Hofstra University—Maurice A. Deane School of Law

Discover Hofstra Law

The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University prepares passionate students to have an impact in the legal community and beyond. Since 1970, Hofstra Law has provided an education rich in both the theory and skills needed to produce outstanding lawyers, business executives, and community leaders. Located on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, Hofstra Law is 20 miles outside New York City in suburban Long Island. Hofstra Law offers a JD program, as well as LLM graduate degrees in American Legal Studies (for foreign law graduates) and Family Law. Two joint-degree programs are available: a JD/MBA in conjunction with Hofstra’s Frank G. Zarb School of Business and a JD/MPH in conjunction with Hofstra’s School of Health Sciences and Human Services.

Vibrant Campus Life

Hofstra Law, situated on the 240-acre Hofstra University main campus, provides a vibrant community for students studying the law. Few, if any, law schools can match the combination of Hofstra Law’s green campus and its easy access to New York City, the hub of the nation’s legal profession. Students living on campus in graduate housing enjoy a parklike setting that is home to one of the country’s great arboretums. Yet, they can also take a free Hofstra shuttle bus to train stations that provide service to Manhattan in less than 40 minutes or drive just a few miles to world-class beaches.

Cutting-Edge Curriculum

Hofstra Law has historically been at the forefront of legal education, first as a pioneer in fully integrating clinical education into a traditional law school curriculum, and then as one of the first law schools to require Transnational Law as a first-year course. Now, with the legal market demanding more skills-based training, the school has developed new required skills modules to introduce second-year students to core lawyering skills essential to effective practice. The American Bar Association recently recognized Hofstra Law as among the law schools “that offer significant attention to the technology of practice” for its Law, Logic, and Technology Research Laboratory, and the school now offers a technology capstone course. With the school’s more than 200 upper-level courses, students can explore almost any area of law and choose a concentration in alternative dispute resolution, business law, criminal law and procedure, energy and environmental law, family law, health law, intellectual property law, or international law. Hofstra Law’s curriculum develops well-trained and practice-ready professionals.

Internationally Renowned Faculty

Hofstra Law’s full-time faculty is composed of outstanding scholars, talented clinicians, and dedicated legal writing, academic support, and skills instructors. Faculty members have clerked for US Supreme Court justices, chaired major American Bar Association and law reform committees, received awards for scholarship and leadership in legal education and community affairs, and are recognized leaders in clinical and skills training. Their publications reflect a wide range of interests and expertise, ongoing participation in important scholarly debates, and significant contributions to the study and teaching of law. Highly regarded for its scholarly impact, the Hofstra Law faculty’s open-door policy creates an accessible and collegial environment and reflects professors’ engagement with their students.

Student Life

Hofstra Law students publish five journals: Hofstra Law Review, Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal, and Journal of International Business and Law are student-run; ACTEC Law Journal and Family Court Review are peer-reviewed and published under the auspices of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, respectively. There are more than 40 student organizations, ranging from Hofstra Law Women and the Black Law Students Association to the Public Justice Foundation and the International Law Society.

Professional Career Services

Hofstra Law provides a range of services to promote the career and professional growth of students. Through the school’s professional development advisory program, each first-year student has a collaborative advising team—a career counselor, a student affairs advisor, and two faculty members—to ensure personalized academic and employment advising. The Office of Career Services offers individual career and professional development counseling, educational programming, mock interviews, an extensive online employer database, and comprehensive on-campus interviewing. Hofstra Law also prepares students to succeed in a shifting legal marketplace by ensuring that they possess practice-ready skills and knowledge to meet the needs of employers and the expectations they have of new lawyers. These include interpersonal communication, client relations, and business cultivation—critical areas that influence the important yet subtle dynamics of legal practice. Through such events as the annual Success Strategies Boot Camp, accomplished lawyers, academics, consultants, and law school administrators help students acquire knowledge and develop abilities that will differentiate them and help them transition smoothly into the workplace.

Innovative Clinical Program

Hofstra Law is widely recognized as a pioneer in fully integrating clinical education into a traditional law school curriculum. By the late 1970s, the school had one of the largest clinical programs in the nation. Over the years, its clinics have become well known in legal circles in the metropolitan area. As students represent individuals facing real legal challenges, they gain valuable hands-on experience: they advocate in court, counsel clients, conduct fact investigations, and mediate disputes. Hofstra Law’s current clinical opportunities are in Asylum, Clinical Prosecution (Practicum), Community and Economic Development, Criminal Justice, Disaster Recovery, Health Law and Policy, Immigration (Practicum), Juvenile Justice (Practicum), Law Reform Advocacy, and Youth Advocacy.

A Focus on Experiential Learning

Recognizing that the well-rounded graduate needs to apply classroom theory to real-world situations, Hofstra Law offers extensive skills and simulation-based training. The Externship Program provides an opportunity to gain substantive legal experience under the direct supervision and guidance of an experienced attorney. This past academic year, more than 200 students participated in externships. The Hofstra Law in DC externship program offers a total immersion, hands-on experience working at a congressional office or committee, federal government agency, nonprofit organization, or public interest group for a full semester in the nation’s capital. The Public Service Awards Program honors graduating students who have devoted considerable time to public service with nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies and private law firms, or practitioners, especially through pro bono work. Other training tools include moot court competitions, intensive pretrial and mediation courses, and an intensive trial techniques program based on the curriculum of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

International Legal Education

Hofstra Law is the first law school to offer an ABA-approved field study in Cuba (spring). The school also offers study-abroad programs in Pisa, Italy (summer), and Curaçao (winter intersession). The school recently launched several new initiatives, including the Immigration Law and Border Enforcement Program (cosponsored with the National Center for Border Security and Immigration), the Global Legal Practice Externship Program, and a language-development partnership with Rosetta Stone. They also became a participant in the Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan. Hofstra Law is also a founding member of the European-American Consortium for Legal Education (EACLE), offering semester-long exchange programs with EACLE members Erasmus University Rotterdam, Ghent University, the University of Helsinki, and the University of Parma, as well as with City University of Hong Kong, East China University of Political Science and Law (Shanghai), and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU).

Engaging Centers and Institutes

Both nationally and internationally recognized, Hofstra Law’s centers and institutes attract thought leaders for research, debate, and the exchange of knowledge.

• Center for Applied Legal Reasoning: This multidisciplinary center focuses on the study of theories of legal reasoning and the development of pedagogies to train students for the practice of law.
• Center for Children, Families, and the Law: An interdisciplinary organization, this center is dedicated to education, research, and public service focused on children and families involved in the legal system.
• Center for Intellectual Property Law: This center is dedicated to research and the promotion of knowledge on all issues related to intellectual property and innovation law and policy.
• Center for Legal Advocacy: This center features innovative programs aimed at improving client representation skills and enhancing the level of advocacy in the profession.
• Gitenstein Institute for Health Law and Policy: Designed to train attorneys in the field of health law, this institute concentrates on the study and formulation of health care policy.
• Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation: This institute promotes the understanding of conflict processes and intervention from the transformative mediation framework.
• Institute for the Study of Gender, Law, and Public Policy: The mission of this institute is to facilitate teaching, research, and scholarship concerning gender as it relates to law and public policy.
• Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics: As a research center, this institute explores critical issues concerning lawyers’ ethics and the legal profession.
• Law, Logic, and Technology Research Laboratory: The LLT Lab conducts empirical research on legal reasoning in substantive areas of law, using a logic-based analytical framework and state-of-the-art technology, to create knowledge, skills, and tools that enhance legal practice and legal education.
• Perry Weitz Institute for the Study of Mass Torts: This institute is dedicated to researching the issues and dynamics that arise in mass torts, class actions, and aggregate litigation, as well as processes for the adjudication of such claims and alternatives to litigation.

Rewarding Fellowships and Scholarships

Each year, Hofstra Law awards fellowships to entering JD students based on their demonstrated commitment to advocacy in several areas. Fellowship recipients receive tuition assistance, gain valuable internship experience, and pursue a course of study that provides the knowledge and skills needed to make an impact in their chosen field.

The Business Law Honors Fellowship is awarded to individuals who intend to pursue a career in business law and want to help clients succeed in a rapidly changing global economy.

The Child and Family Advocacy Fellowship is awarded to individuals who plan to use their legal education to advocate for the interests of children and families.

The Health Law and Policy Fellowship is awarded to individuals who want to represent medical providers, patients, and pharmaceutical companies and advance health law policy.

The Intellectual Property Law Honors Fellowship is awarded to individuals who intend to pursue a career in intellectual property and innovation law and policy.

The Law, Government, and Politics Fellowship is awarded to individuals who want to encourage civic engagement and study the Constitution under the guidance of Professor Eric Lane.

The William R. Ginsberg Memorial Fellowship in Environmental Law is awarded to individuals who want to pursue public interest environmental work during the summer or academic year.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Fellowship is awarded to individuals who plan to use their legal education to advocate for the interests of the LGBT community.

The Dwight L. Greene Memorial Scholarship is awarded to individuals who have a commitment to advocacy on behalf of minority groups.

Other endowed scholarships are available for entering and continuing law students.