Pace University - Elisabeth Haub School of Law

New York’s Pace University School of Law has earned a regional reputation as a leader in its field because it has excelled in its specialty of environmental law. The “one-of-a-kind” environmental law curriculum wins praise for offering “a variety of courses” taught by faculty who are “highly respected and known in the environmental community.” This “broad” program “offers a unique specialization within the legal profession” taught by “some of the greatest professors available,” and one that has proven to be the best known aspect of Pace’s law program. However, students point out that Pace is “not just an environmental law school…I think Pace has rested on this reputation for far too long.”
Educators at Pace aim to ensure graduates are “readily prepared to enter the working field and perform at a high level.” Internships abound, including study abroad opportunities that allow you to work at overseas law firms or intern with a war crime tribunal. The “amazing” professors here “are interested in their students’ growth, understanding, and achievement and are for the most part available for help and talking outside of the classroom.” Indeed, they will “frequently even give students their home phone numbers if they need to call for questions.” Some suggest the quality of professors can be “hit or miss,” with some going so far as to say that “the professors are either very good or very poor with very little in between.” However, according to most these educators “are intelligent, love their jobs, and are always helpful.” These teachers “work hard to help us and are excellent at the subjects they teach and conveying the subjects to us.”
Student opinions on the administration are mixed, with some indicating that the administration’s unwillingness to confront problems or ideas presented by students “detracts from all the great resources available to those who attend Pace.” Other members of the faculty win praise. Many students note that “the librarians are fantastic at helping students and explaining research tools to students.” Gripes with the administration aside, overall “the quality of the faculty coupled with the genuine care in preparation of students is unrivaled.” The trick is letting people know—students would love to see Pace gain a wider reputation.

With a campus in the Westchester County suburbs of New York City, life at Pace Law School can be as active as you want to make it. It is not cheap to live here—White Plains “is an expensive place to live”—but the school is proximate enough to the five boroughs of New York City, as well as the NYC suburbs, that commuting to school is common. The “extremely professional” and “extremely polite” people on campus, both staff and students alike, create an “intimate atmosphere” in which students feel “close to (their) peers.” Student organizations are many, so “social life is there if you want it, but you’re not an outcast if you don’t.”
The situation with the campus itself is not as universally beloved. Despite its reputation as a cutting edge environmental law school, “there is nothing particularly cutting-edge about the technology on campus.” Students complain that “the wireless is frequently down,” and that the “windowless” auditorium-style classrooms lack natural lighting. Despite these complaints, one student summed up a common sentiment: “I consider myself to be very fortunate to be a Pace law student.”