Class of 2022 Law Grads “Shatter” Employment and Salary Records

One year after the legal job market for the Class of 2021 was named “one of the strongest on record,” a report from the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) details record-breaking employment for 2022 law grads.

For the Class of 2022, the overall employment rate increased to 92.1 percent, the highest since the Class of 1987 (92.2 percent). The vast majority of graduates, 79.9 percent, obtained “bar passage required/anticipated” jobs, which is the highest since 2001, when the NALP started to use the current job classifications. Graduates also garnered higher pay. The national median salary ticked up to a record $85,000 from 2021 graduates’ median $80,000. And 2022 graduates reported feeling content with their jobs, with a record low of 7.8 percent currently looking for a new job.   

The number of graduates entering private practice increased by one percentage point from the Class of 2021 to 58.0 percent, the highest in the last 20 years. And their median salary in private practice increased to $150,000, a 14.1 percent increase from that received by 2021 graduates. At the biggest firms (more than 500 lawyers), the median salary rose to $215,000. 

The percentage of 2022 graduates entering into public service (30.7 percent) also increased slightly from the Class of 2021 (30.5 percent). This increase was driven by those entering jobs in government and public interest. Judicial clerkship positions declined slightly from 10.7 percent to 10.1 percent. 

The report also identified a trend away from law school graduates entering business, which has historically employed the second highest number after private practice. In 2019, a shift in graduates away from business started to occur, and it continued among 2022 graduates. Just 9.8 percent of the Class of 2022 entered into business, making it the lowest since 1992. 

Study Finds Law Students Overconfident in Their Expected Performance

A recently published University of Illinois Law Review study found that almost all incoming law students expected to rank within the top half of the class after their first year. The findings are based on a survey given between 2014 and 2019 to students who were entering the University of Illinois law school. The students were asked to predict their class rank after the first year of law school, and the study’s authors compared the predictions to the student’s actual rank. 

Students showed great optimism: 95 percent of the students surveyed predicted that they would end up in the top half of their class. And over 22 percent thought that they would be in the top 10 percent. Interestingly enough, the students who did end up landing within the top quartile of the class tended to underestimate their eventual ranking, while those who fell within the bottom quartile had significantly overestimated their final performance. 

The study’s authors, University of Illinois law professor, Jennifer Robbennolt, and University of Illinois law graduate, Sam Barder, expected that students would overestimate their performance because of past studies on overconfidence in professional and academic environments. However, Robbennolt noted that a few things about this study made the overestimation more significant. For one, the students took the survey prior to starting classes and had very little information on either the coursework and/or their classmates. And, many of the students likely enjoyed previous academic success and were top performers in college. 

“They are coming into a totally new environment,” Robbennolt said. “They don’t have much information about the tasks they will be asked to do and the kind of thinking they will be asked to do. They don’t know much about their peers.”

The authors noted that the study is important because it highlights how law schools might provide incoming students with more information on what’s ahead, which may help them to set reasonable expectations. 

Study Finds that Most 2019 Law School Graduates are Satisfied with Their Jobs

Almost half, 47 percent, of lawyers from the Class of 2019 report that they are “extremely satisfied” with their current employment. This is according to the recently published Law School Alumni Employment and Satisfaction, a joint study by the NALP and NALP Foundation. Another 38 percent of the Class of 2019 reported that they feel “somewhat satisfied” with their employment. And a record low, 13 percent of respondents, reported that they are actively seeking a new job. 

The annual study collects information from law school graduates three years after graduation to learn more about their employment and satisfaction. This year’s data included 1,927 graduates from 42 U.S. law schools. The high rate of satisfaction for the Class of 2019 compares favorably to last year’s report (which included 2018 graduates), where only 42 percent reported being “extremely satisfied.” 

Respondents’ reports of high satisfaction, however, may disguise the high mobility they have experienced in the few years since departing law school. Almost three-quarters, 71 percent, reported having had two or more sequential positions since graduation. Among the group who had more than one position since law school, most switched jobs for better compensation/bonuses (62 percent) or because of “attitude ‘fit’ concerns” (42 percent). School debt continues to impact their choice of job and employment sector, as well as other life decisions, including purchasing a home and having children. 

U.S. News Ranks Law Schools for Tuition Support

The cost of law school is a serious component in the school selection process. For the 2022-2023 academic year, according to the U.S. News & World Report, the cost of private law school averaged $52,325. Among public universities (out-of-state), the average came in a bit lower at $40,056, or significantly lower (in-state) at $26,917.

While most students take out loans to pay for law school, many schools also offer tuition support in the form of grants. Recently, U.S. News published a list of the top ten law schools for tuition support (below), based on the percentage of 2022-2023 full-time students who received enough funding in grant money to cover at least half of their tuition. 

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Tuition and fees for full-time students (2022-2023): $39,800 per year in-state; $49,800 per year out-of-state

• Percentage of full-time students who received a grant that covered at least half of their tuition (2022-2023): 80%

• Median grant for full-time students (2022-2023): $35,000

Case Western Reserve University

• Tuition and fees for full-time students (2022-2023): $58,808 per year

• Percentage of full-time students who received a grant that covered at least half of their tuition (2022-2023): 80%

• Median grant for full-time students (2022-2023): $40,000

University of Southern California (Gould)

• Tuition and fees for full-time students (2022-2023): $73,998 per year

• Percentage of full-time students who received a grant that covered at least half of their tuition (2022-2023): 72%

• Median grant for full-time students (2022-2023): $40,000

University of Dayton

• Tuition and fees for full-time students (2022-2023): $37,364 per year

• Percentage of full-time students who received a grant that covered at least half of their tuition (2022-2023): 72%

• Median grant for full-time students (2022-2023): $33,000

Gonzaga University

• Tuition and fees for full-time students (2022-2023): $50,235 per year

• Percentage of full-time students who received a grant that covered at least half of their tuition (2022-2023): 66%

• Median grant for full-time students (2022-2023): $24,378

Loyola University Chicago

• Tuition and fees for full-time students (2022-2023): $53,156

• Percentage of full-time students who received a grant that covered at least half of their tuition (2022-2023): 65%

• Median grant for full-time students (2022-2023): $31,000

DePaul University

• Tuition and fees for full-time students (2022-2023): $51,132 per year

• Percentage of full-time students who received a grant that covered at least half of their tuition (2022-2023): 65%

• Median grant for full-time students (2022-2023): $30,000

Washington and Lee University

• Tuition and fees for full-time students (2022-2023): $54,460 per year

• Percentage of full-time students who received a grant that covered at least half of their tuition (2022-2023): 64%

• Median grant for full-time students (2022-2023): $35,000

University of California, Irvine

• Tuition and fees for full-time students (2022-2023): $54,183 per year in-state; $66,298 per year out-of-state

• Percentage of full-time students who received a grant that covered at least half of their tuition (2022-2023): 63%

• Median grant for full-time students (2022-2023): $25,000

William & Mary

• Tuition and fees for full-time students (2022-2023): $38,274 per year in-state; $56,014 per year out-of-state

• Percentage of full-time students who received a grant that covered at least half of their tuition (2022-2023): 61%

• Median grant for full-time students (2022-2023): $25,193

Top 25 “Overperforming” Law Schools in Bar Passage Rates Provide Students with Academic Support and Bar Prep Programming

When it comes to bar passage, not all law schools are created equal. A recent paper published in the Florida Law Review, and summarized by Law.com, analyzed law schools’ bar passage rates and found that some schools’ students are “outperforming” while others are “underperforming.”

Researchers conducted the analysis by looking at each ABA-accredited law school’s predicted pass rate compared to the actual pass rate for first-time test-takers over a six-year period. The study’s authors predicted the pass rate for each school by evaluating the students’ incoming credentials (e.g., LSAT) in each law class along with the average bar pass rate for the jurisdictions where the students take the bar exam. The actual rate incorporates both the relative and actual performance of students on the test.

The top 25 overperforming law schools—schools where the actual pass rates regularly surpass the predicted rates—are listed below. Law.com’s reprint of the list also includes the U.S. News and World Report ranking in parentheses.

1. Florida International (#60 in U.S. News)

2. Stanford (#1)

3. USC (#16)

4. UC-Berkeley (#10)

5. North Carolina (#22)

6. Belmont (#105)

7. Michigan (#10)

8. Florida State (#56)

9. UCLA (#14)

10. Virginia (#8)

11. Campbell (#125)

12. Yale (#1)

13. LSU (#99)

14. Georgia (#20)

15. Duke (#5)

16. Harvard (#5)

17. Wake Forest (#22)

18. Georgia State (#69)

19. Chicago (#3)

20. Penn (#4)

21. Illinois (#43)

22. Baylor (#49)

23. Washington & Lee (#40)

24. Liberty (#135)

25. Vanderbilt (#16)

In addition to the analysis, the study surveyed the overperforming and underperforming law schools on their approach to bar preparation. Ultimately, the report found a wide disparity in the curricular and extracurricular activities reported—not just between under and overperforming schools, but also within the cohort of overperforming schools. This suggests that a variety of support systems can effectively support students in passing the bar and that there is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach.

However, there were some interesting shared practices within the cohort of overperforming schools:

• Overperforming schools focused much more on first-year bar pass rather than the ultimate pass rate (pass rate within two years).

• Overperforming schools did not rely on entering students’ academic credentials to predict bar success. They acknowledge that there are many other factors, including student distraction and time constraints due to work, life, or other priorities, and/or the financial costs of law school or bar prep courses. The top performing schools attempt to mitigate these barriers directly, with resources that include academic support and bar prep programming.

• The top programs also targeted students at risk for bar failure based on first year GPA, rather than on their academic credentials prior to law school.

• Overperforming schools created an environment, an ethos, where faculty, staff, and students all believed that they could educate/be educated at the school for first-time bar success.

Dream About Working in Finance on Wall Street? You Might Consider Law School.

Wall Street may be home to bankers, but it's the lawyers who have seen the biggest compensation growth over the last two decades. A recent Wall Street Journal article analyzed pay patterns for bankers and financial lawyers, and while bankers have historically made significantly more than lawyers, the data shows a reversal in this trend. 

Since the financial crisis in 2008, bankers’ pay has remained fairly stagnant among all but the highest performers. Managing Directors at banks, who do not hold company leadership positions, average between $1 and $2 million in annual compensation including their bonuses, which are typically paid in stock. This average has held steady for about 20 years, without adjusting for inflation. 

The opposite is true among lawyers. Equity partners at top law firms are earning about $3 million annually. This is about three times higher than the reported earnings 20 years ago. And, among the most productive partners, the upside is even higher. Partners at some firms, including at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Kirkland & Ellis, are earning more than $15 million per year. Mark Rosen, an experienced legal recruiter, described his observations to the WSJ. “Things have changed. Lawyer compensation has grown unbelievably,” he said. 

According to the WSJ the reasons for this change are multi-faceted. There are regulatory pressures at financial institutions as well as an industry trend of downplaying individuals in favor of the bank’s brand name. The private equity market has also grown, expanding the client base for law firms and growing their business. 

The role of a lawyer on Wall Street has also changed. Once relegated to contract review, the lawyers now look more like “quasibankers,” taking on outsized advisory roles with clients. They now partner with banks on everything from regulatory matters to succession planning. 

Within the law firm, there have also been shifts. Firms have adjusted compensation models to reward productivity over seniority. The new productivity-based view on compensation has even resulted in “bidding wars” for talented lawyers, further driving up compensation. 

Lastly, while banking fees have remained relatively consistent over time, law firms raise their fees annually, and at a rate over inflation. 

Medical and Legal Associations Express Disappointment in Supreme Court Ruling on Affirmative Action

Last week the Supreme Court ended Affirmative Action in its 6-3 ruling against UNC and Harvard. The ruling determined that the schools, which used race as a component in admissions decisions, did not adequately justify their use of race and violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.”

The court left some room for nuance noting that a candidate may discuss race in terms of how it played a role in their development. “A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination,” Roberts wrote. “In other words, the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race.”

Nationally, many in the medical and legal communities shared their disappointment in the decision and noted their belief that it will negatively impact diversity. Below, we’ve provided highlights of some of the statements released after the decision.

• American Medical Association (AMA): “Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court undermines decades of progress centered on the educational value of diversity, and will reverse gains made in the battle against health inequities. This ruling restricts medical schools from considering race and ethnicity among the multiple factors in admissions policies and will translate into a less diverse physician workforce. Diversity is vital to health care, and this court ruling deals a serious blow to our goal of increasing medical career opportunities for historically marginalized and minoritized people.” Full statement available here.

• Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC): “We are deeply disappointed with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to dismantle its longstanding precedent in the 2003 case, Grutter v. Bollinger, which had recognized student body diversity as a compelling interest permitting the limited consideration of race in admissions. Today’s decision demonstrates a lack of understanding of the critical benefits of racial and ethnic diversity in educational settings and a failure to recognize the urgent need to address health inequities in our country.” Full statement available here.

• American Medical Student Association (AMSA): “In accordance with our Preamble, Purposes and Principles, AMSA remains steadfast in its unwavering commitment to advocating for racial equity in education and healthcare. As future physicians committed to justice and equality, we are profoundly outraged and decry the restriction of affirmative action. We strongly support increased representation of minority students in all levels of education, including colleges and medical schools. By fostering diversity and inclusion, institutions have the power to create more empathetic and inclusive learning environments. Moreover, it has been repeatedly evidenced that diversity within the healthcare workforce and medical education system improves healthcare outcomes.” Full statement available here.

• American Bar Association (ABA): “The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The ABA has a long history of supporting affirmative action and the consideration of race as one of many factors in law school admissions. We believe it is imperative that colleges, universities and state legislatures find alternative ways to create a diverse and talented student body. Law schools are training grounds for lawyers and play an important role to ensure a diverse bench and bar, which are critical to minimizing implicit bias and inspiring greater public faith in the rule of law.” Statement available here.

• AccessLex Center for Legal Education: Executive Director, Aaron Taylor, told Reuters that the decision, "deprives schools of one of the most effective tools for fostering student diversity."

• Law School Admission Council (LSAC): President, Kellye Testy, told Reuters that the decision will negatively impact law schools’ ability to keep up diversity levels. “All of us in legal education, at bar associations, and in practice are going to have to redouble efforts to make sure the entire pre-law to practice pipeline is better,” she said.

Duke Law Takes the Top Spot in Above the Law’s Outcomes-Focused Law School Rankings

Above the Law recently published its 11th annual ranking of law schools. For the second year in a row and the third time in four years, Duke took the top spot. 

Above the Law reviews data from 120 schools to compile its ranking but only publishes the top 50. And it includes only those schools that have a national reach for quality legal employment (as opposed to just regional) for all students, not just those at the top of their class. The ranking is also unique in that its focus is on employment outcomes, specifically how students fare in obtaining legal employment post-graduation, and how well a school positions students to repay their debt. Furthermore, it is the only ranking to include ABA employment data for the most recent graduates (Class of 2022, in this case). 

Generally, movement within the top ranks was fairly minimal. The top four ranked schools are the same as last year with minor changes. However, Vanderbilt, which ranked in the 5th position last year, dropped to the 7th rank, switching places with the University of Michigan. Other notable changes include a five-rank drop by Washington University in St. Louis, which was ranked 6th last year and 11th currently. And there was a five-rank increase by NYU, which was ranked 17th previously and now ranks 12th. Washington and Lee also moved up eight slots this year from 26th to 18th, and UC Berkeley dropped from the 12th to the 20th rank. 

Below, we show the 2023 ranking for the top 20 schools. You can find the rest on Above the Law’s website. 

2023 Rank School (Change from 2022)

1 Duke (–)

2 Cornell (+1)

3 University of Virginia (-1)

4 University of Chicago (–)

5 Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor (+2)

6 Columbia (+2)

7 Vanderbilt (-2)

8 Northwestern (Pritzker) (+1)

9 University of Penn (Carey) (+1)

10 Notre Dame (+4)

11 Washington U in St. Louis (-5)

12 NYU (+5)

13 University of Texas, Austin (-2)

14 Harvard (+2)

15 University of Georgia (-2)

16 Yale (-1)

17 USC (+1)

18 Washington and Lee (+8)

19 University of Illinois (–)

20 Univ. of California, Berkeley (-8)

Survey Finds Law Students Hesitant About Generative AI Technology

The use of generative AI technology is growing within the legal industry. In a recent LexisNexis survey, over half of lawyers polled reported using the technology for research (59 percent) and improving efficiency (54 percent). Significant proportions also used it for drafting documents (45 percent) and writing emails (34 percent). 

Surprisingly, however, the survey found that law students were the least likely group to report using the technology. Only nine percent of the responding law students said that they use AI currently in law school and a quarter said that they plan to use it in their future legal work. 

So why aren’t law students jumping on the AI bandwagon? Serena Wellen of LexisNexis took a deep dive into the data to find out. We’ve summarized her findings below: 

• Accuracy. Some of the law students noted that generative AI is not reliable. Research findings may be inaccurate, false, or based on unreliable data that it presents as fact, even including false citations. 

• Academic Integrity. Students fear that the use of generative AI could encourage academic dishonesty as the proper use of the tools has not been well defined at many law schools.

• Innovative Thinking. Students note that learning and practicing the law requires critical and innovative thinking and they believe that the use of generative AI would discourage their refinement of this skill-set.  

• Fear of Replacement. Some students fear that generative AI will overtake entry-level legal positions that offer essential learning opportunities. 

Ultimately, while generative AI will likely play an increasingly important role in legal work, students are correct in expressing their hesitation. Law schools will need to develop guidelines for proper use of the technology.

Law School Applicant Volume Projected to Decline

After the 13 percent spike in law school applications in 2021, the numbers continue to normalize. Law School Admission Council data shows that, as of last Thursday, applicant volume was down 2.4 percent from last year.  

"It's a return to normalcy," said Susan Krinsky, the Law School Admission Council’s Executive Vice President for Operations. "It's very consistent with the last five years except for 2021." 

With the exception of 2021, applicant numbers have consistently stayed between 57,000 to 64,000 during the five-year period. Reuters noted that, according to legal industry experts, the one-year surge resulted from the confluence of the Covid-19 pandemic and its effect on the entry-level job market, the nationwide protests related to inequality and the death of George Floyd, and the presidency of Donald Trump. 

Despite the decline in applicant quantity, applicant quality and diversity remain high. The percentage of applicants with LSAT scores between 170 and 180 are up slightly from last year, suggesting that, despite the decline, spots at highly-regarded programs will remain competitive. And applicant diversity is up, with applicants of color making up 46.5 percent of the total, an increase from 45 percent last year. 

Shorter GRE Available for Test Takers in September

The Educational Testing Service (ETS) just announced that, as of September 22, 2023, registrants for the GRE will receive a shorter test. The refreshed exam will take under two hours, about half the current testing time, and is the first in a series of planned updates to the GRE. The changes are intended to improve the testing experience and reduce test-taker anxiety and fatigue. 

Specific updates to the test include:

• Removal of the “Analyze an Argument” (analytical writing) section

• Fewer questions in the Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning sections

• Removal of the unscored action

• Faster receipt of official scores (8-10 days)

“As we continue to introduce product innovations, we’re committed to balancing two things—maintaining rigor and validity, while improving the test-taker experience,” ETS CEO Amit Sevak said. 

The ABA voted to allow the use of the GRE as an alternative to the LSAT for law school applicants in 2021. The organization has not yet commented on the reduction in the test length and if the changes will impact the ABA’s decision to continue to allow the GRE in law school admissions. 

National Conference of Bar Examiners Releases Details on the NextGen Bar Exam

The students starting law school this year will be among the first to experience the NextGen Bar Exam, slated for release in July 2026. The National Conference of Bar Examiners just released a 42-page outline providing deeper insight into the updated exam. 

The NextGen Bar Exam’s development stemmed from calls to create an exam that more adequately tests the legal knowledge and skills necessary for legal professionals today. The current bar exam faced criticisms that it “doesn’t reflect the actual practice of law” and that it tested memorization of legal concepts rather than skills. 

Reuters provided a summary of the changes, which include:

• Removal of the current exam’s three component tests: Multistate Bar Examination, Multistate Essay Examination, and Multistate Performance Test

• Usage of an integrated format that tests both skills and knowledge

• Seven legal skill areas: client counseling and advising, client relationships and management, legal research, legal writing, and negotiations 

• Seven legal knowledge areas: business associations and relationships, civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law and constitutional protections of accused persons, evidence, real property, and torts.

• The test will require memorization for some content, but it will also allow the use of support resources for designated subject matter areas. 

• The test will remove subject matter related to family law, estates and trusts, the uniform commercial code, and conflict of laws.

Although the NextGen Bar Exam will go live in July of 2026, states will determine which exam test-takers will receive for a specified period of time. After a period of no longer than five years, all jurisdictions will move to the NextGen exam. 

Law School Admissions Rates Increase for the First Time in Seven Years

AccessLex recently published its updated Legal Education Data Deck, which provides insight into law school trends and outcomes. Some of the key findings are summarized below. 

Overall, admissions rates increased in 2022. In 2022, 70 percent of law school applicants received at least one offer for admission, an increase of two percentage points from 2021 and the first increase in the admissions rate in seven years. Men maintained a higher admissions rate (71 percent) than women (68 percent), although women continue to make up the majority of law school applicants (56 percent).  Both men and women saw a one percentage point increase in admissions rate in 2022 compared to 2021.

When divided by race/ethnicity, the 2022 admissions rate for White/Caucasian applicants was the highest, with 78 percent of White/Caucasian applicants receiving at least one offer. Most other race/ethnicity groups fell below the average rate (70 percent). Applicants who identified as two or more races (67 percent) or as Asian fared the best (67 percent), while Hispanic/Latino (58 percent), American Indian/Alaska Native (52 percent), and Black/African American (48 percent) gained admission at rates significantly lower than average. 

Average tuition and fees have decreased over time. After adjusting for inflation, average law school full-time tuition and fees have decreased from 2015 to 2022 across all school types. In 2022, the average private school tuition/fees totaled $53,740, while public school resident and nonresident tuition/fees averaged $42,320 and $29,670 respectively. Between 2013 and 2022, the median grant amount awarded to students by law schools has almost doubled, ticking upwards from $15,000 to $22,500 (using adjusted 2022 dollars). 

Future employment opportunities look bright. Among 2021 graduates, 78 percent reported obtaining “bar passage required” employment. This is a small uptick from 75 percent in 2020 and a substantial increase from 68 percent in 2010. The “unemployed and looking” percentage has also reached its lowest point in the years since 2010, at just five percent for 2021 graduates. Additionally, there is strong continued demand for legal employees. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects significant growth in legal positions. Among occupations requiring a graduate degree, law employment falls second only to nurse practitioners with an expected increase of over 80,000 positions between 2021 and 2031. 

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

Law School Early Decision: What You Need to Know

Due to the rolling admissions at most law schools, prospective law students should submit their application materials as early as possible in the admissions cycle. But, if early is good, is early decision even better? Well… it’s complicated.

Submitting an early decision application is an appealing choice. Generally, the applicant pool is smaller. Classes are still open and waiting to be filled. Admissions officers provide expedited decisions, which can relieve a lot of stress. And, it provides the applicant a chance to demonstrate commitment and enthusiasm for the program, which can be highly beneficial. However, despite these positives, there are some complexities to consider. 

Early decision applications are (almost always) binding. If you are admitted to a law school early decision, you agree to withdraw all other applications and enroll. There is no leeway. It doesn’t matter if you were also accepted to the dream school that you thought you’d never get into or if your financing falls through and you find yourself in need of merit-based scholarship money. And, for the most part, if an applicant applies early-decision they forego the possibility of receiving any scholarships.  This is because they have already agreed to attend if admitted.  The school doesn’t have to woo them with money. 

We’ve summarized the pros and cons to applying early decision below:  

Pros

• Applying early decision will place you in a smaller “yield protection” applicant pool than applying regular decision. This can advantage you if you’re seeking to gain access to a “reach” school, as you have clearly demonstrated a commitment to the program and will definitely attend if admitted. Schools are always interested in protecting their yield. Do note that some schools grant automatic scholarships to all students admitted early decision, which increases the competitiveness of their early decision round (Northwestern and Berkley). 

• If you have a slightly lower than a school’s average GPA or LSAT score, applying early decision may help you to gain admittance to a school you may not have otherwise. 

• You will receive an expedited response—an accept, reject, or move to the regular decision pool. If you are moved into the regular decision pool, your preference for the program, shown through your initial early decision application, may benefit you as schools are looking for applicants who will accept their admission offers. 

Cons

• Early decision deadlines come… early. So you will need to finalize all of your application materials, which includes recommendations and test scores, earlier. For most early decision deadlines, you’ll need to complete the LSAT/GRE by October (confirm the deadlines on the school admissions page). 

• By committing to the law school, you are giving up your ability to negotiate for scholarships. In fact, we recommend that you do not apply early decision if financial assistance is an important factor for you. This is unless you are applying to one of the programs (Northwestern Pritzker or Berkeley) that award assistance to all early decision admittances, and you are comfortable with that financial award. 

• You may not be able to defer your matriculation to the school, if admitted via early decision. If the option to defer is important to you, confirm with the admissions office their policy on early decision deferrals prior to submitting your application. 

• You cannot change your mind. Your admissions decision is binding (you are contractually obligated to withdraw your other applications) and you must matriculate at the school if you receive an early decision acceptance…even if you find out that you’ve been accepted to a more appealing program. 

The bottom line is that applying early decision requires a great deal of commitment on your part. While it can bolster your chances for admission in some cases, you want to be 100 percent sure that you would attend a particular program regardless of financial aid. 

U.S. Continues to Dominate QS Global Ranking of Law Schools

QS just released its 2023 Law & Legal Studies rankings. For the second year in a row U.S.-based programs took seven of the top ten spots in the global rankings. There was no movement between 2022 and 2023 within the top ten. 

Harvard with a near perfect score, 99.8, continued its reign at the top, followed by Oxford (98) and Cambridge (97.1). The score is calculated using the following factors: Academic reputation (50 percent), Employer reputation (30 percent), Research citations per paper (5 percent), and the H-index (15 percent), which is a metric that measures the productivity and impact of an academic department. 

2023 Rank School Total Score

1 Harvard University   99.8

2 University of Oxford     98

3 University of Cambridge 97.1

4 Yale University 93.8

5 Stanford University     93.4

6 New York University       91.6

7 London School of Economics 89.9

8 Columbia University   89.7

9 University of California, Berkeley 88.9

10 University of Chicago   87.9

Outside of the top 10, a number of elite U.S. programs ranked within the top 50. They include: Georgetown University (ranked 21), UCLA (22), University of Pennsylvania (27), Duke University (29), and Cornell University and University of Michigan (tied at 34). University of Virginia fell out of the top 50 this year, to the 51st rank.

U.S. News and World Report Takes Down Law School and Medical School Rankings Previews

The U.S. News and World Report just removed the Best Law School and Best Medical School previews, which were posted earlier this month. In place of the previews, which showed the Top 14 Law Schools and Top 15 Medical Schools: Research, U.S. News posted this announcement, which explains that the organization has received a number of data update requests from law and medical schools:

As U.S. News previously announced, we are dealing with an unprecedented number of inquiries during our embargo period for the 2023-2024 Best Graduate Schools, including requests from law and medical schools to update data submitted after the collection period.

While we address these inquiries, we have removed the preview content for the 2023-2024 Best Medical Schools: Research and 2023-2024 Best Law Schools rankings published here on April 11. As previously noted, the rankings are not final until they are published in their entirety on USNews.com.

The previews’ removal falls after two announced delays in the publication of the full rankings for law and medical schools. The organization has not yet provided an expected publication date for the rankings, although it published other graduate school rankings, including business schools, today. 

U.S. News and World Report Postpones Law and Medical School Rankings Indefinitely

The U.S. News and World Report just announced that the release of the “Best Law School” and “Best Medical School” rankings will be postponed indefinitely. The news comes shortly after the organization delayed the publication of all graduate rankings by a week, from April 18th to April 25th, to account for additional data review and validation. U.S. News still plans to publish all other graduate program rankings, including business schools, on April 25th. 

The withdrawal of many law and medical schools from the rankings earlier this year spurred U.S. News to depend more heavily on publicly available data than in the past. After publishing a preview of the top 14 ranked law schools and top 15 ranked medical research programs earlier this month, the organization allowed school officials the opportunity to review the data under an embargo period. This standard practice led to an “unprecedented” number of questions and calls for additional review, which has apparently led to the delay. 

In a letter written to the U.S. News and shared with Reuters, Harvard Law Assistant Dean Marva de Marothy wrote, "Although we no longer participate in the U.S. News rankings, we expect the magazine to use accurate, publicly available numbers if it intends to continue to make representations about our law school.” 

U.S. News Will Delay Publication of Rankings After Unprecedented Number of Data Inquiries by Law Schools

U.S. News and World Report’s annual ranking of law schools will be delayed a week. In an email to law deans, published in part by Above the Law, U.S. News explained that during the law school data review period—a standard part of the pre-publication process—the organization received “an unprecedented number of inquiries from schools.” In order to fully address the inquiries, U.S. News added an additional week to the review period. Participating law deans are expected to receive access to the updated data on Wednesday, April 19th, and the final publication has been moved to April 25th. 

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