Founded just 13 years after the university, Tulane University Law School was the first American school to institute a pro bono requirement for graduation. These days, the law school concentrates its public interest activities on aiding residents in Post-Katrina New Orleans; and the location particularly motivates students towards volunteer work in adjacent neighborhoods.

After completing the slate of first-year requirements, students have an open curriculum and can concentrate in one or more of the school's 16 main specialty areas. Students also have the option of taking a civil law curriculum, a course that attracts many foreign students. Civil law classes are also available as electives. Tulane Law has a robust admiralty and maritime law program (appropriate, considering the school's location in one of the country's biggest ports). The school is home to both the Maritime Law Center and the Institute for Water Law & Policy, which research the nature of water-related law from both a transportation-related and resource-oriented standpoint. Tulane Law's other main strengths are its environmental law and sports law programs. The school offers a certificate program in both areas.

According to Vault's surveys, housing near the university can be expensive due to the ongoing rebuilding efforts. In 2008, the school announced construction plans to connect the law school building with the bookstore, uniting the center of the campus. In addition to student organizations and other on-campus social activities, Tulane Law students take advantage of the vibrant nightlife for which New Orleans is famous.