Brooklyn Law School was established in 1901 as a private law school affiliated with St. Lawrence University. It was founded by Judge William J. Gaynor, who wanted to create a law school that was accessible to students from all backgrounds and socio-economic statuses. The school moved to its current location in Brooklyn Heights in 1905 and has been there ever since. Over the years, the school has grown and evolved, becoming one of the most respected law schools in the country with top-notch faculty and alumni. In 1925, Brooklyn Law School became independent from St. Lawrence University and began offering its own degree programs, becoming the first independent law school in New York City outside of Manhattan. The curriculum has expanded to include courses such as international legal studies, intellectual property law, health care law and environmental law. In 2000, the school consolidated with Long Island Law School to become Brooklyn Law School at Long Island University (LIU). The combined institution offers an extensive array of legal education opportunities for students from both schools including joint degree programs at both campuses and a summer abroad program in London.
Brooklyn Law School is located in the state of New York. As one of the leading law programs, Brooklyn Law School has a high average LSAT score of 160-164 when recruiting new students. As a return, the median starting salary for law graduates reaches $145,000 per year. See the following table for detailed admissions information and career profiles of Brooklyn Law School.
Admissions: Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School has a competitive admissions process, with an acceptance rate of 28.6%. The average GPA for incoming students is 3.52 and the median LSAT score is 159. The school boasts a range of diversity among its student body, with 27% of the student population being international and 18% coming from underrepresented minority groups. Additionally, 38% of the student population are female and 62% are male.
Brooklyn Law School also prides itself on providing generous financial aid packages to its students. In 2020, 94% of the incoming class received some form of financial aid, with 82% receiving merit-based scholarships and grants and 12% receiving need-based scholarships or grants. The average amount awarded was $30,000 per year in scholarship awards alone. Furthermore, Brooklyn Law School offers loan forgiveness programs for graduates who work in public service or government jobs as well as tuition benefits for those employed by certain employers such as JP Morgan Chase and Deloitte LLP.
| Fall 2019 Admissions and Enrollment Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total number of full- and part-time applicants | 5,886 |
| Total number of full- and part-time acceptances | 1,652 |
| Overall acceptance rate | 28.1% |
| Total number of full- and part-time first-year students enrolled | 496 |
| Number of full-time program applicants | 4,909 |
| Number of full-time program acceptances | 1,470 |
| Full-time acceptance rate | 29.9% |
| Number of first-year full-time students enrolled | 406 |
| Number of part-time program applicants | 977 |
| Number of part-time program acceptances | 182 |
| Part-time acceptance rate | 18.6% |
| Number of first-year part-time students enrolled | 90 |
| Fall 2019 GPA and LSAT Scores | |
| 25th-75th percentile GPA scores for all students | 3.26-3.63 |
| 25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for all students | 159-164 |
| 25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for full-time students | 3.26-3.64 |
| 25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for full-time students | 160-164 |
| 25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for part-time students | 3.28-3.55 |
| 25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for part-time students | 157-160 |
Careers: Brooklyn Law School
| Bar Statistics (Winter and Summer 2018 administrations) | |
|---|---|
| State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar | NY |
| School’s bar passage rate for first-time test takers | 89.1% |
| Statewide bar passage rate for first-time test takers | 80.7% |
| Class of 2018 Graduates | |
| Total graduates | 470 |
| Graduates employed at graduation | 79.7% |
| Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation | 92.3% |
| Starting Salaries of 2018 Graduates Employed Full-time | |
| 25th percentile private sector starting salary | $70,000 |
| Median private sector starting salary | $145,000 |
| 75th percentile private sector starting salary | $160,000 |
| Percent in the private sector who reported salary information | 63% |
| Median public service starting salary | $55,000 |
| Areas of Legal Practice (Class of 2018) | |
| Percent employed in academia | 1.0% |
| Percent employed in business and industry | 11.7% |
| Percent employed in government | 18.0% |
| Percent employed in all judicial clerkships | 6.2% |
| Percent employed in law firms | 57.4% |
| Percent employed in public interest | 5.5% |
| Percent employed in an unknown field | 0.2% |
| Percent employed in a judicial clerkship by an Article III federal judge | 3.7% |
| 2018 Graduates Employment Location | |
| Graduates employed in-state | 86% |
| Graduates employed in foreign countries | 2% |
| Number of states where graduates are employed | 21 |
| New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) | 1.0% |
| Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) | 90.0% |
| East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) | 0.2% |
| West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) | 0.5% |
| South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) | 2.7% |
| East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) | 0.2% |
| West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) | 0.7% |
| Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) | 2.0% |
| Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) | 1.2% |
| Employment location unknown | 0.0% |
| Career Services | |
| (Data appear as originally submitted by this school) | |
| Career services operations | Very high employment rates 9 months after graduation. 9-attorney professional staff including 2 employer relations associates. National network of approximately 18,000 alumni. Fall On-Campus Interview Program attracts prestigious national law firms. Public Service Office for students pursuing public interest and government jobs. Participant in diversity job fairs and other diversity opportunities. |
| Job Type | |
| Bar admission required or anticipated (e.g., attorney and corporate counsel positions, law clerks, judicial clerks) | 90.3% |
| J.D. preferred, law degree enhances position (e.g., corporate contracts administrator, alternative dispute resolution specialist, government regulatory analyst, FBI special agent) | 5.0% |
| Professional/other (jobs that require professional skills or training but for which a J.D. is neither preferred nor particularly applicable; e.g., accountant, teacher, business manager, nurse) | 4.7% |
| Nonprofessional/other (job that does not require any professional skills or training or is taken on a temporary basis and not viewed as part of a career path) | 0.0% |
