In an email addressed to the Fordham community on June 7, Dennis C. Jacobs, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, announced that Matthew Diller, dean of Fordham Law School, has decided to step down from his position at the conclusion of the 2023-24 academic year. Diller served as the law school’s dean since 2015 and will remain a member of the school’s faculty upon stepping down. 

“After stepping down as dean, Matthew is eager to return to the faculty, get back into the classroom and to his research, and further the mission of Fordham Law in a different, more on-the-ground role,” Jacobs said in the email.

The dean of Fordham Law School is a graduate of Harvard University’s Class of 1981 and went on to attend Harvard Law School the following year, earning a juris doctorate degree in 1985. He then served as a judicial law clerk to Walter Mansfield at the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. Following his time at the Court of Appeals, he assumed a position as a staff attorney at the civil appeals and law reform unit at The Legal Aid Society. 

According to Jacobs, while Diller served as dean, Fordham Law became the sixth-largest law school in the country, with ten of the Law School’s speciality area programs ranked among the nation’s top 25 (out of 200 law schools).

Diller’s career in academia began at Fordham Law School as a professor in 1993, and has continued throughout different positions he held at the university, which included serving as associate dean of the Law School from 2003 to 2008. Diller briefly departed from the Law School to assume the role as the dean of Cardozo Law at Yeshiva University from 2009 to 2015 and returned in 2015 to serve as the law school’s dean and Paul Fuller professor of law until the next academic year. 

According to Jacobs, while Diller served as dean, Fordham Law became the sixth-largest law school in the country, with ten of the Law School’s speciality area programs ranked among the nation’s top 25 (out of 200 law schools). The school’s rank as a research institution also improved, as Fordham Law was “ranked #15 in the nation for downloads of articles published by its faculty.”

“Despite the challenges of navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, he has focused on nurturing students through the creation of the Peer Mentorship Program, the House System, and the Office of Professionalism,” Jacobs said. 

Diller also oversaw the creation of programs aimed at promoting diversity, equity and inclusion such as the establishment of the REAL and IDEAL pipeline leadership programs, the Center on Race, Law and Justice, and the Center on Asian Americans and the Law. He also aided in the improvement of diversity rates amongst the student body and graduate employment rates. 

“Under his leadership, Fordham Law has committed itself to addressing the crisis in access to justice in our society through its A2J Initiative,” Jacobs said. 

The Provost noted that following his tenure as dean of Fordham Law School, Diller will continue his work in “a number of capacities” including serving as a professor, pursuing research and contributing to the fundraising campaign “Fordham Law Forward” which seeks to commit Fordham lawyers to an integrity in line with the university’s Jesuit values.  

Jacobs noted that there is currently no one appointed to fill the interim position once Diller steps down. He added that he will “soon” begin to appoint a search committee composed of law faculty, students, administrators and alumni. 

“Dean Diller has provided sufficient notice of his transition plans, that I am confident we will complete a national search for the next Dean of Fordham Law without the need to install an interim dean,” he said.