Larry Cunningham is the Associate Dean for Student
Services and an Associate Professor of Legal Writing. As
Associate Dean for Student Services, he oversees the Career
Development Office, Public Interest Center, Registrar's Office, and
the Office of Student Services. In 2011, he led a strategic
repositioning and reorganization of the Law School's career
development efforts that is providing more direct career counseling
services to students, integrating career preparation and career
development throughout the faculty and curriculum, and
reconceptualizing the role of externships in helping students
pursue a rewarding path to the profession.
Trained in Six Sigma (a process improvement methodology) and
statistics, Dean Cunningham has utilized these skills to improve
the effectiveness and efficiency of student services operations.
In addition, he counsels students regarding academic and
curricular rules and regulations, ensures compliance with state and
federal requirements regarding bar admission, oversees student
academic accommodations pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities
Act, plans orientation, organizes a variety of programs to enhance
student wellness, provides students with financial counseling and
assistance in receiving mental health counseling, and works with
student organizations to maximize their effectiveness.
Prior to joining the St. John's faculty, Dean Cunningham was a
professor at Texas Tech University and held visiting appointments
at Stetson University, Texas Wesleyan University, and Brooklyn Law
School. He teaches Legal Writing, Criminal Law, and New York
Criminal Practice. In 2012, he received the Dean's Teaching
Award (large class). He combines a mix of teaching styles to
promote active learning and utilizes technology, such as
Prezi, to further students' learning. Dean Cunningham's
scholarship includes research in criminal justice ethics,
appellate practice, juvenile justice, mental health, and insurance
law. He has been a frequent speaker on legal education and
other topics before bar associations, law schools, and other
organizations. In June 2008, he testified before the United States
Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution, on
the legality of laptop searches at the international border.
After clerking for a United States district judge, Dean
Cunningham served as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney in
Alexandria, Virginia, where he was in charge of juvenile
delinquency prosecutions. Later, he was an Assistant District
Attorney in the Appeals Bureau of the Bronx District Attorney's
Office, where he also coordinated the office's post-adjudication
insanity review cases and served as an on-call homicide duty
prosecutor.
Dean Cunningham received his J.D. magna cum laude from
Georgetown University Law Center, where he was Executive
Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal, Executive Director of the
Barristers' Council, and was elected to the Order of the Coif.
He graduated summa cum laude and valedictorian of
John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In 2012, he received a
Master Certificate in Strategic Organizational Leadership from
Villanova University.