students. The majority of faculty members have had significant careers in legal practice prior to becoming legal educators.Fact|date=January 2008 Their experience in law firms, as corporate counsel, and as federal and state regulators adds important perspectives to the theoretical principles of law.Fact|date=January 2008

The Law School offers programs of study leading to the Juris Doctor (J.D.), Master of Laws (LL.M.), and Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) degrees. There are also joint degree and certificate program options. Students who wish to obtain the J.D. degree may choose to receive a certificate of specialization in either environmental law or international law. Concentrations include business law, criminal law, family law, intellectual property law, and real estate and land use law. The joint program options allow students to work toward a degree in law while earning an M.P.A. degree from Pace University's Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, or an M.B.A. degree from Pace University's Lubin School of Business. Students also have the option of enrolling in a joint J.D./M.E.M. with the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, a J.D./M.A. degree with Sarah Lawrence College in women’s studies, or a J.D./M.S. degree with Bard College Center for Environmental Policy.

The Environmental Law Program at Pace was one of the first in the country and consistently ranks as one of the highest in the country in terms of academic and clinical opportunities available.Fact|date=January 2008 Students may obtain the Master of Laws (LL.M.) in environmental law or the Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) in environmental law. The LL.M. in comparative legal studies is available for graduates of law schools outside the United States and is intended for those seeking to return home after a year of study and for those who wish to sit the New York State bar exam.Fact|date=January 2008 In August 2008, Pace will also start offering an LL.M. in Real Estate Law, the region's first.

Pace Law students who wish to gain some international experience may also participate in the London Law Program and live, study, and work abroad as part of their degree requirements.Fact|date=January 2008

A mandatory first-year moot court competition is part of the criminal law analysis and writing curriculum. The Law School also competes in interscholastic moot court competitions, including the Pace-organized Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot held in Vienna, and hosts the National Environmental Moot Court Competition, the largest of its kind in the country.Fact|date=January 2008 Team members are selected by professors and chosen based on writing ability and oral presentation skills. Pace Law School also participates in the Trial Advocacy competitions sponsored by the American Association for Justice (AAJ) formerly (ATLA) and the National Trial Competition (NTC). Pace Law School publishes three law reviews, the "Pace Law Review", the "Pace Environmental Law Review", and the "Pace International Law Review".

Noted alumni and faculty

* Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. '87 - Alumnus; Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law & Co-Director, Pace Law School's Environmental Litigation Clinic; Radio host, Ring of Fire; former Assistant District Attorney in the City of New York
* [http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=2710&pq-locale=en_US&gpcid=0900688a8037378b Jeff Jacobson] '93 - Vice-President, Kodak; COO, Kodak's Graphic Communications Group; President, Kodak's Graphic Solutions & Services
* John P. Cahill '85 - Senior Policy Advisor & Secretary and Chief of Staff to New York State Governor George E. Pataki, and Development Chief of Lower Manhattan; former Commissioner, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Counsel at Chadbourne & Parke
* Robert Sands - President and COO, Constellation Brands; Chairman, ViaHealth Health System; President of the board of trustees of The Harley School; Chairman, New York Wine and Culinary Center ^{[http://www.cbrands.com/CBI/constellationbrands/AboutUs/Management/robert_sands.html]}
* Malachy E. Mannion '79 - United States Magistrate Judge, United States District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
* Richard Ottinger - Former member of the United States House of Representatives; former dean of Pace Law School and Co-director of the Center for Environmental Legal Studies
* Nicholas A. Robinson - Professor of Law, Pioneer of Environmental Law
* C. Scott Vanderhoef '81 - County Executive of Rockland County, New York
* Michelle S. Simon - Dean of Pace Law School
* James A. Murphy III '86 - District Attorney, Saratoga County, New York

Trivia

* Actress Frances Lee McCain, widely known as 'Billy's mother Lynn Peltzer' in the film 'Gremlins' (1984), lived in 33 Crane Avenue; a house that is now part of the Pace Law School campus which houses the office of Alumni Relations and Development & Pace's Center for Continuing Legal Education.
* American School & University magazine's Educational Interiors Showcase named the New York State Judicial Institute, at Pace University School of Law in White Plains, an outstanding classroom project. The building is a three-story building designed for teaching seminars for judges from all over the country. The $15.8 million building, which included a parking garage, was completed in the spring of 2003. [http://www.schooldesigns.com/ResultsDetail.asp?id=2192]
* Pace Law School's [http://www.law.pace.edu/bwjc Women's Justice Center] is the oldest university-based domestic violence training and litigation resource in the United States. [http://www.opdv.state.ny.us/public_awareness/bulletins/fall2003/awards.html]
* Evan Oppenheimer's film Alchemy (2005) was shot on Pace's campus.

References

External links

* [http://www.law.pace.edu Pace University School of Law]
* [http://www.pace.edu Pace University]