Albany Law School

History

Albany Law School is the oldest independent law school in the United States. It was founded in 1851 by Amos Dean (its dean until 1868), Amasa J. Parker, Ira Harris, and others.

It is officially named Albany Law School of Union University with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Beginning in 1878, the Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany Law School, Albany Medical College, Dudley Observatory and Union College created the loose association today known as Union University; however, each member institution has its own governing board, is fiscally independent, and is responsible for its own programs.

Albany Law School is the only law school located within 90 miles of New York's Capital District. It is within two miles of the New York State Legislature, New York Court of Appeals, the Appellate Division 3rd Department, the Federal District Court for the Northern District of New York, the New York State Bar Association, and several state agencies.

Albany Law School has a historically close relationship with the New York Court of Appeals. One of the original members of the court, Greene C. Bronson, helped to found the law school. Since that time, Albany Law School alumni have been members of the court nine times with two serving as Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. In addition, the school hosts the Fund for Modern Courts' Hugh R. Jones Memorial Lecture, which is typically given by a current or former member of the court.

Employment and rankings

Albany Law School has repeatedly been ranked the #1 law school in the nation for government by National Jurist’s preLaw magazine, with editors writing:“As the only law school located in New York State’s capital, Albany Law School benefits from unmatched proximity to state government institutions, including the governor’s office, legislature, courts and key agencies. We rank the law school No. 1 for Best School in Government.”National Jurist also ranked Albany Law among the top law schools in the country for preparing students to work in government roles as part of the Government Law Honor Roll. In 2026, Albany was the only law school to receive an 'A' in the Government Law category other than Harvard Law School.

Albany Law School is well known for preparing students for law careers in public service. In 2024, over half of graduates were employed in the public service sector at non-profits and government agencies such as public defenders offices.

For the 2024 general rankings across all possible criteria, U.S. News & World Report ranked Albany Law School #117 out of all ABA-accredited law schools in the nation.

Programs and centers

Albany Law School offers 14 concentrations for J.D. candidates, as well as an L.L.M program, and joint J.D./M.B.A, J.D./M.P.A., J.D./M.R.P., J.D./M.S., and J.D./M.S.W. programs.

Albany Law School is home to several centers of legal study: The Government Law Center, The Center for Excellence in Law Teaching, The Institute of Legal Studies, The Institute for Financial Market Regulation, and The Center for Judicial Process.

In addition, under the auspices of its Law Clinic and Justice Center, Albany Law School operates several public interest clinics. Some of the clinics available include the Health Law Clinic, Community Development Clinic, Domestic Violence Prosecution, and Family Violence Litigation.

Albany Law School's Schaffer Law Library holds a collection of more than 730,000 volumes and equivalents, including videotapes of oral arguments before the New York State Court of Appeals dating back to 1989.

Notable alumni

Albany Law School has numerous notable alumni. It is one of only twelve law schools in the United States to have graduated two or more justices of the United States Supreme Court: Robert H. Jackson and David Josiah Brewer.

Nine judges of the New York State Court of Appeals and over a dozen members of the United States Congress are alumni of Albany Law.

Other notable alumni include:

Kate Stoneman (1851), the first woman admitted to the New York State Bar

William McKinley (1867), 25th President of the United States

James Campbell Matthews (1870), the first African American man to graduate from law school in New York State, and later the first African American municipal judge

Amaro Cavalcanti (1881), former justice of the Supreme Court of Brazil and the International Court of Justice at the Hague, and author of the Brazilian Constitution of 1891

Martin H. Glynn (1894), first Irish American Roman Catholic head of government and former Governor of the State of New York

Lawrence H. Cooke (1939), former Chief Judge of New York State

Richard D. Parsons (1971), former Chairman of Citigroup, Time Warner CEO, and co-chair of the advisory board of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Thomas J. Vilsack (1975), Governor of Iowa and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under Biden Administration

Jeanine Pirro (1975), United States attorney for the District of Columbia, Fox News television host, and first woman to serve as a judge of the Westchester County Court

Academics

Albany Law School offers courses and concentrations for the following degree programs: J.D., LL.M., and M.S. It offers joint degrees with the University at Albany, Russell Sage College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical College, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, as well as other institutions. Albany Law School has an affiliation agreement with University at Albany that includes shared programs and access for students and faculty to learn from one another.

Costs

The total annual tuition at Albany Law School is $64,234 for the 2025–2026 academic year, with an estimated annual cost of living in Albany of $21,844 (including all non-tuition related expenses, such as transportation, books, housing, food, etc.).

In 2024, Albany Law awarded $22.1 million in financial aid, and over 70% of first-year students received unconditional scholarships. Only around 10% of all Albany Law School students are charged full tuition.

Leadership and faculty

President & Dean

Amos Dean (1851–1868)

Issac Edwards (1868–1879)

Horace E. Smith (1879–1889)

George W. Kirchway (1889–1891)

Lewis B. Hall (1891–1895)

J. Newton Fiero (1895–1924)

Harold D. Alexander (1924–1945)

Andrew V. Clements (1945–1965)

J. Vanderbilt Straub (Acting) (1965)

Samuel M. Hesson (1965–1975)

John C. Welsh (Acting) (1975)

Ralph D. Semerad (1975–1977)

John C. Welsh (Acting) (1977–1979)

Richard J. Bartlett (1979–1985)

Martin Belsky (1986–1995)

John Baker (1991–1993)

John C. Welsh (Acting) (1993–1995)

Thomas Sponsler (1995–2002)

Thomas Guernsey (2002–2011)

Penelope Andrews (2012–2015)

Alicia Ouellette (2015–2023)

Cinnamon P. Carlarne (2023–present)

Notable faculty

Full-time faculty:

Alicia Ouellette, president and dean emeritus

Ira Mark Bloom, trusts, estates, and property lawyer

Vincent M. Bonventre, judicial and constitutional law lawyer and commentator

Raymond H. Brescia, public interest law lawyer and commentator

Patrick M. Connors, New York civil practice and legal ethics lawyer

Adjunct faculty:

Mae D'Agostino, United States district judge for the Northern District of New York

Lawrence E. Kahn, senior United States district judge for the Northern District of New York

Eleanor Stein, administrative law judge, former member of Weather Underground and Students for a Democratic Society

Former faculty:

Penelope Andrews, dean of the faculty of law at the University of Cape Town

Learned Hand, United States judge and legal philosopher

Patricia Salkin, dean of Touro Law Center

David D. Siegel, commentator on New York civil practice

Law journals

In 1875, Albany Law published the nation's first student-edited legal periodical, the Albany Law School Journal, which existed for only one academic year before being discontinued. Currently, the school publishes three journals, which are listed in order of their founding:

Albany Law Review

Albany Law Journal of Science and Technology

Albany Government Law Review

Athletics

Albany Law School has one of the oldest law school rugby clubs in the nation. The Albany Law School Rugby Football Club annually hosts the William Watkins tournament in the spring to honor its club founder, Professor William Watkins ("The Wat"), who was a faculty member, player, coach, mentor, and friend to all ruggers and students alike. The Wat established the first Albany Law School Rugby Football Team in 1966. Incredibly, since its inception, Albany Law is undefeated in inter-league law school rugby competition.