Hofstra Law School, Hempstead, N.Y. — Hofstra Law School has been named one of the country’s best public interest law schools by preLaw magazine, a national publication aimed at prospective law students. Among the 75 law schools that made the list, Hofstra ranked 11th.

Read the cover story at  www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress/prelaw-fall-08.

“The official ranking affirms what we know about Hofstra Law,” said Dean Nora V. Demleitner. “Through words and deeds, our faculty, students and alumni are committed to social justice and to making an impact in their communities.”

A pioneer in clinical programs, Hofstra Law School is home to clinics for Child Advocacy, Community and Economic Development, Criminal Justice, Law Reform Advocacy, Mediation, Political Asylum and Securities Arbitration. The clinics teach students lawyering skills through the legal representation of clients in need. Hofstra Law students work with real clients, under faculty supervision, while earning academic credit.

Stefan Krieger, Professor of Law and Serge Martinez, Associate Clinical Professor of Law will be running a non-partisan Election Day program that will give law students a chance to represent disenfranchised voters.

“Hofstra Law students will be stationed at the courthouse on Election Day to help these voters navigate their way through the complex legal system,” said Martinez. “Voters who have been turned away will be able to turn to our students to help fight for their right to cast ballots.”

Hofstra Law’s pro-bono student groups include The Domestic Violence Courtroom Advocates Project, The Law Students Disaster Recovery Network, The Unemployment Action Center and The Volunteers for Income Tax Assistance program.

Hofstra Law School's Public Justice Foundation, a student-run organization dedicated to the public interest, holds various fundraisers throughout the year to support summer fellowships. The fellowships enable recipients to take nonpaying jobs in the public sector that they otherwise would be unable to accept due to financial constraints. The premise of the summer fellowship program is to provide legal services to individuals, groups or interests currently underrepresented in society.

Hofstra Law also offers a loan assistance program for graduates who work in public interest.

To compile the rankings, preLaw magazine used a scoring system based on a 100-point scale to assign point values to law schools in three equally weight categories – student involvement, curriculum and financial factors. The categories reflect the same areas that Equal Justice Works recommends students consider when choosing law schools.

Hofstra Law School prepares passionate students to make an impact in their communities and beyond. Accredited by the American Bar Association and ranked in the top 100 law schools nationwide, Hofstra Law is located on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. The Law School offers both full-time and part-time juris doctor (J.D.) programs as well as LL.M. graduate degrees in American Legal Studies (for foreign law graduates) and Family Law (for U.S. law graduates).