City University of New York is a public university first established in 1847, with 23 campuses comprised of colleges, community colleges and graduate schools located throughout the New York City area. The CUNY School of Law campus is in Flushing, New York, and was founded in 1983. The school's motto is "Law in the Service of Human Needs," and its clinical program serves the needs of New York residents who would otherwise lack access to legal representation.
CUNY School of Law is noted for its focus on public interest law, or law practice that serves historically disempowered and underserved communities in the U.S. Third-year law students, under supervision, represent clients as part of Main Street Legal Services, Inc., a public interest law firm located on campus. Other programs include the Economic Justice Project, which focuses on assisting single mothers, and the CUNY School of Law Immigrant Initiatives program, which works to secure citizenship for immigrant students at CUNY campuses.
A private Catholic university founded in 1870 by the Vincentian Community, a community based on St. Vincent de Paul's principles of Christian charity and service to the poor and the disadvantaged, St. John's University has four New York campuses and one campus in Rome, Italy. The university offers undergraduate and graduate studies, and famous alumni include former New York Governors Hugh L. Carey and Mario M. Cuomo. The School of Law is located at the university's campus in Queens, New York.
St. John's University School of Law opened its doors in Brooklyn in 1925, and moved to its present campus in Queens, New York, in 1972. The Juris Doctor degree is offered, as well Masters in Law degrees in bankruptcy and in U.S. legal studies for foreign law school graduates. The School of Law also sponsors the Street Law Program, which educates inner-city high school students on their legal rights and fosters their involvement in the democratic process.