The 21st Century Policing Project (P21) is aimed at boldly advancing the racial justice and police reform demanded by, and needed in, communities locally, statewide, nationally, and globally. The Project develops strategies with law enforcement departments and municipalities around the country to implement police reforms and to improve the relationship between police departments and the diverse communities they serve. Its activities include legal and policy advocacy, thought leadership, comparative analyses of different policing and Civilian Complaint Review Board models, on-site assistance to local jurisdictions, and robust engagement in the American Bar Association’s Legal Education Police Practices Consortium. P21 student fellows will support this work. The initiative also includes the course Policing the Police. Through these efforts, NYLS aims to make substantive contributions to police reform across the United States. P21 is led by Professor Kirk D. Burkhalter ’04, a retired Detective, First Grade with 20 years of experience in the NYPD, making the program unique among academic programs on policing.

The Center for Justice & Democracy (CJ&D) is the only nonprofit consumer rights group in the nation that focuses exclusively on protecting plaintiffs’ access to the civil courts. Its mission is to raise public awareness about attacks on the civil justice system, the value of tort law, the importance of corporate liability and accountability, and the need for independent judges and juries, including the corrupting influence of money in judicial elections. CJ&D works with Congress and state legislatures around the nation, including in New York. Adjunct Professor Joanne Doroshow leads CJ&D.

Learn more about the Center for Justice & Democracy.

NYLS’s Criminal Justice Institute brings together sectors of the criminal justice system that are often siloed to find solutions that reduce both crime and incarceration. Led by faculty members with expertise in prosecution and criminal defense, the Institute seeks bold, effective, and enduring reform. It hosts lectures, panels, and workshops, providing a forum for some of the most pressing questions of criminal justice reform, such as mass incarceration, racial disparities in the system, fiscal inefficiencies, prosecutorial ethics, prison conditions, police reform, and measures to help offenders resume productive lives. In the spirit of NYLS’s broader effort to ensure that legal education has real-world impact, the Institute offers students a chance to meet and work with practitioners, academics, government officials, and reformers whose work impacts this field. And in keeping with NYLS’s related commitment to forging connections to the broader legal community, the Institute builds bridges with individuals, agencies, and institutions that work on criminal justice in New York City. Its Faculty Directors are Professors Justin Murray and Rebecca Roiphe.

The Diane Abbey Law Institute for Children and Families provides opportunities for students interested in children’s and family law issues to pursue their interests through policy research and advocacy, individual client representation, and writing. The Abbey Institute serves the community through policy work and events programming; it also provides free legal services to identity theft victims who have been wrongfully deprived of the ability to get married. Professor Lisa Grumet is Faculty Director.

Learn more about the Diane Abbey Law Institute for Children and Families.

NYLS’s Education Law and Policy Institute responds to a time of unprecedented learning loss for New York City schoolchildren. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated the systemic exclusion of low-income Black, Latinx, and special education students from a quality education. Through the Institute, NYLS students advance education equity and access for New York City's most vulnerable children through direct representation, advocacy, and policy reform. Students collaborate with civil rights organizations to increase access to broadband internet, connect students to special education services, implement trauma-informed approaches to teaching and discipline, end the school-to-prison pipeline, implement restorative justice, desegregate schools, and expand language access. The Institute also offers technical assistance and training to public school teachers and administrators in upholding students’ rights, as well as “know-your-rights” workshops for students and their parents on special education, discipline, and juvenile justice. Through the Institute, students, educators, and attorneys can collaborate on campaigns, articles, and events that address the most pressing education issues. This initiative complements and supports NYLS’s extensive work in children and family law, racial justice, and law school pipeline programs—helping meet the rapidly growing demand for attorneys with this critical expertise. The Director of the Education Law and Policy Institute is Professor Samantha Pownall ’11, who taught public high school students before beginning her legal career.

The Housing Justice Leadership Institute (HJLI) is a 10-day leadership, supervision, and management-skills training program for housing rights supervising attorneys in New York City. HJLI’s program is designed to help supervising attorneys lead, manage, and support delivery of the highest-quality legal assistance to tenants facing eviction. The Institute reinforces the critical role of lawyers in supporting a community-led housing justice movement, and building power and voice in community-based groups.Professor Andrew Scherer is Faculty Director.

Learn more about the Housing Justice Leadership Institute.

The Institute for Professional Ethics seeks to provide students with a sophisticated understanding of modern law practice and to equip students with the judgment and integrity needed to deal with the complex ethical and moral questions that lawyers confront. The Institute collaborates with several of the School’s centers to ensure that students learn about law practice in a wide variety of traditional and non-traditional practice settings. The Institutehosts programs, symposia, and master classes for students and practitioners to create an ongoing dialogue about professional ethics. Professor Rebecca Roiphe is Faculty Director.

The Law School Pipeline Project harnesses the unique skills of law students, legal educators, and practitioners to enhance the educational and career opportunities of students from underserved communities in New York City. Much of the Project’s work is made possible by a close partnership with The Charter High School for Law and Social Justice, co-founded by Professor Richard Marsico. NYLS students conduct legal research and teach law to high school students during the summer.

The Patient Safety Project develops and maintains an electronic database of redacted medical malpractice cases recently resolved in the New York State Unified Court System. The Project serves as a valuable teaching resource and encourages an open dialogue among medical care providers, risk managers, physicians, medical students, insurance providers, and lawyers. This database is the first of its kind, with the state’s Office of Court Administration granting special permission for its creation. Project administrators and students work with the courts to collect the voluntary and anonymous versions of the undisputed facts as confirmed by the presiding judge. The data is not intended for use in future litigation or for purposes of impeachment. The Patient Safety Project is co-directed by Trustee and Adjunct Professor Steven Pegalis ’65, a medical liability trial attorney, and Dr. Irwin Merkatz, Emeritus Professor and Former Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Women’s Health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

The Racial Justice Project is a legal advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the constitutional and civil rights of people who have been denied their rights on the basis of race, and to increasing public awareness of racism and racial injustice in the areas of education, employment, political participation, economic inequality, and criminal justice. The Project’s work includes impact litigation, appellate advocacy, legislative advocacy, training, and public education. Professors Penelope Andrews and Alvin Bragg serve as Faculty Co-Directors.

Learn more about the Racial Justice Project.

The Right to Counsel Project provides academic support for advocacy related to the implementation of New York City legislation that creates a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction. The Project also provides support, including research and data, supporting the extension of the right to counsel for tenants nationally. Professor Andrew Scherer is Faculty Director.

The South Africa and the Rule of Law Project focuses on the achievements of constitutional law in South Africa and the challenges that South Africa faces in building a rule of constitutional law that will endure into the future. The achievements are many—beginning, crucially, with the end of apartheid. But challenges persist: Corruption eats at the fabric of South African democracy, and bitter power struggles may jeopardize the country’s guarantees of political liberties. This Project engages NYLS students in South Africa’s ongoing development of constitutional law because South African constitutionalism is important in itself and because, in the end, the issues South Africa faces have many echoes in the United States. Professor Penelope Andrews is Faculty Director of the Project.