Fordham Law Facts

Fordham Law is a vibrant, collaborative, and diverse community where intellectual curiosity, professional craft, and commitment to service are prized. Our faculty, students, and staff are passionate about the potential of law to be a positive force that improves human lives, institutions, and society.

Top 30-Ranked Law School in 10 Areas

Fordham Law is ranked by U.S. News & World Report (2023) among the top law schools in the U.S. for education in 10 specialty areas.

    • #7 in Trial Advocacy
    • #13 in Dispute Resolution
    • #17 in Clinical Training
    • #18 in Business-Corporate Law
    • #18 in Criminal Law
    • #20 in Contracts-Commercial Law
    • #21 in International Law
    • #25 in IP Law
    • #28 in Tax Law
    • #30 in Constitutional Law

Student Profile

2022 Entering J.D. class data

428 matriculants out of 6,898 applicants
55% women
34% minority (self-identified)
20% LGBTQ+ (self-identified)

  • Class size (Day)

    • 6,426 day applicants
    • 369 day matriculants

    LSAT

    • 167 overall
    • 164 (bottom ¼)
    • 168 (top ¼)

    GPA

    • 3.73 overall
    • 3.56 (bottom ¼)
    • 3.83 (top ¼)

  • Class size (Day)

    • 472 applicants
    • 59 matriculants

    LSAT

    • 163 overall
    • 158 (bottom ¼)
    • 167 (top ¼)

    GPA

    • 3.60 overall
    • 3.46 (bottom ¼)
    • 3.73 (top ¼)
    • Fordham University
    • New York University
    • Columbia University
    • Cornell University
    • George Washington
    • Binghamton University
    • UC Berkeley
    • University of Florida
    • USC (Los Angeles)
    • Georgetown (tie)
    • Tulane University (tie)
    • University of Michigan (tie)

Career Placement

Fordham Law alumni are making an impact as leaders of top law firms and nonprofit organizations, practicing public interest law, and serving in government.

94% of 2021 Fordham Law graduates employed 10 months after graduation
#4 in employment of law school graduates by the top 100 law firms in their New York City offices (The American Lawyer and employment data reported by ALM Legal Compass, 2022)
#7 in the nation for alumni promoted to partner

Academics

From the classroom to our clinics, our students are engaged in finding real-world solutions to the most pressing legal issues shaping politics and society.

300+ elective courses
19 centers and institutes
19 clinical practice areas
100,711 hours of public interest work volunteered by students

Faculty and Scholarship

Our renowned faculty are at the forefront of innovative and pacesetting scholarship that is shaping our knowledge of the law.

#23 ranking in scholarly impact nationally
75+ full-time faculty members dedicated to teaching and research
200+ adjunct faculty members who are leaders in business, government, and public service in New York City

Student Journals

Our student-edited journals are highly cited by both judges and scholars for their influential scholarship.

  • Judges rely on Fordham's student journals: in terms of citations in judicial opinions, three of Fordham's six journals are in the top ten most cited journals of their respective fields. 

    All Journals

    1. Harvard Law Review
    2. California Law Review
    3. Yale Law Journal
    4. Cardozo Law Review
    5. Notre Dame Law Review
    6. Virginia Law Review
    7. Columbia Law Review
    8. New York University Law Review
    9. Stanford Law Review
    10. Fordham Law Review

    All IP Journals

    1. Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property [online]
    2. UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law
    3. Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal
    4. Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal
    5. Boston College Intellectual Property and Technology Forum [online]
    6. Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property [online]

    Student-Edited Public Policy Journals

    1. Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy
    2. Fordham Urban Law Journal
    3. Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy
    4. Harvard Law & Policy Review
    5. New York University Review of Law & Social Change
    6. Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems
    7. New York University Journal of Law & Liberty
    8. University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
    9. Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy

    Methodology: Data compiled by Washington & Lee Law School, retrieved from lawlib.wlu.edu/LJ/index.aspx, November 2022. Table 1 filtered by "2021 Case Cites." Table 2 filtered by "Intellectual Property" and "2021 Case Cites." Table 3 filtered by "Public Policy, Politics and the Law," "Student-edited," and "2021 Case Cites." 

  • Fordham's journals are also some of the most cited by law reviews. Two of Fordham’s journals are the single most cited in their fields, and five are in the top ten most cited journals of their fields.

    All Law Journals

    1. Harvard Law Review
    2. Yale Law Journal
    3. Columbia Law Review
    4. California Law Review
    5. Stanford Law Review
    6. University of Pennsylvania Law Review
    7. Fordham Law Review
    8. Notre Dame Law Review
    9. Georgetown Law Journal
    10. Michigan Law Review

    All IP Journals (only 6 journals cited)

    1. Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal
    2. Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property [online]
    3. UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law
    4. Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal
    5. Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property [online]
    6. Boston College Intellectual Property and Technology Forum [online]

    All International Journals

    1.American Journal of International Law
    2. Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
    3. Fordham International Law Journal
    4. European Journal of International Law
    5. Yale Journal of International Law
    6. Chicago Journal of International Law
    7. Harvard International Law Journal
    8. Washington International Law Journal
    9. Journal of International Economic Law
    10. University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law

    All Public Policy Journals

    1. Fordham Urban Law Journal
    2. Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy
    3. Harvard Law & Policy Review
    4. Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy
    5. New York University Review of Law & Social Change
    6. University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
    7. New York University Journal of Legislation and Public Policy
    8. Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy
    9. Harvard Journal on Legislation
    10. Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

    All Banking and Finance Journals

    1. Yale Journal on Regulation
    2. Business Lawyer
    3. Journal of Corporation Law
    4. Columbia Business Law Review
    5. American Business Law Journal
    6. University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law
    7. New York University Journal of Law & Business
    8. Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law
    9. Delaware Journal of Corporate Law
    10. Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

    Methodology: Data compiled by Washington & Lee Law School, retrieved from lawlib.wlu.edu/LJ/index.aspx, November 2022. Table 1 filtered by “2021 Journal Cites.” Table 2 filtered by "Intellectual Property" and "2021 Journal Cites." Table 3 filtered by "International Law" and "2021 Journal Cites." Table 4 filtered by "Public Policy, Politics and the Law" and "2021 Journal Cites." Table 5 filtered by "Banking and Finance" and "2021 Journal Cites."

Rankings

Fordham Law School is consistently ranked year after year among the top law schools in the U.S.

#29 ranking by U.S. News & World Report
Top 30 law school in 10 specialty areas ranked by U.S. News & World Report
#21 “Go-To Law School” according to National Law Journal
#23 ranking by Above the Law

Additional Resources

These websites provide comparative data on law schools, including enrollment, financial aid, and bar passage rates.