Stein Center for Law and Ethics

The Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics works in collaboration with law students, practitioners, judges and legal scholars to study and improve the legal profession by: honoring exemplary lawyers; inculcating ethics into teaching law; training future lawyers “in the service of others;” incorporating ethical and professional values into academic and mentoring programs; and encouraging scholarly inquiry and scholarship on the professional conduct and regulation of lawyers. Above all, the Stein Center fosters an understanding of “ethical legal practice” that goes beyond adherence to the rules outlined in professional codes of conduct.  The Stein Center funds and, jointly with the Public Interest Resource Center, oversees the student-driven Stein Scholars Program, an academic and service program in which selected students to participate through all three years of law school, and throughout their careers. 

Upcoming Events

Join us for a two-part series on The Role of the Legal Profession in a Time of Crisis led by Professor Raymond Brescia and Professor Renee Knake Jefferson.

Podcast: The History of the Criminal Justice Standards Project

Listen to Chair Bruce Green

Ethical Issues in Crisis Lawyering: Representation and Advocacy Challenges

Watch now

Stein Center News

The 2023 Fordham-Stein Prize is Presented to Civil Rights Leader Sherrilyn Ifill

The 2023 Fordham-Stein Prize is Presented to Civil Rights Leader Sherrilyn Ifill

Sherrilyn Ifill knew since she was a young child that she wanted to become, in her words, “someone who makes a difference.” Today, she is one of the most renowned …

Fordham Law’s Stein Center Hosts Annual Criminal Justice Ethics Schmooze

Fordham Law’s Stein Center Hosts Annual Criminal Justice Ethics Schmooze

On June 8, nearly two dozen legal scholars gathered at Fordham Law School for the annual Criminal Justice Ethics Schmooze in which they presented and discussed papers on the professional …

Urban Law Journal Celebrates 50th Anniversary with Discussion on the “Future of Prosecution”

Urban Law Journal Celebrates 50th Anniversary with Discussion on the “Future of Prosecution”

The Fordham Urban Law Journal celebrated its 50th anniversary by bringing together speakers from both the criminal defense and prosecution side for a discussion about the future of criminal prosecution. …

Meet the Two Newest Members of the Stein Scholars Program

Meet the Two Newest Members of the Stein Scholars Program

This spring, Fordham Law School welcomed Grey Berkowitz ’25 and Taylor Young-Wells ’25 into the Stein Scholars Program in Public Interest Law and Ethics. The program is designed to cultivate …

Merck Chair Ken Frazier Receives Fordham-Stein Prize

Merck Chair Ken Frazier Receives Fordham-Stein Prize

At an award ceremony on Nov. 4, Fordham Law School presented Kenneth C. Frazier, executive chair of Merck & Co., with the 2022 Fordham-Stein Prize. At a moment of increasing …

Authors of Recent Fordham Law Review Essays Discuss Subversive Lawyering

Authors of Recent Fordham Law Review Essays Discuss Subversive Lawyering

Several authors of articles recently published by the Fordham Law Review returned to Fordham Law School on April 28 for a virtual discussion to continue a conversation on “subversive lawyering.” …

Meet the Newest Members of the Stein Scholars Program

Meet the Newest Members of the Stein Scholars Program

Fordham Law School’s Stein Scholars Program in Public Interest Law and Ethics is designed to cultivate the next generation of public interest lawyers through academic and specialized discussion series, mentorships, …

Former New York Times Journalist Discusses Workers’ Rights During COVID-19 with Fordham Law Community

Former New York Times Journalist Discusses Workers’ Rights During COVID-19 with Fordham Law Community

On October 27, the Workers’ Rights Advocates (WRA) and Stein Public Interest Scholars at Fordham Law presented an in-person discussion with Steven Greenhouse, a former labor reporter for The New …

Fordham Law’s Stein Center Files Amicus Brief to Supreme Court in Death Penalty Case

Fordham Law’s Stein Center Files Amicus Brief to Supreme Court in Death Penalty Case

In April, Fordham Law’s Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics filed an amicus brief in support of the cert petition in a death penalty case, Williams v. Texas. In …

Symposium Advances Contemporary Scholarship on Mental Health and the Legal Profession

Symposium Advances Contemporary Scholarship on Mental Health and the Legal Profession

On Nov. 6, Fordham Law School hosted a virtual symposium examining how lawyers’ mental health is affected by the interplay between legal practice and contemporary societal stressors—notably the coronavirus pandemic, …

Stein Center Files Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Death Penalty Case

Stein Center Files Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Death Penalty Case

On August 31, Fordham’s Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics, working with a pro bono team at Jenner & Block, filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in …

Meet the Newest Members of the Stein Scholars Program

Meet the Newest Members of the Stein Scholars Program

Fordham Law School’s Stein Scholars program is designed to cultivate the next generation of public interest lawyers. Selected students with a demonstrated commitment to public interest participate in the academic …

How to Avoid 10 Common Ethics Pitfalls

How to Avoid 10 Common Ethics Pitfalls

Professor Bruce Green shared expert advice on avoiding legal ethics traps with the American Bar Association. Criminal Law Problem: Potentially hostile witnesses There are some potentially thorny ethics traps for …

Two Stein Scholars Awarded Equal Justice Works Fellowships

Two Stein Scholars Awarded Equal Justice Works Fellowships

Two members of the graduating class of 2020, Emma-Lee Clinger and Maura Tracy, have been awarded prestigious postgraduate fellowships from Equal Justice Works (EJW), an organization dedicated to transforming passionate …

Fordham Law Hosts Third Annual Women’s Leadership Institute

Fordham Law Hosts Third Annual Women’s Leadership Institute

The legal landscape in the United States is at an inflection point. At least, that is what New York State Senator Alessandra Biaggi ’12 believes. “This is the actual moment …

Professor Kimani Paul-Emile Nominated to National Academies Committee

Professor Kimani Paul-Emile Nominated to National Academies Committee

Professor Kimani Paul-Emile, associate director and head of Domestic Programs and Initiatives at the Center on Race, Law & Justice and faculty co-director of the Stein Center for Law & …

Fordham Law Stein Prize: 2020 Call for Nominations

Fordham Law Stein Prize: 2020 Call for Nominations

Fordham Law Stein Prize: 2020 Call for Nominations The Stein Prize Selection Committee would be honored to receive your nominations! Nominations should be accompanied by a brief supporting statement. Nominees …

Messenger: Legal Scholars to Missouri Court of Appeals: Give Lamar Johnson his day in court.

Messenger: Legal Scholars to Missouri Court of Appeals: Give Lamar Johnson his day in court.

Professor Bruce Green co-authored a brief signed by 106 other renowned legal ethics scholars. The amicus brief submitted to the Missouri Court of Appeals, urges the judges to side with …

New York Solicitor General Barbara Underwood Receives Fordham-Stein Prize

New York Solicitor General Barbara Underwood Receives Fordham-Stein Prize

As she took the stage at Fordham Law School to accept the 2019 Fordham-Stein Prize, New York’s Solicitor General Barbara D. Underwood reflected on a lifetime breaking barriers for women …

Professor Bruce Green Accepts Stein Scholars “In the Service of Others” Award

Professor Bruce Green Accepts Stein Scholars “In the Service of Others” Award

On September 24, the Stein Scholars Program in Public Interest Law and Ethics Program honored former faculty director and current Fordham Law legal ethics and criminal law professor, Bruce Green. …