Brooklyn Law School Ranked No. 2 for Public Service in Criminal Law

A national ranking of “The Best Law Schools for Public Service” that was published in preLaw magazine has placed Brooklyn Law School at No. 2 in the criminal law category an honor that is based upon its strong curricula and high levels of employment in the field.

As the magazine noted in its August edition, public service lawyers can forge careers in different environments, including at legal aid organizations, nonprofits, advocacy groups, government agencies, and even the judiciary. “Their roles vary, but they’re united by a common thread: a commitment to advancing justice for individuals and communities who are often underserved or marginalized,” the article states.

That common thread resonates with members of Brooklyn Law’s esteemed criminal law faculty.

“This honor underscores Brooklyn Law’s deep commitment to public service and justice: we train passionate, forward-thinking advocates, provide real-world experiences, and help place graduates at some of the nation's leading criminal law organizations,” said Professor Alexis Hoag-Fordjour, David Dinkins '56 Professor of Law and Co-Director of the school’s Center for Criminal Justice.

There has been a large spike in the number of graduates who took on jobs with the government, from 45 graduates in 2023 to 72 in 2024, according to Career Development Center data.

“That represents a huge increase,” said Associate Dean of Career & Professional Development Heather Spielmaker, who added that new grads headed not only to local government offices, but also in unusually high numbers to destinations outside the state such as Colorado, Texas, Kentucky, and Chicago. In terms of local destinations, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office hired the most Class of 2024 grads (a total of 17) in the criminal law sector, followed by the Legal Aid Society (13), Queens County District Attorney’s Office (7), and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (6).

The school’s curriculum includes a range of innovative classes for those pursuing careers as prosecutors or defense attorneys, including advanced seminars such as Abolition: Imagining a Decarceral Future; Topics in White Collar Crime; Sex Crimes; Force & Fraud; Jurisprudence: Topics in Criminal Law; Contemporary Issues in Criminal Law & Procedure; Contesting the Carceral State; and Criminal Justice?: Making a Murderer. The Rethinking Justice program, which brings justice-impacted people into classrooms as experts in Criminal Law and Procedure, is another cutting-edge offering.

Practical training opportunities include the Criminal Defense & Advocacy Clinic (CDAC), one of the flagship in-house clinics, which attracts tremendous student interest and external acclaim and was recently featured in a documentary for its pioneering role in seeking resentencing for incarcerated people through the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act.

On the career side, Public Service Law Center Executive Director Amy Hsieh ’11 says that the center does a significant amount of programming and preparation for students interested in public interest/service, especially public defense and prosecution work. That includes programs on topics such as Introduction to Careers in Criminal Justice; Prep & Practice: What it Takes to Be a NYC Prosecutor; an alumni panel on Becoming a Public Defender and a workshop titled Preparing for a Public Defender Interview.

There is a Public Service Recruitment Week, a virtual on-campus recruitment for 2L summer and post-grad, which has included organizations such as Appellate Advocates, the Colorado State Public Defender, Legal Aid Society, Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office, Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, New Jersey Office of the Public Defender, NYC Law Department, and the district attorney’s offices in all five New York City boroughs and Long Island.

The center also has pro bono projects that allow students to serve and develop skills needed to practice in criminal justice spaces, including the Appellate Advocates’ Parole Advocacy Project, the Petey Greene Program, the Suspension Representation Project and BLAST (Brooklyn Law Alternative Spring Break Trip), which has worked with the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office.