11.15.22 — In recognition of its national leadership in preparing the next generation of attorneys who are ready to tackle racial injustice, Northeastern University School of Law has been ranked No. 10 for racial justice in the fall 2022 issue of preLaw magazine. The rankings are conducted every two years, with data from the American Bar Association and individual schools.
preLaw/The National Jurist selected Northeastern Law as a racial justice leader because of its “robust racial justice programs and initiatives.” The law school has long held racial as a critical priority. The incoming fall 2022 JD/FlexJD class includes 35 percent students of color and the faculty is also 35 percent people of color. Last year, the law school launched the Center for Law, Equity and Race (CLEAR), which includes the nationally recognized Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ), a leader in investigating and documenting racially motivated homicides and the massive breakdown in law enforcement in the South during the Jim Crow era, and the highly regarded Criminal Justice Task Force, which addresses policies and practices in the criminal justice system that disenfranchise the most vulnerable members of society. CRRJ recently launched the Burnham-Nobles Archive, an unprecedented archive of approximately 1,000 anti-Black killings between 1930 and 1954 in the South. The law school’s Center for Public Interest Advocacy and Collaboration also focuses on racial justice, including the Cradle-to-Prison Pipeline Project, which supports initiatives to dismantle the pipeline.
In its rankings article, the magazine extensively quotes Dean James Hackney. “This generation of students wants to know what people are doing, not what they are saying when applying to law school,” said Hackney. “We think it’s important for us to have an ethos and a holistic view of these issues. Racial justice can be seen in all areas of law.” Northeastern University has 11 student organizations that focus on race and all first-year students are guaranteed a clinical experience through social justice team projects, many of which involve racial justice.
In addition to recognizing Northeastern Law as a top school in the nation for racial justice, preLaw/The National Jurist has also awarded the school an “A+” in health law, human rights, practical training and intellectual property law.
About Northeastern University School of Law
The nation’s leader in experiential legal education since 1968, Northeastern University School of Law offers the longest-running, most extensive experience-based legal education program in the country. Northeastern guarantees its students unparalleled practical legal work experiences through its signature Cooperative Legal Education Program. More than 1,000 employers worldwide in a wide range of legal, government, nonprofit and business organizations participate in the program. With a focus on social justice and innovation, Northeastern University School of Law blends theory and practice, providing students with a unique set of skills and experiences to successfully practice law.
For more information, contact d.feldman@northeastern.edu.