Stanford and Yale Continue Reign Atop U.S News’ Best Law Schools Ranking

The U.S. News and World Report has posted the 2024-2025 Best Law School rankings. For the second year in a row, Stanford and Yale Law Schools are tied for the top spot followed by University of Chicago in the third rank. 

Notable changes to the T14 from the last year’s rankings include: 

• A four-way tie for the fourth rank. Duke, Harvard, and UVA joined UPenn in the fourth position this year. Duke and Harvard moved up one spot from a tie at 5th in 2023. UVA made the largest year-over-year gain in the T14, jumping up four places from last year. 

• NYU experienced the largest drop within the T14, moving down four spots to join Northwestern and Michigan in a three-way tie at 9th. 

• Georgetown moved up one rank to officially join the T14 in a tie at 14th with Cornell.  

Outside of the T14, highlights include: 

• Washington University of St. Louis jumped up four spots to tie for the 16th rank with University of Minnesota and University of Texas-Austin. 

• Notre Dame became one of the year’s big winners with a seven spot improvement from 2023, joining the University of Southern California in a tie for 20th. 

• Boston University rejoined the top 25 this year, moving from the 27th rank in 2023 to 24th.

• Brigham Young, Ohio State, and the University of Florida dropped out of the top 25 this year, after being a part of a five-way tie at 22nd last year. Ohio State fell four positions to rank 26th in a tie with Texas A&M. Brigham Young and Florida both fell six positions to tie for the 28th rank alongside Boston College, George Mason, and the University of Utah. 

Slight adjustments were made to the methodology this year. A description is available here. 

Rank School Name, Change from 2023

1 Stanford University (tie), –

1 Yale University (tie), –

3 University of Chicago, –

4 Duke University (tie), +1

4 Harvard University (tie), +1

4 University of Pennsylvania (tie), –

4 University of Virginia (tie), +4

8 Columbia University, –

9 New York University (tie), -4

9 Northwestern University (tie), +1

9 University of Michigan (tie), +1

12 University of California–Berkeley, -2

13 University of California–Los Angeles, +1

14 Cornell University (tie), -1

14 Georgetown University (tie), +1

16 University of Minnesota (tie), –

16 University of Texas–Austin (tie), –

16 Washington University in St. Louis (tie), +4

19 Vanderbilt University, -3 

20 University of Georgia (tie), –

20 University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill (tie), +2

20 University of Notre Dame (tie), +7

20 University of Southern California (tie), -4

24 Boston University, +3

25 Wake Forest University, -3

Stanford and Yale Law Schools Announce Plans for Earlier Virtual On-Campus Interviewing

Stanford and Yale Law Schools are making waves with their recent announcements to move virtual on-campus interviews up to June, which is ahead of the formal OCI processes.

Stanford Law School’s announcement explained that they want to better align with firms’ recent hiring practices. Many firms, they noted, are now doing significantly more hiring early in the process through direct applications and interviews. The schedule change will not only provide students with access to those open positions, it will also allow them to focus on their finals and/or their summer internships. 

Yale’s announcement also focused on its desire to align with firms’ hiring patterns. Kelly Voight, Yale Law School’s Assistant Dean for the Career Development Office, said that the school is making this decision to, “best serve our students by maximizing student choice, promoting informed decision-making, and leveling the playing field for law firm recruiting,” in an email to Law.com.

Prospective law students interested in big law should keep an eye on how other elite schools respond to Stanford and Yale’s announcements, and also how they plan to support their students amidst an evolving employment market. 

It’s Back. U.S. News Posts Updated 2023-2024 Best Law School Rankings

The U.S. News and World Report has posted the final 2023-2024 Best Law School rankings. And there has been significant change since last year due to the new methodology. Notably, even since the preview released in April, Harvard has dropped one spot and NYU has ticked up one spot to form a three-way tie at the fifth rank with Duke University. 

Changes to the T14 from the 2022-2023 rankings include: 

• Yale shares the top spot with Stanford, which moved up from the second spot in 2022.

• UPenn climbed in the rankings from 6th in 2022 to 4th this year.

• Harvard dropped from the 3rd spot in last year’s ranking to tie for the 5th spot in 2023 with Duke. Duke moved up five positions from the 10th rank last year.

• Columbia dropped from the 4th rank in 2022 to tie for 8th with UVA this year. 

• Northwestern jumped up two positions moving from 12th in 2022 to tie for 10th alongside UC Berkeley and University of Michigan. 

Outside of the T14, highlights include: 

• USC Gould and the University of Minnesota moved up from the 19th and 22nd ranks last year, respectively, to tie for 16th with Vanderbilt, University of Texas, and University of Minnesota in 2023. 

• Washington University in St. Louis dropped from the 16th rank last year to tie for 20th with the University of Georgia. Georgia moved up from the 27th rank in 2022. 

• Ohio State and Wake Forest jumped from the 40th and 41st ranks, respectively, last year, to enter the top 25. They are both part of a five-way tie for 22nd along with Brigham Young, University of Florida, and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Brigham Young moved up to the 22nd rank from 29th last year. 

• Boston University fell out of the top 25, moving from the 20th rank in 2022 to 29th this year.

Rank School Name

1 Stanford University (tie)

1 Yale University (tie)

3 University of Chicago

4 University of Pennsylvania (Carey) (tie)

5 Duke University (tie)

5 Harvard University (tie)

5 New York University (tie)

8 Columbia University (tie)

8 University of Virginia (tie)

10 Northwestern University (Pritzker) (tie)

10 University of California, Berkeley (tie)

10 University of Michigan—Ann Arbor (tie)

13 Cornell University

14 University of California—Los Angeles

15 Georgetown University

16 University of Minnesota (tie)

16 University of Southern California (Gould)

16 University of Texas--Austin

16 Vanderbilt University

20 University of Georgia

20 Washington University in St. Louis

22 Brigham Young University (Clark)

22 Ohio State University (Moritz)

22 University of Florida (Levin)

22 University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill

22 Wake Forest University

Following Months of Controversy, U.S. News Unveils Preview of 2024 Best Law School Rankings

The U.S. News just published a preview of its 2024 Best Law School Rankings. And there weren’t many surprises. Stanford Law moved up from the second rank to tie Yale University for the top spot. Columbia Law dropped from the fourth rank to the eighth, Georgetown Law fell out of the top-14, and UCLA moved up from the 15th rank to take Georgetown’s place. 

There were some notable updates to U.S. News’ methodology, however, which the news organization said were based upon the input of over 100 law deans and legal experts. Some of the named changes include: an increase in the weight given to the bar pass rate and the addition of the “ultimate bar pass pass rate” (the bar pass rate of a graduating class two years post-grad); an increase in the weight given to employment ten months post-graduation; changes to the credit assigned for students entering into fellowships or graduate school post-graduation; and a significant reduction in the weight given to reputation surveys, LSAT/GRE scores, and median GPA scores. 

Briefly addressing the controversy, U.S. News explained that it ranked all schools using publicly available data, and removed some of the metrics that were not available (e.g. expenditures, at-graduation employment rate, and JD graduate indebtedness). 

The U.S. News plans to publish the full methodology, including measures and weights, alongside the complete rankings, on April 18. 

Rank School Name

1 Stanford University (tie)

1 Yale University (tie)

3 University of Chicago

4 Harvard University (tie)

4 University of Pennsylvania (Carey) (tie)

6 Duke University (tie)

6 New York University (tie)

8 Columbia University (tie)

8 University of Virginia (tie)

10 Northwestern University (Pritzker) (tie)

10 University of California, Berkeley (tie)

10 University of Michigan—Ann Arbor (tie)

13 Cornell University

14 University of California—Los Angeles

The Chairman and CEO of U.S. News & World Report Accuses Elite Law and Medical Schools of Evading Accountability

The U.S. News & World Report has publicly defended its rankings, hitting back at the elite law and medical schools that have staged public boycotts. Eric Gertler, Executive Chairman and CEO of U.S. News & World Report, penned a Wall Street Journal op-ed, which was ffollowed a day later by a full-page ad in the Boston Globe timed to coincide with a conference hosted by Harvard and Yale Law Schools on “best practices in data.” 

While US News & World Report’s previous response to the boycott focused on responding to criticisms of the methodology and seeking collaboration, more recently, they have taken a defensive stance. Gertler’s op-ed not only defended the rankings, but also leveled sharp accusations towards the withdrawing schools. He accused them of evading accountability and not wanting to rely on an independent third party that they cannot control. Gertler then went on to tie the schools’ decision to withdraw from the rankings to the Supreme Court’s current review of the use of affirmative action in school admissions decisions. He proposes that elite schools are currently de-emphasizing GPA and standardized test scores in admissions, in advance of the decision, to provide themselves more leeway in the future. 

“There is added urgency as the Supreme Court considers a pair of cases on affirmative action that could change admission norms. Some law deans are already exploring ways to sidestep any restrictive ruling by reducing their emphasis on test scores and grades—criteria used in our rankings,” Gertler wrote.

In defending the rankings, which Gertler admits cannot accommodate every nuance in educational excellence, he points to the ranking’s ability to provide “accurate, comprehensive information that empowers students to compare institutions and identify the factors that matter most to them.” And, he concludes, the elite schools that have withdrawn have ended their participation in a critical national discourse about what constitutes excellence in education. 

Law Schools Take on Gun Violence

This month, the University of Minnesota Law School will launch its Gun Violence Prevention Clinic in an effort to promote their Second Amendment scholarship and increase student engagement in firearms law. “Firearms law is currently one of the most dynamic and rapidly changing areas in the law. Yet there are not enough litigators with expertise in the field, and law schools and legal scholars are under engaged in Second Amendment issues,” Megan Walsh, Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Minnesota Law School and Gun Violence Prevention Clinic Director, said. 

The University of Minnesota isn’t alone in seeking to build out this knowledge base and skillset. Below, we’ve rounded up a number of ongoing initiatives and projects at law schools designed to provide students with opportunities in firearms scholarship, litigation, and legislation.

The University of Minnesota Law School Gun Violence Prevention Clinic

The clinic, a three-year pilot project, is designed to promote gun violence prevention through strategic litigation. In partnership with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, students will provide pro bono legal work in support of cases that help reduce injuries, deaths, and trauma resulting from gun violence. The clinic will also establish a home for gun violence prevention litigation in the Great Lakes area and increase litigation expertise and resources for Second Amendment and gun violence prevention.  

The Duke Center for Firearms Law

The Center, launched in 2019, seeks to grow scholarship in firearms law and serve as a “balanced and reliable” resource for stakeholders including scholars, judges, lawyers, policymakers, journalists, and the public through research and programming. 

Washington University in Saint Louis School of Law’s Initiative on Gun Violence and Human Rights

Law students participate in in-depth research projects to better understand the underpinnings of the U.S. gun violence crisis and to examine the issue through international human rights instruments. The initiative supports information sharing through conferences and webinars, as well as publishing articles and research. Last year, Leila Sadat, Initiative Director and Professor, contributed to an amicus briefing filed at the Supreme Court for New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. 

Yale Law School’s Law, Policy, and Guns Project at the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy 

The Solomon Center places a spotlight on issues related to gun violence in the U.S. The Center has sponsored a course offering (2020), a special issue of The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (2020), and continues to facilitate public events as well as serve as a home for research and scholarship efforts.  

New York Law School’s Gun Safety Legislative Advocacy Clinic

In partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety, New York Law School offers a hands-on clinic to engage students with gun safety advocacy and legislation. Students will gain experience in legislative research as well as in drafting legislative proposals, creating campaigns, and building coalitions in support of their bills. They will also learn to critically analyze proposed gun bills based on existing laws and legislative efforts, and to serve as counterpoints to the gun lobby.

Yale and Harvard Law Schools Will No Longer Participate in the U.S. News Law School Rankings

Yale Law School announced yesterday that it would no longer participate in the U.S. News ranking of law schools. Harvard followed, withdrawing from participation a few hours later. The two schools routinely topped the rankings with Yale holding the number one spot since 1990 and Harvard, most recently, taking the fourth rank. 

In making the announcement, Yale Law Dean, Heather Gerken, called the rankings “profoundly flawed” and criticized the methodology. “Its approach not only fails to advance the legal profession, but stands squarely in the way of progress,” she said. She specifically criticized the methodology’s treatment of students who receive school-funded fellowships to pursue public-interest work, or go on to pursue further graduate-level education. US News classifies them as unemployed. She also noted that the rankings reward schools that provide financial aid to students with high LSAT scores rather than demonstrated financial need, and that the ranking methodology does not incorporate schools’ loan-forgiveness programs, which can help ease the burden of debt.

Harvard Law’s announcement, made by Dean John Manning, noted many of the same methodological concerns as Dean Gerken. He also communicated that the ranking’s inclusion of the student-debt metric may reward not only schools that offer significant financial aid, but also schools that opt to admit wealthier students who do not need to take out loans.  

“Dean Gerken has made some very salient points, and like many, we have long been concerned about the U.S. News law school rankings methodology and will be giving this careful thought,” Stephanie Ashe, Stanford Law’s Director of Media Strategy, told the Wall Street Journal. 

The University of Chicago (ranked third) and Columbia University (tied for fourth rank with Harvard) declined to provide a comment to the WSJ.

Update 11/18/2022: The UC Berkeley School of Law has also announced plans to withdraw from the U.S. News ranking. As have the law schools at Georgetown and Columbia.

Update 11/28/2022: Ten law schools, total, have joined the boycott of the U.S. News Ranking. These include Berkeley, Columbia, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Michigan, Northwestern, Stanford, UCLA, and Yale.

Dean of Yale Law School Responds to Judge’s Ban on Hiring Yale Law Clerks

By way of a public letter to alumni of Yale Law, Dean Heather Gerken defended the school’s approach to free speech and the “free and unfettered exchange of ideas” on campus. She outlined recent actions the school has taken to promote free speech, which, she notes, while readily apparent to students, faculty, and staff, they should also be known to the broader community. The institutional actions listed include the hiring of a new Dean of Students to support student discourse, disagreement, and resolution, revisions to the disciplinary code that prohibit secret recordings that discourage free expression, as well as the provision of free speech resources and a physical space to encourage students to meet and discuss disagreements face-to-face.

The letter comes on the heels of—but does not specifically reference—Judge James Ho’s (5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals) public announcement that he will no longer hire clerks from Yale law due to its “cancel culture.” In his declaration, he called out incidents in which conservative speakers were disrupted when speaking at Yale. "Cancellations and disruptions seem to occur with special frequency," he said. Judge Ho also called on other judges to join him. Currently, U.S. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Branch is the only one to do so publicly. According to Reuters, over a half-dozen Republican-appointed federal district and appeals court judges have voiced that they have either no plans to join the boycott or that they actively oppose it. Ho’s fellow 5th Circuit Judge Jerry Smith, a Reagan appointee and Yale Alumni, responded to the ban in writing. “I regularly (and recently) have had Yale clerks who, consistently, are extremely talented and performed spectacularly in upholding the rule of law and supporting toleration for diverse viewpoints,” he wrote. “Instead of boycotting, I hope to receive even more Yale applications from qualified men and women, not only this year but in future years.”

Considering Public Interest Law? Look for these Attributes During the School Selection Process.

Many undergraduate students considering law school do so with an eye towards public service, but only about one-third of law school graduates actually accept public interest positions. This is likely due to the significantly lower median salaries for public service roles and the high student debt many law school graduates accrue, as well as the less traditional recruiting process for public interest roles. 

Law schools, however, are becoming increasingly proactive about creating pathways for students to access meaningful, public interest careers. During the school selection process, as a prospective public interest law student, you should consider more than just the academic curriculum, broadening your perspective to include the following:

• Student Network 

Review and ask about the number of current students and alumni who are entering or have entered into public service. If you already know the fields that you’re interested in—international, government, advocacy, public interest firm, etc.—determine if there are alumni networks in these areas that will be available to you as a student. Recruiting and employment in these fields will be more dependent on proactive networking so ensure that your chosen schools will bolster the development of your public interest legal network.

• Activities and Programs in Public Interest 

Students can and should show their dedication to public service by participating in volunteer activities, taking part in public interest student organizations, and getting involved in pro bono or clinic-based projects sponsored by the school. Ask schools that you’re considering what programs are in place for current students.

• Summer Internships and Programs

Summer Fellowships / Sponsored Internships: Working directly with a non-profit, government, NGO, IGO, or private public interest organization can provide meaningful legal training and experience, as well as insight into the environment in which you most want to work. Many top law schools including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and NYU provide generous funding for students who wish to pursue unpaid, or minimally paid, public interest work in the summer. Review the summer funding options at schools you are considering.

Summer splits: A summer split is sponsored by a law firm. The summer associate spends half the summer working at the firm and the other half working at an approved public sector organization. While some firms will pay the student a summer associate salary for the entire summer, others will offer a salary for the time spent at the firm combined with a stipend for the associate’s public service work. This provides diverse work experience for students who are not yet sure of their future goals. Find a list of firms that sponsor summer splits here. And ask schools if any current students or alumni have participated in this type of summer internship, or if they have relationships with any of the sponsoring firms. 

Post-Graduate Fellowships: While these can take a variety of formats, fellowships provide funding for graduates to work at an approved public service organization for a specified time period. Earlier this week, Columbia Law School announced the Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP (BLB&G) Fellowship Program, which will sponsor one graduate of Columbia Law School for two years to take on a litigation role for a public interest organization prior to joining BLB&G’s shareholder rights litigation practice as a third-year associate. The Fellow will attend firm meetings and take part in a mentorship program while working for a qualifying public organization. Do some digging on the number of fellowships available for graduating students.

• Law School-Funded Debt Repayment / Reduction programs

While there are federal programs that encourage students to go into public service, consider also any law school-sponsored debt reduction or loan forgiveness programs. Yale and NYU, among others, run programs to support graduates who choose lower paying public interest work by relieving them of some of the monetary burden of their student debt. 

Pursuing public interest law may not be the easiest or most traditional path, but law schools have never been more supportive of students wishing to make a positive impact. 

“Some of the most consequential legal work happens in the public interest sector. Lawyers can be powerful advocates for marginalized groups, using the courts to help create better, more equitable outcomes,” BLB&G executive committee member, Jerry Silk said, upon announcing the fellowship with Columbia Law.