School of Law

The School of Law is one of UB's 13 schools and colleges. It is the only SUNY law school.^[1] It is primarily located in O'Brian Hall.^[2] For the graduating class of 2027, there are 148 enrolled JD students.^[3] The Charles B. Sears Law Library is also located within O'Brian Hall.

History

The School of Law was founded in 1887 as the Buffalo Law School.^[4] It was originally affiliated with Niagara University and joined the State University of New York system in 1962.^[5]

The first women to graduate from the Buffalo Law School were Helen Z.M. Rodgers and Cecil B. Wiener in 1899.^[5]

The School of Law began granting Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees in 1906 and Juris Doctor (JD) degrees in 1964.^[5]

The Journal of Buddhism, Law & Society was founded at the School of Law, but it is now run by Rutgers University.^[6]

Academic Programs

Undergraduate Program

The School of Law offers a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Law and an undergraduate minor in Law.^[7]

Graduate Programs

The School of Law offers three graduate programs:^[8]

Juris Doctor (J.D.)
Master of Laws (LL.M, with optional concentrations in Cross-Border Legal Studies and Criminal Law)^[9]
Doctor of Juridicial Science (J.S.D.)

Combined Programs

3+3 BA/JD Program

The School of Law offers UB undergraduates from select majors the opportunity to apply for an accelerated program. This is currently available to students majoring in Sociology, Criminology, English, History, Philosophy, Political Science, and students in the Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Program majoring in Legal Studies.^[10]

Additionally, undergraduate students of specific majors from parter institutions that do not have their own law schools are eligible to apply for this program. The current partners are Alfred University, Canisius University, Hilbert College, Le Moyne College, Nazareth University, Niagara University, Rochester Institute of Technology, St. John Fisher University, SUNY Buffalo State, SUNY Canton, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Old Westbury, and SUNY Potsdam.^[11]

Combined Graduate Programs

The School of Law offers several combined graduate programs in conjunction with other schools and departments:^[12]

Law and Social Work Program (JD + MSW, with the School of Social Work)
Law and Management Program (JD + MBA, with the School of Management)
Law and Applied Economics Program (JD + MA, with the Department of Economics)
Law and Legal Information Management & Analysis Program (JD + MS, with the Department of Information Science)
Law and Doctor of Pharmacy Program (JD + PharmD, with the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences)
Law and Public Health Program (JD + MPH, with the School of Public Health and Health Professions)
Law and Urban Planning Program (JD + MUP, with the School of Architecture and Planning)
Law and Ph.D. Program (with any UB PhD program)

Facilities & Research

Legal Clinics

The School of Law is home to 8 legal clinics where students work:^[13]

Access to Justice Clinic
Civil Rights and Housing Clinic
Criminal Justice Advocacy Clinic
Entrepreneurship Law Center Clinic
Environmental Advocacy Clinic
Family Violence and Women's Rights Clinic
Sports Law Clinic
Mediation Clinic

Research Centers

The School of Law has six research centers:^[14]

The Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy (with the College of Arts and Sciences, including the Department of Geography, Department of Political Science, Department of Economics, Department of Sociology and Criminology, Department of History, and Department of Philosophy)^[15]
Buffalo Criminal Law Center
Buffalo Human Rights Center
Center for the Advancement of Sport (with the Graduate School of Education, School of Social Work, School of Management, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Department of Athletics)^[16]
Cross-Border Legal Studies Center
Jaeckle Center for Law, Democracy, and Governance

Student Outcomes

JD graduates from the School of Law had a first-time bar passage rate of 85.7% as of 2024. 94.4% of 2024 JD graduates had jobs, with 84.4% having long-term, full-time legal jobs.

One year after graduation, 2018 and 2019 JD graduates had a median annual salary of $64,220 in 2021 dollars.^[17]

Student Life

The Buffalo Law Review was founded in 1950 and is edited by current UB law students.^[4] The School of Law is also home to the Buffalo Environmental Law Journal and the Buffalo Human Rights Law Review.^[18]

The Student Bar Association was founded in 1951 and serves as the representative body for students of the School of Law.^[5]^[19] There are also several active affinity and special-interest-based law student organizations.^[20]

The School of Law hosts three legal competitions: the Charles S. Desmond Moot Court Competition, Herbert Wechsler National Criminal Moot Court Competition, and Buffalo-Niagara Mock Trial Competition.^[21]

Notable People

Alumni

Barbara Howe, JD ’80 (Former New York State judge)^[22]
Kenneth Landau, JD ’80 (Attorney and Radio Host)^[23]
Denise O'Donnell, JD ’82 (Former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York)^[24]

Faculty & Former Faculty

Thomas Buergenthal (Professor from 1964 to 1975; former International Court of Justice judge)^[25]
Albion W. Tourgee (Professor in the late 1800s; civil rights attorney)^[26]

References

[1] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/about.html

[2] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/about/location.html

[3] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20250630194127/https://www.law.buffalo.edu/content/dam/law/content/admissions/fast-facts.pdf

[:0-4] 4.0 ^4.1 https://www.law.buffalo.edu/history/intellectual.html

[:1-5] 5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2181&context=ub_law_forum

[6] ttps://sites.rutgers.edu/buddhismandlaw/editorial/

[7] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/academics/undergraduate.html

[8] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/academics.html

[9] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/academics/llm.html

[10] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/admissions/3-plus-3/ub-applicants.html

[11] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/admissions/3-plus-3/partner-institutions.html

[12] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/academics/dualDegrees.html

[13] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/beyond/clinics.html

[14] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/beyond/centers.html

[15] ttps://www.buffalo.edu/baldycenter/people/advisory.html

[16] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/sports-center.html

[17] ttps://app.lawhub.org/schools/buffalo/salaries

[18] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/beyond/journals.html

[19] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/student-affairs/sba.html

[20] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/student-affairs/student-organizations.html

[21] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/beyond/competitions.html

[22] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/links/2018-February/news-howe.html

[23] ttps://www.buffalo.edu/alumni/get-involved/business-directory.host.html/content/shared/www/alumni/business-directory/Law_You_Should_Know.detail.html

[24] ttps://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1669&context=ub_law_forum

[25] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/links/2023-Summer/buergenthal.html

[26] ttps://www.law.buffalo.edu/history/faculty.html#title_8

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]