Rutgers Law School is getting ready to begin its fall semester on August 24.

Students at both the Camden and Newark locations will be taking classes virtually since the Rutgers University system has moved to remote instruction this fall under Covid-19.

In addition, students taking remote classes will have the opportunity to register for classes at either the Newark or Camden law school location, regardless of that student’s home law school location. This provides law students with additional opportunities to learn from experts at either location and to have additional options in taking bar, skills, and writing courses.

Rutgers Law will welcome a robust class of new students this year. There are 220 day students, 48 evening students and 20 transfer students who will call the Newark location home. In Camden, there are 149 day students, 31 evening students and 10 transfer students, who will make Camden their home location. New students are coming from as far away as South Dakota, Arizona, and Texas.

Incoming students will start off the semester with a shared book discussion led by faculty members of the book: Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson.

Rutgers Law welcomes two new faculty members to its Camden location, Matthew Shapiro and Thea Johnson. Shapiro previously was an Associate Professor of Law at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University and Johnson was an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Maine School of Law, where students voted her “Professor of the Year” for two years in a row.

In addition, Rutgers Law is excited to welcome Visiting Professor Rashida Richardson who will join the Rutgers Institute for Information Policy & Law this fall. Before coming to Rutgers, Richardson had a variety of legal experiences.

This school year, Rutgers Law School also will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its clinical program. 

Though classes will take place remotely, students who do not have stable Wi-Fi or quiet places to study will be allowed in the law school buildings as long as they practice social distancing and other safety measures. Entry to the buildings will be by swipe card only, and Rutgers Law students will need to have their school identification visible at all times in order to enter and remain inside the buildings. Students and visitors also are expected to wear face coverings while in the buildings.

While classes are being taught remotely, professors have discretion about teaching classes synchronously, where students meet virtually at a time listed on the schedule; or asynchronously, where the entire class does not meet at a set time. 

While the law library will be open, students must sign in before entering to ensure there are not too many people in the library at one time. Students will not be permitted in the stacks, but can seek help from reference librarians to get materials. In addition, highly-trafficked public spaces will be cleaned several times throughout the day.