Syracuse University College of Law


Syracuse University College of Law, founded in 1895, is a Juris Doctor degree-granting law school of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. It is one of only four law schools in upstate New York. Syracuse was accredited by the American Bar Association in 1923 and is a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools. As of the 2017-2018 academic year, 565 students were enrolled in the College of Law.
Syracuse is a leader in the emerging field of National Security Law through the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism. The College of Law is home to the New York State Science & Technology Law Center. It maintains a chapter of the Order of the Coif law honor society, of which only 86 of the more than 204 ABA-accredited law schools are a member.
The College of Law offers joint degree programs with, among others, Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. It offers a first year writing program in international law, and a summer study abroad internship program in London.
Students may also qualify for specialized certifications in areas of study such as Corporate Law, Estate Planning, Family Law, and Property Law. Syracuse offers a one-year LL.M. advanced degree program for foreign-educated attorneys.
The College of Law is located in Dineen Hall on the West Campus expansion area of Syracuse University. Its library is a congressionally designated depository for Federal materials and houses a collection of Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson's artifacts and documents.
According to Syracuse University College of Law's 2016 ABA-required disclosures, 100 of the 166 members of the Class of 2016 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.
In February 2018, the College of Law announced its formation of the first "real-time, ABA-approved online juris doctor program in the United States." The online J.D. program is expected to launch spring semester of 2019.

Buildings and facilities

Dineen Hall

On November 5, 2010, the University and the College of Law announced and dedicated the construction of a new law school complex, named Dineen Hall. Syracuse University Architecture alumnus Richard Gluckman, of the Gluckman Mayner architectural firm in New York City, was the lead architect. The complex, located at 950 Irving Avenue, is approximately and is named for the Dineen family, who provided the lead gift in a fundraising campaign for the building. It is the largest gift in the history of the College of Law, one of the largest gifts in University history, and was an important milestone in the University's $1 billion capital campaign.

Advocacy skills training

The College of Law was honored with the Emil Gumpert Award for the best law school advocacy program in the United States by the American College of Trial Lawyers. The New York State Bar Association cited Syracuse as the best trial skills law school in New York State 10 times in recent years by awarding the College its coveted Tiffany Cup.
Syracuse has received the highest award that the American College of Trial Lawyers gives to law schools based on the school's trial advocacy record and the strength of the school's trial training programs. In 2021 U.S. News & World Report rated the College of Law's trial advocacy program in the top 20 in the United States.

Moot court and trial team

The College of Law has won numerous national moot court competitions. In the past 16 years, its teams have won 3 national trial championships, 15 Northeast regional first-place awards, and 5 best-advocate-in-the-nation awards. Five times in the past 9 years the College of Law has been invited to the National Invitational Tournament of Champions, featuring the nation's 12 best teams. Syracuse has won other national awards in appellate, minority rights, and international tax competitions.
For more than 30 years, Syracuse's National Trial Team achieved the best record in Region II competition, winning 15 Regional Championships, two National Championships, one National Championship Runner-Up Award, three National Best Advocate Awards, and numerous Regional Advocacy Awards. From 1989-2001, the College of Law was invited to participate in the Tournament of Champions fall competition. The competition is only open to the 16 law schools with the best trial team records over the preceding three years. From 1983-2001, Syracuse's ATLA Trial Team won one National Championship, plus numerous regional awards.
From 1998-2001, the National Appellate team won the Region I competition with the Best Brief Award and was named a Quarter-Finalist in the 1999 National Finals. Each year, teams of first-year students take part in an International Law Moot Court Competition held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Syracuse's team won the championship in 1993.
From 1998-2001, Syracuse was the first-place winner in three Sojourner Truth National Appellate Competitions and won the Best Brief Award each year. In 2000, the College of Law was the national champion in the Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition and regional champions in 2001. The Tax Team won the Oral Competition in the 2001 National Tax Moot Court Competition while placing second in the brief competition.
In 2002 a team of four students finished second in the National Civil Trial Competition and a second-year student won overall best advocate. In 2002 and 2003 the College of Law participated in the 3rd Annual Quinnipiac University School of Law's Northeast Regional Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy competition. Another event was the 12th annual Cat Bennett Criminal Trial Advocacy competition, as sponsored by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
In the Fall of 2005, the College of Law advanced to the semifinal round in the ABA Northeast Regional Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy competition in New Haven, Connecticut. That same year, Syracuse won the Northeast Regional round for the Thomas Tang Moot Court competition in Boston, MA, and won the Best Brief Award for the Sojourner Truth National Appellate Competition. In 2006, a team of three students won the national championship at the second annual Sexual Orientation Moot Court Competition at the UCLA School of Law. The competition included 16 law school teams from across the country.
In the Fall of 2007, Syracuse's undefeated Tournament of Champions team placed third in the nation. The Tournament of Champions is a national invitational tournament in which the nation's 16 schools with the best two-year record in the National Trial Competition and the AAJ are invited to participate. The College of Law's National Appellate Team also won the Northeast regional finals. The team went undefeated and earned the highest score in the first three rounds, then won the finals in a unanimous decision. Also in the Fall of 2007, Syracuse bested 39 teams by placing 1st in the National Trial Competition, Buffalo regional.
In March 2008, the College of Law placed in the semi-finals in the National Trial Competition in Austin, Texas. In addition, the College of Law finished with the best record of New York state law schools. In April 2008, Syracuse was awarded the prestigious New York State Bar Association Tiffany Cup and a $5,000 scholarship for the college.
During the 2012-2013 academic year, the Syracuse Securities Dispute Resolution Triathlon Team was awarded the Advocates' Choice Award, which goes to the team with the highest degree of skill, competence, and professionalism. The Black Law Student Association Trial Team competed in the National Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition and placed second overall in the regional competition. In March 2013, Syracuse's National Trial Team won the regional competition during the American Association for Justice Student Advocacy Competition. In November 2012, the Syracuse National Appellate Team competed in the Northeast Regional Rounds and advanced to the National Finals. Out of 196 teams from 150 schools competing, Syracuse finished in fourth place for their brief and 12th place overall for oral arguments. Syracuse's National Civil Trial Team advanced to final rounds of the National Civil Trial Competition undefeated, earning the two best advocate awards and ultimately the championship.

Rankings

The College of Law is tied for 111th in the 2021 U.S. News and World Report Best Law Schools rankings.
The College of Law is ranked 64th out of 180 ABA-accredited law schools in the 2010 U.S. Law School Rankings by Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters company.

Employment

According to Syracuse University College of Law's official 2016 ABA-required disclosures, 55% of the Class of 2015 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment ten months after graduation. Syracuse University College of Law's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 26.5%.

Costs

The estimated annual cost of attendance at Syracuse University College of Law is $67,700 for the 2016-17 academic year.

Publications

Federal government