AALS has launched a series that will highlight a different member school and focus on a recent program or accomplishment in order to showcase the rich variety of approaches to legal education that makes up the American legal academy. A list of past highlights is available below.

Albany Law School

Location: Albany, New York
Founded: 1851
Joined AALS: 1947
Dean: Alicia Ouellette

Albany Law School is a private law school founded in 1851 and has been an AALS member since 1947. Albany Law School educates 201 first-year JD students. Their institution has a track record of empowering tomorrow’s leaders, producing tomorrow’s professionals, committed public servants, inspiring community change agents, and creative problem solvers.

Albany Law School connects the classroom to the profession, government, and community through experienced-based learning, engaged scholarship, and a robust network of alums and supporters. Their students develop a sophisticated understanding of legal policy and doctrine, a broad range of professional competencies, and a deep commitment to justice and ethical values.

“Current students and graduates will tell you that Albany Law School is a true community. Our 10,000-plus strong alumni network can prove it. We are a faculty and staff dedicated to student success. Our professors are more than extraordinary classroom teachers: they advise, mentor, and support our students from day one. Our students graduate well-equipped to practice law, support client needs, and continue to develop as professionals,” said President and Dean Alicia Ouellette ’94.

Albany Law School students and local attorneys annually join forces to aid Capital Region veterans through the Veterans Pro Bono Project. Students collaborate with volunteer attorneys to provide service members and their families free legal assistance and connect them to additional resources on a case-by-case basis.

This is one of many community collaborations organized through the Justice Center at Albany Law School. The Justice Center at Albany Law School combines theory and practice. The Center acts as an in-house public interest law firm, providing free legal services to eligible clients in the Capital Region.

In a typical academic year, the Justice Center recruits more than 200 students for clinic projects, representing hundreds of clients and assisting many individuals and organizations through technical assistance and community education activities. The Justice Center at Albany Law School’s mission is to provide high-quality legal representation and to teach students to be skilled professionals who practice law with compassion and sensitivity to individual client needs.