Brooklyn Law School Earns an A+ for Criminal Law in preLaw

Brooklyn Law School has been awarded an A+ grade on preLaw magazine’s “Criminal Law Honor Roll,” recognizing the school as one of the nation’s top institutions for criminal law education. 

The ranking highlights the Law School’s comprehensive curriculum and wide range of experiential learning opportunities, from clinics and centers to externships and student organizations, that prepare graduates to serve in every part of the criminal legal system. 

Grades are based on the breadth of offerings, with concentrations accounting for 30 percent of the score, clinics 24 percent, centers 12 percent, externships 12 percent, journals 9 percent, student groups 8 percent, and additional credit for certificates and other specialized programs. 

Brooklyn Law School’s A+ reflects its deep and sustained commitment to criminal justice education. Students gain practical experience through the in-house Criminal Defense and Advocacy Clinic, which provides hands-on opportunities to represent clients, appear in court, and engage directly with the justice system under the supervision of expert faculty. 

The Law School’s Center for Criminal Justice serves as a hub for scholarship, policy engagement, and public programming that explores the evolving challenges of the criminal legal system. Faculty affiliated with the Center are nationally recognized for their scholarship in a wide range of areas, including punishment, policing, the carceral state, and the role of communities in justice reform. 

“Our faculty and students are deeply engaged in the urgent work of reimagining justice,” said Jocelyn Simonson, Herman Badillo ’54 Professor of Law. “From the classroom to the courtroom, Brooklyn Law students confront the realities of punishment and inequality while learning to use the law as a tool for transformation.” 

Now in its third year, the groundbreaking Rethinking Justice program continues to broaden law student exposure to the criminal legal system in traditional classroom settings and help expand who law schools consider experts in academic instruction 

The criminal law program’s strength also lies in its location and connections. Students benefit from externships with the Brooklyn and Manhattan District Attorneys’ offices, The Legal Aid Society, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, and many public defender, nonprofit, and policy organizations throughout the city. There are also several student-run pro bono projects related to criminal law including The Appellate Advocates' Parole Advocacy Project, The Brooklyn Law Alternative Spring Break Trip, The Courtroom Advocates Project, and The National Lawyers Guild: Legal Observation at Protests. 

The new ranking was picked up in Above the Law.