The 24-credit degree, which can be completed on either a full-time or part-time basis, is open to lawyers who were trained outside of the U.S. and are looking to hone their lawyering skills and gain a thorough understanding of the U.S. legal system.  Of these 24 credits, only five are associated with required courses resulting in a highly flexible schedule.  Students who attend the full-time program will be guaranteed housing in a new building located a few blocks from the main campus.  Enrolled students, all of whom must hold the equivalent of a J.D., can specialize in one of three areas—intellectual property, business, or refugee and immigration law—or can opt to tailor a personalized study plan.

To accommodate students whose first language is not English, Brooklyn Law has enlisted law and linguistics professors who are trained in ESL to instruct legal writing courses.  In addition, numerous courses and events have been planned to prepare students for the NY State Bar Exam, develop an international legal perspective and develop the toolkit to draft strong legal documents.

The early action deadline for the August start date is December 1, 2010.  Those interested in regular decision have until February 1, 2011 to submit their applications.

If you’d like to learn more about this new advanced legal degree offered at Brooklyn Law, click here.

The programs are all briefly profiled in the article, and also are said to have certain unifying aspects: financial and emotional support from administration, faculty and staff; an office or administrator “solely devoted” to public interest law; a “large and vast array” of projects; some sort of social network for students exploring public interest law; and “orientation programs, welcome receptions and recognition awards.”

“If you present opportunities, students are very interested in public service.  It’s a case of, ‘If you build it, they will come,’” said Maura Kelly, BU School of Law’s assistant dean for career development and public service, to the Jurist.

In selecting the four law schools, the magazine used data from the non-profit organization, Equal Justice Works, while also indicating the extent to which broad-based support for public interest law is on the rise among law schools.  For example, the number of loan repayment assistance programs has nearly doubled since 2002, and the percent of employed law graduates who take public interest positions has risen from 3 percent in 2000 to 5.4 percent in 2008.