Message from the Dean

A Message from Dean Richard A. Matasar

Welcome to our virtual home. I am pleased to have the opportunity to tell you a little about New York Law School.

Every school has its genesis story. Ours lauds the renegade dean, faculty, and students who scoffed at conventional wisdom, broke away from Columbia Law School, and banded together to do it their (right) way. In 1891, these legal education pioneers created a unique, fiercely independent, practical, open-minded institution that soon became the largest and most important law school in the country. This new school went on to graduate the leading lawyers, judges, and politicians of their day. It produced founders of major law firms, real estate moguls, inventors, award-winning writers, and entrepreneurs who built new businesses using technologies of their own design. Simply put: New York Law School broke new ground by building a vibrant, diverse school that gave opportunities to countless students to reach their goals—in law, government, and commerce.

Flash forward 119 years. Walk past our school. Watch the buzz of activity. Every day, we continue to live our motto: Learn law. Take action. We are breaking new ground by creating an extraordinary, cutting-edge program that responds to the needs of the new generation of law students and bridges their hopes to a wide array of new careers for which a legal education is critical.

There are common threads in every New York Law School story: the drive to serve others; the commitment to constantly improve, innovate, and redesign; the desire to reach beyond our most hopeful dreams; and the quest for continued knowledge and perfection of our craft. As you click through our home on the Web, you will see these common threads in action—in the work of our academic centers; in the profiles of our alumni, students, faculty, and staff; and in the descriptions our innovative educational program. We welcome you.