Cornell Law School

The JD Program

Lawyers in the Best Sense

When Cornell University’s founding president, Andrew Dickson White, began to lay plans for a law department at Cornell University in the late 1800s, he wrote that he did not want to educate swarms of hastily prepared lawyers, “but a fair number of well-trained, large-minded, morally based lawyers in the best sense. . .” He hoped graduates of the school would become “a blessing to the country, at the bar, on the bench, and in various public bodies.” This ideal still holds true to this day. A small top-tier law school located in beautiful surroundings, Cornell Law draws on, and contributes to, the resources of a great university, consistently producing well-rounded lawyers and accomplished practitioners cut from a different cloth.

Cornell Law is an international center of learning located in Ithaca, New York, the heart of the Finger Lakes region of New York State. Cornell Law’s small classes, broad curriculum, and distinguished faculty, combined with the advantages of being part of one of the world’s leading research universities, make it ideal for those who value both depth and breadth in their legal studies. Students find Ithaca to be a safe and supportive, yet culturally rich, environment in which to pursue legal studies.

Enrollment and Student Body

Cornell Law generally enrolls approximately 200 J.D. students each year.  This small student body combined with a low student-to-faculty ratio of 5:1, instills a collegial, collaborative, and supportive community. Selective admission standards, combined with an emphasis on applicants’ unique records and achievements, ensure that the student body is made up of people with wide-ranging interests, skills, concerns, and backgrounds.

Physical Facilities and Library

Cornell Law is located in the renovated and expanded Myron Taylor Hall, at the heart of the scenic 745-acre Cornell University campus. Cornell Law School is a world leader in the development and support of legal research. It combines outstanding collections with professional expertise and access to worldwide electronic information sources for domestic and international law. 

Cornell Law School's library and facilities include a variety of resources, study spaces, and a depository collection of government documents: 

• Library resources

The library offers a range of resources for research and study, including print and digital collections, and access to databases like Bloomberg Law, HeinOnline, Lexis, and Westlaw. 

• Study spaces

The library has a variety of study areas, including open spaces, quiet areas, and enclosed study rooms, on every floor. Some say the library is comfortable and quiet, and a good place to study. 

• Depository collection

The library's depository collection includes materials from the Department of Justice, Congressional materials, and regulatory materials from government agencies. The Cornell community and the general public can use these materials during regular hours. 

Faculty

Cornell Law School’s faculty are known not only as prolific scholars but also as great teachers. Tenured and tenure-track faculty teach and produce scholarship in their areas of law; clinical faculty run client-focused and simulation courses centered around legal aid in addition to several specialty clinics; and a large number of visitors, associated faculty from other university divisions, and adjunct faculty teach at the school each year. Many of the latter group are legal scholars and professors from other countries who teach in the Law School’s significant international program. 

Joint/Dual Degrees

Being part of a world-renowned university, and the interdisciplinary environment it provides, is of great benefit. Cornell Law School and Cornell University offer many opportunities for combined-degree programs, including JD/MBA (business degree from the Johnson Graduate School of Management), JD/MPA (public affairs degree from the Cornell Institute of Public Affairs), JD/MILR (labor relations degree from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations), and JD/ PhD in developmental psychology. Law students may also take some courses outside of the Law School for law school credit.

International Legal Studies

The Berger International Legal Studies Program is one of the country’s oldest and most distinguished programs in international legal education. The Law School’s comprehensive program features a unique JD specialization opportunity; a four-year JD/Master en Droit (French law degree) program; a three-year JD/LLM program in Portugal; a three year JD/LLM with Honors in International and Comparative Law;  a Paris summer institute with the Sorbonne Law School at the Université Paris 1 (Panthéon-Sorbonne); a comprehensive speaker series; a large number of visiting foreign professors and scholars; a weekly luncheon discussion series; international moot court competitions; international internships; and a leading journal of international and comparative law edited by students. Students have the option to spend one semester abroad at a partner law school (we have partnerships with over 25 law schools in 20 different countries), or the opportunity to design an individual “term away” at a foreign law facility with which the Law School is not partnered.

The Clarke Program in East Asian Law and Culture brings an exciting interdisciplinary and humanistic focus to the study of law in East Asia. The Clarke Initiative for Law and Development in the Middle East sponsors seminars, colloquia, and lectures, and supports student and faculty exchanges with institutions in the region.