Touro Law School - Central Islip, NY

Touro Law Center
225 Eastview Drive
Central Islip, NY 11722
(631) 761-7000
tourolaw.edu

Touro Law School was officially established as a coeducational private law school in 1980. It is so named after a leading philanthropist from post colonial America named Judah Touro for his commitment to community services, academic excellence and justice for all ideals, which are the cornerstones for the law center today.

Situated in Central Islip on Long Island, next to the Federal Court House, County Courts and Courthouse Offices and just an hour away from New York City, Touro Law Center is a one of a kind, state of the art facility. Being in such close proximity, students have the ability to interact with those in the legal profession from the very beginning of their education. Many classes are taught by watching the legal process in action. From their first year of law students are given the opportunity to question the judge, lawyers and sometimes even the parties involved in the case. This integrated law campus makes the school first of its kind across the country.

Central Islip offers a variety of affordable accommodations. The Office of Admissions' Housing Information Network offers up-to-date listings of housing, car pools and shared living arrangements. On-campus parking is provided free of charge.

Touro Law Center does not provide an Applicant Profile Grid for its entering class due to the fact that such data does not reflect the complexity of the selection process. Evaluation is based on multiple criteria such as college major, community involvement and character, with some of the most important factors for admission being the LSAT score and UGPA. To finance law school, Touro offers access to federal loans and work study, New York State loan and assistance programs, and need-based grants. Most of the students receive some form of financial aid, and over 50 percent of new students receive scholarships.

Entering students may qualify for institutional aid based on LSAT/UGPA. Continuing students' eligibility is based on academic performance. Assistance includes:

• Dean's fellowships (full-tuition remission);
• Merit scholarships (up to 75 percent tuition remission);
• Incentive awards (up to $8,000 per year).

In addition, Touro offers stipends for Public Interest Law Fellowships, judicial clerkships, and federal work-study placements during the summer months.

Touro offers programs in law to suit both the full time and part time student. They pride themselves as being a facility that offers a dynamic learning environment. In fact, they have a program that helps both the students and the community with their needs. It is called the Public Advocacy Center. The center offers the community personal legal help while allowing the Law students to satisfy requirements for pro bono work. This program allows students to see first hand the problems that people in the community face daily and gives them the opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives with their work.

Practice Modules
An important feature of the upper-level curriculum is the correlation of substantive law with practice modules in Family Law, Business Organizations, Criminal Procedure, and Trusts and Estates. Applying the rules they have learned in school, students solve practical problems like guiding investors in selecting the right business entity, preparing criminal charges, drawing up separation agreements and drafting wills.

Clinics
Touro has five in-house clinics, where clients can bring real cases to on-campus offices. These clinics are Civil Rights Litigation, Elder Law, Family Law, International Human Rights/Asylum Litigation, and Not-for-Profit Corporation Law. The last two are set up with part-time evening students' schedules in mind. Students can work off campus in the following field-placement clinics:

• Business, Law and Technology (Internet and high-tech companies, corporate law departments, and law firms);
" Civil Practice (law firms, corporations, and private and public agencies);
• Criminal Law (District Attorneys' and Legal Aid/Public Defenders' offices);
• Judicial Clerkship (state and federal judges' chambers).

To take full advantage of its location within a court complex, Touro is working on a Federal Practice Clinic and a Bankruptcy Clinic. The Law Center also offers two "rotations", following the medical school model - students work in practice groups at the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York or in Nassau/Suffolk Law Services which is a regional legal services agency.

Externships and Public Service Projects
Touro offers unlimited options for externship placements in the courts, government agencies, private law firms, corporate law departments and public interest organizations. The agencies in Touro's William Randolph Hearst Public Advocacy Center (PAC) also provide an opportunity for students to gain public service experience. Students can work at the fifteen independent public interest agencies PAC houses - for academic credit, for pay or on a pro bono basis. Another way to earn academic credit is by performing legal work on campus in the Law Center's Domestic Violence and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance projects.

The following institutes are hosted at Touro:

• Institute for Business, Law, and Technology;
• The Local and Suburban Law Institute;
• The Jewish Law Institute;
• The Institute for Human Rights and the Holocaust.

Summer Programs
Touro provides numerous opportunities for work and study abroad in countries like Russia, India, China, Germany, and Israel. The Law Center also offers an on-site summer program, with special programs on New York law as well as summer internships in law firms, courts and government offices in Europe and Israel.

To ensure accessibility, every enrolled student is assigned a faculty advisor, selected to match by background or interest area, for assistance on every aspect of the law school experience. Each student automatically becomes a member of the Student Bar Association (SBA). This means that all students have a say in what is happening across campus - from social to academic programs as well as helping establish the policies of the school. Touro also offers 30 different organizations beyond the SBA and students are encouraged to pick a niche to explore.

The Law Center's students come from diverse backgrounds and represent over 125 undergraduate institutions. Women account for 44 percent of the total enrollment while minorities make up 26 percent, with a student faculty ratio of 16:1. Touro's two honor societies are the Touro Law Review and the Moot Court Board.

Many of the 43 full-time faculty members have advanced degrees in other disciplines such as medicine, philosophy, business, and finance. Almost all have broad practice backgrounds including the bench, major law firms, criminal prosecution and defense, government agencies and public interest organizations.

• Juris Doctor (JD): JD degree is available to daytime full- and part time students (Monday through Friday) and part time in the evening (Monday through Thursday). Students who wish to expedite their graduation may do so within two and a half years (full time) and three and a half years (part time) by attending summer sessions.
• Dual Degrees: Students who want to complete two degrees may combine the JD with a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Health Care, or a Master of Social Work (MSW), thus saving time and expenses.
• Master of Laws (LLM): Touro offers a 24-credit general LLM, full time or part time, and a 27-credit LLM in US Legal Studies for foreign law graduates, full time or part time.

A unique program of outside-the-classroom assistance is available to students. Material covered in class is reviewed by Teaching assistants (TAs) and small-group sessions on productive study approach and test-taking techniques are conducted. The Writing Resources Center offers workshops and lessons to help students create a professional work product. To enhance the experience of new students of color, the Legal Education Access Program (LEAP) hosts a four-week summer program and mentoring during the academic year. Beginning in the second year of education, the Honors Program allows prominent students to become Faculty Fellows with additional scholarship assistance and access to academic enrichment initiatives.

Students and graduates receive valuable hands-on assistance in their search for part-time, full-time, and summer jobs. The Career Services Office places students in national, regional, and local law firms as well as federal, state, and local courts, government agencies, and in the legal departments of corporations and municipalities.

While the educational program is extremely well rounded and worldly, the Touro Law Center does observe the Jewish Sabbath. On Friday evening and all day Saturday, the center is closed. The other thing that is quite unique is that the facility also serves kosher meals in the cafeteria.

Life on campus is not just all books and research. The campus has lots of activities to enjoy nearby. Touro is adjacent to the beautiful 6,000 acre Connetquot River State Park. It is a great place for student to enjoy the great outdoors and get away from the stresses of their studies for awhile. Just a short jaunt down the road is a golf course and beautiful beaches on both the bay side and ocean side. Within walking distance you can enjoy a minor league baseball game. Whatever students need to do to unwind from a long week of studying, it is close by.

In the past two and a half decades, Touro Law Center has been rising in the ranks among law schools across the United States. They offer excellent academics as well as access to diverse professional opportunities for all their students. As Touro Law Center enters into the next decade, they will continue the push to be a leader in the forefront of legal education in the United States.