Gain Skills & Knowledge

Training in essential legal skills is critically important to any career path you choose. At St. John's, we emphasize legal writing for all students and student-run journals provide avenues for publication. Students can develop their practical legal skills through work in Clinics & Centers and Externships. In addition, students can also build advocacy skills through our dispute resolution, mock trial, and moot court teams. Our student writers and advocates have an excellent track record in national and international competitions, signaling the strength of their legal skills.

From day one at St. John’s Law, you’ll learn the fundamentals of legal analysis and you’ll gain the practical, hands-on experience you’ll need to be practice-ready at graduation.

Our innovative offerings include:

• Hundreds of externship and internship placements in the New York City area
• Dozens of advanced classes teaching the art and science of case preparation, corporate transaction, and dispute resolution
• Eleven academic centers spotlighting faculty research and scholarship with real-world impact
• Nine in-house and partner clinics that put students to work in the field
• Seven student-run journals that explore today’s pressing legal issues
• Three outstanding co-curricular programs that sharpen and showcase advocacy skills
• … all at One outstanding school.

Centers

Get direct access leading scholars and practitioners by participating in any of our 12 academic centers:

• Center for Bankruptcy Studies
• Center for International and Comparative Law
• Center for Labor and Employment Law
• Center for Law and Religion
• Center for Trial and Appellate Advocacy
• Hugh L. Carey Center for Dispute Resolution
• Intellectual Property Law Center
• Mattone Family Institute for Real Estate Law
• Public Interest Center
• Center for Race and Law 
• Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights
• Writing Center

Clinics

Build practical skills doing real legal work for New Yorkers in need through our 10 in-house and partner clinics:

• Bankruptcy Advocacy Clinic
• Child Advocacy Clinic
• Consumer Justice for the Elderly: Litigation Clinic
• Criminal Defense Clinic
• Domestic Violence Litigation Clinic
• Economic Justice Clinic
• Prosecution Clinic
• Refugee and Immigrant Rights Litigation Clinic
• Securities Arbitration Clinic
• Tenants' Rights Advocacy Clinic

Co-Curricular Programs

Through our co-curricular programs, you’ll participate in team competitions that grow your dispute resolution and advocacy skills. Take advantage of these special opportunities in the local, national, and international arenas brought to you by our:

• Frank S. Polestino Trial Advocacy Institute
• Moot Court Honor Society
• Dispute Resolution Society

Degree Programs

There’s more than one path to earning your J.D. at St. John’s Law, and to gaining a competitive edge in the dynamic legal marketplace. We offer the following degree programs:

• J.D. (more information on all joint degree programs can be found here)
• J.D./M.B.A. Accounting
• J.D./M.B.A. Business Administration
• J.D./M.A. Government & Politics
• J.D./LL.M. Bankruptcy
• J.D./B.S. or B.A. (3+3 program for St. John's Undergraduates)

Externship Program

Running the gamut from the federal government to the family law firm, from the courtroom to the boardroom, and from litigation to transactional work, our externship placements take you to the center of New York City’s unrivaled legal and business community. Recent externship placements include:

• Day Pitney LLP
• District Attorney's Offices
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Estee Lauder Companies
• Farrell Fritz, P.C.
• Federal Trade Commission
• Jazz at Lincoln Center
• National Labor Relations Board
• New York City Law Department
• New York State Attorney General's Office
• Shearman & Sterling LLP
• U.S. Attorney's Offices
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Honors Programs

Students selected to participate in any one of our invitation-only honors programs join a special community where faculty members, St. John’s Law alumni, and other experts in the field offer guidance on, and opportunities to further, your career development. Our honors programs include the:

• Ron Brown Scholars Program
• St. Thomas More Scholars Program
• Theodore T. Jones, Jr. Fellowship Program

Journals

Our student-run journals offer you an unrivaled opportunity to research, write, and become a published author while adding an impressive experience to your resume. With such a variety on hand, you’ll find a journal to match your interests among our:

• St. John's Law Review
• American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review
• Journal of Catholic Legal Studies
• Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development
• New York International Law Review
• Commercial Division Online Law Report
• N.Y. Real Property Law Journal
• Admiralty Practicum

Study Abroad Opportunities

With programs and alumni across the globe, St. John’s Law offers you a world of opportunities. You’ll explore the law in its global context through our:

• Dean’s Travel Study Program
• International Practica
• Rome Summer Program
• University of Glasgow Exchange Program in Glasgow, Scotland
• Sorbonne University Exchange Program in Paris, France
• Tsinghua University Exchange Program in Beijing, China

Societies and Organizations

Through dozens of student organizations, you can develop your professional network with peers, find support and friendship, and learn from alumni and experts.

We look forward to receiving your application!