Life at Yale Law School

Limit on Term-Time Employment

During the academic term, students are limited to twenty hours per week of work in the Law School—such as serving as a research assistant for a Law School faculty member—or in other university jobs that require Law School approval, such as serving as a teaching fellow for a Yale College course.

The Law School does not track or limit work performed outside Yale University or work undertaken when the Law School is not in session.

First-term J.D. students are prohibited from working in the Law School or in other university jobs that require Law School approval.

Housing

Yale Law School has dormitory units available at Baker Hall, which is located at 100 Tower Parkway and houses 111 students in furnished, one- and two-bedroom units. The units are managed by the Yale Housing Office.

The Yale Graduate Housing Office has dormitory and apartment units available for graduate and professional students. Dormitories are single-occupancy and two-bedroom units of varying sizes and prices. They are located across the campus, from Edward S. Harkness Memorial Hall, serving the medical campus, to 254 and 276 Prospect Street and 272 Elm Street, serving the central/science campus. Unfurnished apartments consisting of efficiencies and one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments for singles and families are also available. Family housing is available in Whitehall and Esplanade Apartments. The graduate housing website is the venue for graduate housing information and includes dates, procedures, facility descriptions, floor plans, and rates. Applications for the new academic year are available beginning April 1 and can be submitted directly from the website with a Yale NetID. Room selection for paired roommates begins April 19. Room selection for all others begins April 20.

The Yale Graduate Housing Office also manages the Off Campus Living listing service (http://offcampusliving.yale.edu; 203.436.9756), which is the exclusive Yale service for providing off-campus rental and sales listings from New Haven landlords. This secure system allows members of the Yale community to search rental listings, review landlord/property ratings, and search for a roommate in the New Haven area. On-campus housing is limited, and members of the community should consider off-campus options. Yale University discourages the use of Craigslist and other third-party nonsecure websites for off-campus housing searches.

Information Technology

Yale Law School Information Technology Services assists students with questions and concerns about computer hardware and software. Law IT also supports and maintains a number of public computing workstations located in the Yale Law Library. Students can also visit the IT Student Helpdesk, located on L2 of the Law Library, for technology questions and issues, including assistance with printing, connecting to the network, and personal computer support. For more information, visit https://law.yale.edu/its or contact the manager of student computing at law.help@yale.edu.

Child Care

The YLS Early Learning Center is an independently operated childcare center run for the benefit of Yale Law School students, faculty, and staff. Open all day and year-round, it accepts children from three months through three years of age. Children of students, faculty, and staff of Yale Law School have priority in the assignment of spaces. For students on financial aid, the Law School makes loans available to cover the center’s tuition. For further information about the center, please contact the YLS Early Learning Center at 203.432.7640.

Security in the Law School

As in most urban institutions, security from fires, thefts, and personal attacks is a concern of the Law School. Security affairs are administered by a joint faculty-staff-student committee working in conjunction with Yale security and fire prevention personnel. Yale Community members are encouraged to download the LiveSafe app (https://your.yale.edu/community/public-safety/stay-safe-campus/livesafe-app).

Immediate evacuation must commence whenever the siren is activated. Doors are locked using a system that discourages key duplication, and campus police regularly patrol the Law School area.

Students, faculty, and staff may request a Yale Public Safety security escort anywhere within the campus footprint. A Yale security officer will walk you to and from any point on campus, within a reasonable walking distance between Yale buildings. To request a walking escort, please call 203.785.5555.

Class Cancellations

The Law School ordinarily does not cancel classes because of adverse weather conditions. Individual classes may be canceled by instructors on occasion, in which case makeup classes are scheduled.

Special Events

Numerous lectures are given by distinguished visitors invited to the Law School by faculty and students (see the chapter Lecture Programs and Other Academic Opportunities). From time to time faculty members present informal talks on their current research interests. Lectures and other public events are described in the online Calendar of Events (https://law.yale.edu/calendar).

Policy on Use of Photographic and Video Images and Audio Recordings

Photographs may be taken and video or audiotapes made by Yale Law School or university staff during Yale Law School and Yale University events and activities (including during alumni events). By attending and/or participating in classes and in other Law School and university activities, students agree to the university’s use and distribution of their image and/or voice in photographs, video or audio capture, or electronic reproductions of such classes and other Law School and university activities. These images or excerpts may be included, for example, on the Yale Law School website, in the Yale Law Report and other Yale University publications, on the Law School’s social media channels, and otherwise used to support the university’s mission.