The East China Normal University law discipline has a history for 20 years. The Law School was founded in February 2016, and Professor Zhang Zhiming served as honorary dean; he is a prominent jurist and distinguished professor of the Yangtze River Scholar Award Program of the Ministry of Education. The School now has 49 teaching and administrative staff, including 11 professors, 14 associate professors and 38 instructors with doctor degree. Most teachers graduate from well-known universities at home and abroad and have overseas-study experiences. Since 2010, the School has published more than 178 papers on CSSCI, presided more than 30 key projects of the National Social Science Fund, the Ministry of Education, and other provincial and ministerial-level projects. It has participated in a number of local government legislation in Shanghai. Many teachers have successfully gained key projects approval and initiation, such as the key teaching-reform projects for the undergraduate in Shanghai and the key course projects of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and won the title of Outstanding Teacher of East China Normal University.
The School not only pays attention to the innovation of legal theory, but also major practices of the rule by law. It has established many institutes, including the Collaborative Innovation Center for Juvenile Legal Education of the Ministry of Education, Shanghai Education Legislation Advisory and Service Base, Institute of the Legal Education and Legal Careers, Research Center for Corporate Compliance (RCCC), and Center for the Social Rule of Law and Public Policy. It has established a series of academic activities such as starting the publication of ECNU Law Review and the organization of the ECNU Legal Forum. It has actively served the needs of the country and the region in the construction of the rule of law, obtaining good social benefits.
The School offers a bachelor degree in legal studies and master's degree in the first-level discipline of law. It recruits outstanding students to pursue master of laws and master of laws (professional degree) and grants Ph.D. degree in sociology of law. Strictly observing the principle of obeying the law and upholding justice and practicing the unity of knowing and doing, it trains legal talents with profound knowledge and excellent ability who show concern for the society, know the actual condition and correct methods to solve difficulties.
Seizing the opportunity of a new round of discipline construction and focusing on the development goals of becoming the world-renowned high-level university by 2020, the School aims to become a moderate-scale excellent law school with a reasonable layout and characteristics by adhering to a high starting point and high-level construction.