Columbia Law School

The benefits of a legal education from Columbia Law School are endless: exceptional training from world-class faculty, access to a wide-ranging and progressive curriculum, hands-on legal experience, unrivaled career opportunities, and more, all set against the dynamic backdrop of New York City. Our students are highly diverse in background and experience, adding unique and expansive dimensions to our community’s social and intellectual life. They are engaged global citizens, bold and inquisitive thinkers, and relentlessly supportive peers – and they are dedicated to making an impact as leaders in the law and civic life.

Academics

J.D. Program

The Law School offers globally focused courses in both emerging and traditional areas of law and our robust curriculum covers the most compelling issues in modern legal scholarship.

Connect with legal and local communities. Participate in a broad range of clinics, externships, simulations, policy labs, and other public service opportunities, which provide an insider’s view into how the law operates in practical settings.

Connect with faculty experts and mentors. Work with top-tier scholars and practitioners to tackle real-world challenges, employing creative combinations of data science, advocacy, and litigation.

Connect with a global society. From the classroom to the clinic, you will learn to think critically and responsibly about the law and its impact on individual lives, judicial institutions, and international affairs.

Connect with your future. By the time you graduate, you will have the tools and experience you need to successfully practice law in today’s fast-paced, globalized society.

LL.M.

The LL.M. year begins with a three-week-long orientation program. At this time, our seasoned advisers in the Office of Graduate Legal Studies help you design an individualized program of study to meet your academic and professional goals, from expanding your general knowledge to specializing in an area of study to deepening your understanding of a particular legal system.

The orientation program is designed to introduce students to Law School administrators and their fellow classmates, and to provide important information to help make the LL.M. year a success.

J.S.D. Program

The Doctor of the Science of Law (J.S.D.), Columbia Law School’s most advanced law degree program, prepares students with exceptional academic aptitude for careers in legal scholarship. The program fosters opportunities for distinguished scholarship through advanced seminars and colloquia, facilities for independent research, and guidance from faculty advisers.

Law Library

Welcome to the Arthur W. Diamond Law Library at Columbia Law School.

The second-largest academic law library in the country, the Diamond Law Library features more than 400,000 titles, 1 million paper volumes, and 275,000 microform volume-equivalents. Users also have access to a wealth of online information from sources the Law Library maintains and the myriad of materials offered through Columbia University’s libraries.

Librarians are here to guide you through the collections. Please observe the few rules we have, and share with us any suggestions you have for making the Diamond Law Library a more effective place for legal research and study.

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