The Keys to the Kingdom
At NYU, Procedure is more than just a basic first-year requirement; it’s an area of study vital to the administration of justice. The faculty are passionate about the importance of procedure and devoted to giving their students what they call “the keys to the kingdom.” They teach from experience, preparing their students to apply civil procedure in a rapidly changing world. The NYU procedure faculty have participated in some of the most significant cases involving civil procedure, and have authored some of the key legal texts in the discipline. They routinely testify before Congress about procedural reform, appear as amicus curiae in litigation before the federal circuit courts and the Supreme Court of the United States, and argue headline cases.
The first-year study of Procedure is allied with a hands-on learning course—Lawyering—in which students experience how legal principles play out in practice. They analyze legal questions, develop facts, interview and counsel clients, and engage in written and oral advocacy, all within a framework informed by Civil Procedure. In upper level courses, students can enroll in courses involving such topics as evidence, the federal courts, and international litigation and arbitration. They also get firsthand experience through NYU Law clinics, ranging from the Brennan Center Public Policy Advocacy Clinic and the Legislative and Regulatory Process Clinic to Government Civil Litigation Externship opportunities for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Program.