Diversity in Law School

Nondiscrimination Policy

Yeshiva University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in admissions and all other facets of its educational programs and activities. In accordance with the requirements of the Association of American Law Schools and the American Bar Association, which serve as the accrediting agencies of law schools, as well as the human rights law applicable to schools, the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law adheres to the following statement:

All decisions with regard to students are based on equitable and equally applied standards of excellence and all programs involving students, academic and nonacademic, are administered without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran or disabled veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, or other protected classifications as those terms are used in the law. In addition, this policy is designed to maintain a work and academic environment free of sexual harassment and intimidation.

Student Organization Contact Information

OUTlaw

E-mail: cardozo.outlaw@gmail.com

Co-Chairpersons:

David Johnston
E-mail: johnston@yu.edu

Jaime Leggett
E-mail: leggett@yu.edu

Faculty Contact Information

Paris Baldacci
Professor
Phone: 212.790.0241
E-mail: baldacci@yu.edu

Edward Stein
Professor
Phone: 212.790.0269
E-mail: estein2@yu.edu

Administrator Contact Information

David G. Martinidez
Dean of Admissions
E-mail: lawinfo@yu.edu

Jeff Becherer
Associate Director of Career Services
E-mail: becherer@yu.edu

Course Titles and/or Descriptions

Gender, Sexual Orientation, Law, and Bioethics

Professor: E. Stein/Powell
Credits: 2
Pre/Corequisite: None

This course will investigate the intersection of law, medicine, ethics, and theory as they relate to gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. We will examine US legal decisions regarding gender and sexuality; scientific and psychological theories about the development of sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity; and a range of government practices, including military policies regarding soldiers and sexuality, marriage, and reproduction. We will examine historical approaches and current controversies involving sex assignment and surgery for intersex newborns. We will also look at past and current psychiatric theory and practice and investigate the evolution of ideas about gender presentation, sexual orientation, and pathology. We will approach these topics using a wide range of sources, including legal cases, historical scholarship, medical and scientific texts, and works of fiction. No prerequisites. Grades will be determined by class participation and a final paper. This course is writing credit eligible and satisfies distribution requirement 4.

LGBT Litigation and Leadership Practicum

Professor: Baldacci
Credits: 4 credits (2 clinical + 2 academic) for the semester
Prerequisite: LGBT Rights Seminar

The LGBT Litigation and Leadership Practicum was offered for the first time in the spring 2012 semester; enrollment was limited to six externs for the inaugural semester. The practicum provides a one-semester intensive lawyering experience in advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights. Students are placed in direct service law offices or in organizations whose focus is on law reform litigation and advocacy. (A list of these placements was announced before the application process began.) The goal of these placements is to expose students to both the litigation work of these organizations and also to their leadership role, structure, and strategies in advancing LGBT rights. The LGBT Rights Seminar explores the history of litigation and other law-reform strategies to advance LGBT rights. The seminar critically reflects on the legal theories and strategies that have guided this history, focusing on key cases in areas such as sexual privacy, family, marriage equality, and gender identity. The seminar also provides a locus where students can critically reflect on the work they are doing in their practicum placements. A substantial research paper will be required.

Sexual Orientation, Gender, and Law

Professor: E. Stein, David
Credits: 2
Pre/Corequisite: None

This course will look at legal issues relating to sexual orientation and gender, especially questions relating to lesbian, gay, and bisexual rights, women's rights, and the rights of transgender people. The course will look at both constitutional and statutory issues, with particular attention to issues relating to speech, families, reproduction, and discrimination.

Domestic Partnership Benefits

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and Yeshiva University recognize same-sex marriages and provide health insurance and related benefits to the same-sex spouses of faculty and administrators.

Additional Information

Cardozo School of Law is located in the heart of Greenwich Village in Manhattan, a few blocks from the Stonewall Inn, sometimes called the birthplace of the gay rights movement in America. Befitting its location, LGBT students are fully and openly welcomed as members of the law school community, and issues concerning the rights of LGBT people are frequently discussed in many of our courses, from Constitutional Law to Family Law. Cardozo has organized numerous public events on topics of interest to LGBT people, including events relating to politics and marriage equality and the US military's policy on sexual orientation. Cardozo also hosts an annual career fair for LGBT law school students from the greater New York City law school community and a monthly meeting of New York-area law professors who write about sexuality, gender, and the law. Additionally, Cardozo has numerous faculty members and senior administrators who are openly LGBT. OUTlaw, the student group for LGBT people and their supporters, is very active and frequently organizes educational panels, networking events, and social events.

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