The only accredited law degree program of its kind, Touro Law provides a supportive, flexible environment that allows students to attend in-person class on Sundays and complete the rest of their coursework when and where it fits their schedules. New for fall 2024 is a Flextime program at Touro’s new Manhattan campus at 3 Times Square.
First-year law student Shira Schneeweiss works as a paralegal at a law firm on Long Island. She finds the work rewarding and challenging and decided to take the next step and earn her law degree. But it was important to Schneeweiss that she didn’t have to give up her career or paycheck to attend law school. She applied and was accepted to a number of law schools, but Touro Law’s FlexTime JD program appealed to her the most.
“As an observant Jewish woman who works full-time, I found the FlexTime program the best option for me to obtain my law degree and further my career. I am enjoying law school classes at Touro and the flexibility the program provides which enables me to balance family, work, and law school.”
Touro Law’s hybrid FlexTime JD Program is offered at the Central Islip campus in Suffolk County where Schneeweiss is a student. As of the coming school year, the FlexTime JD Program will also be offered at Touro’s new, state-of-the-art Cross River Campus at 3 Times Square. The FlexTime JD Program is designed for law students with work, family and/or religious obligations that prevent them from attending law school full time. Ninety-five percent of admitted students receive generous scholarships to Touro Law, and the FlexTime JD Program can be completed in four years or less.
FlexTime students attend in-person classes only on Sundays and complete the balance of this coursework on an asynchronous schedule throughout the week on their own time. Students in Touro’s FlexTime program earn their degrees in only four years and are eligible to sit for the New York State Bar Exam. The new FlexTime program is fully accredited by the American Bar Association.
“The new program at Touro’s Times Square campus welcomes women who have left the workforce to raise families, young men in Kollel who have earned their bachelor’s in Talmudic Law and other non-traditional students,” said Jim Montes, Assistant Dean for the Office of Career & Professional Development. “Situated in the heart of New York City, the new FlexTIme Program at the Manhattan branch of Touro Law will leverage its location at the epicenter of the world’s largest and most sophisticated legal market. A Board of Advisors compromised of distinguished jurists and practitioners will help foster interactive opportunities and pro bono activities, and will serve as mentors to students, enhancing their career opportunities.”
A Variety of Careers Benefit from Law Degree
Graduates of the program are enjoying success in careers that require a law degree and where having a law degree is an advantage. A law degree can advance careers in related fields including compliance, financial planning, real estate, health care, law enforcement, public policy, diplomacy and more.
“FlexTime graduates have a variety of career goals. Many are already employed full-time while they are attending law school and are looking to enhance their skills and advance within that same company, such as one of our graduates who moved from a claims adjuster role at a large insurance company into the legal department. Others are looking to change careers altogether and enter the legal field upon graduation. It is a refreshing mix of students who are all dedicated to earning their law degree in a non-traditional way to meet their unique goals,” said Montes.
The only accredited law degree program with in-person requirements exclusively on Sundays, FlexTime also fully integrates students into the fabric of the law school. FlexTime students have the opportunity to become involved in every aspect of law school life including clinics, pro bono activities, student organizations, and honor societies including Law Review, Moot Court, and Trial Advocacy Practice Society.
For Schneeweiss, the opportunity to step up her role at her current firm or another, as a lawyer, is exciting. “I’m currently working in trusts and estates, which I enjoy, and which is practical for my lifestyle, but my academic background is in math and genetics and ultimately, I am hoping to be able to combine my interests and skills. Perhaps intellectual property or health law could be in my future. I will look to take classes that appeal to me in those fields while in law school and I’ll take it from there.”
Schneeweiss is greatly enjoying her classes and her classmates—a fascinating group of mature, educated professionals who already possess life and work experience.
“Attending in-person classes exclusively on Sundays considerably streamlines my academic commitments. Also, school is closed on Jewish holidays and professors do not send correspondence on Saturdays. When the October 7 attack happened, we received communication from the dean and program directors immediately, which was very reassuring. Out of all university campuses at this time, Touro is one of the safest places and where I want to be now,” she said.
“The FlexTime program provides uniquely tailored combinations of online and in-person instruction. The program will provide students with maximum flexibility while maintaining a rigorous course of study that will prepare them for the realities of law practice, and will do so using the latest in evidence-based teaching and learning tools,” said Elena Langan, Dean and Professor of Law at Touro Law Center.
To learn more visit www.tourolaw.edu/flexjd.
