New York University School of Law - Centers and Institutes

Centers and Institutes

NYU Law is home to many centers and institutes, specializing in various areas of law.

The Brennan Center for Justice is a progressive, non-partisan public policy and law institute that focuses on issues involving democracy and justice.

The Center for Law, Economics and Organization promotes interdisciplinary research and teaching in law and economics. It is directed by Jennifer Arlen, Oren Bar-Gill, John Ferejohn, Mark Geistfeld, Lewis Kornhauser, and Geoffrey Miller.

The Center on Law and Security is an independent, non-partisan, global center of expertise designed to promote an informed understanding of the major legal and security issues that define the post-9/11 environment. Towards that end, the Center brings together policymakers, practitioners, scholars, journalists and other experts who might not otherwise meet to address major issues and gaps in policy discourse and to provide concrete policy recommendations. Its fellows include: Peter Bergen, Sidney Blumenthal, Peter Clarke, Roger Cressey, Joshua Dratel, Carol Dysinger, Barton Gellman, Bernard Haykel, Thomas Hegghammer, Brian Palmer, Michael Sheehan, Alexandra Starr, Robert Windrem, and Lawrence Wright. Its former fellows included: Paul Cruickshank, Amos Elon, Baltasar Garzón, Tara McKelvey, Dana Priest, and Nir Rosen. Through its many activities, the Center generates local, national, and international awareness of the legal dimension of security issues, including the Terrorist Trial Report Card, a comprehensive study on every terrorism prosecution in the United States since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The Center on the Administration of Criminal Law is a think-tank dedicated to the promotion of good government and prosecution practices in criminal matters. The Center analyzes important issues in criminal law or having implications for the administration criminal law. In particular, the Center focuses on the exercise of power and discretion by prosecutors. The Center accomplishes its mission in three areas: academia, litigation, and participating in public policy and media debates. The Center's academic component gathers empirical research, publishes scholarship, and organizes and hosts conferences and symposia. The Center's litigation component uses the Center's research, experience, and expertise to litigate criminal cases or cases having implications for the administration of criminal law, particularly in cases in which the exercise of power and discretion by prosecutors raises substantive legal issues. The Center's public policy and media component seeks to improve public dialogue on criminal justice matters in various ways, including testifying before public officials and the publishing of op-ed pieces.

The Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy is a joint venture between the law school and NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. It is an academic research center devoted to the public policy aspects of land use, real estate development and housing.

The Hauser Global Law School Program, launched in 1994, has moved NYU School of Law beyond the traditional study of comparative and international law to systematic examination of transnational issues and the development of new ways to train 21st-century lawyers. The Program incorporates non-U.S. and transnational legal perspectives into the Law School’s curriculum, promotes scholarship on comparative and global law, and brings together faculty, scholars, and students from around the world.

The Institute for International Law and Justice integrates the law school’s scholarly excellence in international law into the policy activities of the United Nations, non-governmental organizations, law firms, and industry.

The Institute for Law & Society is a joint venture between the law school and the NYU Graduate School of Arts and Science. It serves as an intellectual center for faculty, graduate students, and law students interested in studying law and legal institutions from an interdisciplinary social science perspective. It offers an opportunity to earn a J.D.-Ph.D or J.D.-M.A. dual degree in law and society.

The Institute for Policy Integrity is headed by Richard Revesz and Michael Livermore. It advocates for sound cost-benefit analysis at the state, national, and global levels.

The Pollack Center for Law and Business is a joint venture between the law school and the New York University Stern School of Business. The Center is designed to enrich the professional education of students of law and business and to facilitate joint teaching to involve leaders in banking, business, and law in the intellectual life of the University through sponsorship of meetings, conferences and dinners. The Pollack Center also offers a program for students to earn the Advanced Professional Certificate in Law and Business. The director is William T. Allen, a professor at the law school and former Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery.

The Straus Institute for the Advanced Study of Law & Justice brings in as Fellows each year approximately 14 leading scholars from different disciplines and cultures. Each year the Straus Institute defines an annual theme that serves as the overarching subject around which the annual fora, colloquia and conference are set. The faculty director is Joseph H. H. Weiler.

The Tikvah Center for Law & Jewish Civilization is headed by Moshe Halbertal and Joseph H. H. Weiler. The foundational premise of the Center is 1) that the study of Jewish law can profit immensely from insights gained from general jurisprudence; and 2) that Jewish law and Jewish civilization can provide illuminating perspectives both on the general study of law as a per se academic discipline, and on the reflection of law as a central social institution refracting the most important issues in our society.

The U.S.-Asia Law Institute serves as a resource and partner to various Asian countries as they reform and further develop their legal systems and institutions. It also works to improve the understanding of Asian legal systems by lawyers, academics, policy makers and the public. The faculty director is Jerome Cohen.