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10 Best Law Schools in the United States
Here is a list of law schools that are considered the best in America
1. Yale University
Image by David Mark from Pixabay
Yale Law School is the law school of Yale University, a private Ivy League research university in New aven, Connecticut.
It was established in 1824 and has been the top-ranked law school in the United States by “U.S. News & World Report” every year since the magazine began publishing law school rankings in the 1980s.
One of the most selective academic institutions in the world, the 2020-21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United States.
practical information:
Address: 127 Wall St, New Haven, CT 06511, United States
Phone: +1 203-432-4992
Acceptance rate: 9.7% (2016)
Undergraduate tuition and fees: 59,920 USD (2017 – 18)
2. Stanford University
Stanford University- Image by Toshiharu Watanabe from Pixabay
Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, which is a private research university near Palo Alto, California.
Established in 1893, it is consistently regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world.
Stanford Law has been ranked among the top three law schools in the United States every year since 1992. This is an accomplishment shared only by Yale Law School.
Stanford Law alumni include several of the first women to occupy Chief Justice or Associate Justice posts on the Supreme Court.
For example, the former Chief Justice of New Zealand Sian Elias, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, the late Associate Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, Rhoda V. Lewis, and the late Chief Justice of Washington, Barbara Durham.
practical information:
Address: 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
Phone: +1 650-723-2465
Acceptance rate: 9.1% (2014)
Undergraduate tuition and fees: 47,460 USD (2011 – 12)
Dean: Jennifer Mtínez
3. Harvard University
Harvard University- Image by David Mark from Pixabay
Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
It was founded in 1817 and is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Harvard is considered one of the top legal institutions in the world.
According to Harvard Law’s 2020 American Bar Association(ABA) required disclosures, 99% of 2019 graduates passed the bar exam.
The school’s graduates accounted for more than one-quarter of all Supreme Court clerks between 2000 and 2010, which is more than any other law school in the United States.
practical information:
Address: Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
Phone: +1 617-495-3109
Acceptance rate: 15.6% (2013)
Dean: John F. Manning
Total enrollment: 1,990 (2017)
4. Columbia University
Columbia University- Image by lc3105 from Pixabay
Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City.
Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked in the top five law schools in the United States by U.S. News and World Report.
Columbia Law School was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School and was well known for its legal scholarship dating back to the 18th century.
Graduates of the university’s colonial predecessor, King’s College, include notable early-American legal figures like John Jay, the first chief justice of the United States, and Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury.
According to Columbia Law School’s 2021 American Bar Association (ABA) required disclosures; 98.3 % of the Class of 2021 obtained employment within ten months of graduation.
Since 2014, Harvard law school has been ranked no 1 on the National Law Journal’s “Go-To Law Schools” ranking, which usually measures the percentage of graduates securing employment at the largest 100 law firms in the U.S.
practical information:
Address: 435 W 116th St, New York, NY 10027, United States
Phone: +1 212-854-2640
Acceptance rate: 18.4% (2012)
Undergraduate tuition and fees: 55,916 USD, International tuition 55,916 USD (2013 – 14)
Dean: Gillian Lester
5. University of Chicago
University of Chicago Law School- Author; Balthazar Korab- Wikimedia
The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, which is another private research university in Chicago, Illinois.
It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many distinguished alumni in the judiciary, academia, government, politics and business.
The law school was conceived in the 1890s by the president of the University of Chicago, William Rainey Harper.
Harper and the law school’s first Dean, Joseph Henry Beale, designed the school’s curriculum with inspiration from Ernst Freund’s interdisciplinary approach to legal education.
The construction of the school was financed by John D. Rockefeller and the cornerstone was laid by President Theodore Roosevelt.
The law school opened for classes in 1902 and since its inception, the law school’s professors have taught students using the Socratic Method, which remains the law school’s predominant mode of teaching in lectures and seminars
practical information:
Address: 1111 E 60th St, Chicago, IL 60637, United States
Phone: +1 773-702-9494
Acceptance rate: 15% (2010)
Undergraduate tuition and fees: 61,626 USD (2017 – 18)
Total enrollment: 633 (2010)
6. New York University
New York University (NYU)- Author; Tdorante10- Wikimedia
New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City.
Established in 1835, NYU is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New York State. Located in Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, NYU Law offers J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law.
Globally, NYU Law is ranked as the fifth-best law school in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) for the subject of Law in 2021, after having been ranked as the world’s fourth-best law school in 2020.
In 2017, it ranked as high as second best in the world by the same benchmark Shanghai Ranking ARWU.
In addition, NYU Law is also consistently ranked in the top 10 by the QS World University Rankings.
Additionally, NYU Law is the best law school in the U.S. for the study of criminal law and procedure and also ranks first in “The Princeton Review” rankings of top law schools for Best Career Prospects.
Also, NYU School of Law boasts the best overall faculty in the United States, having the leading scholars in every field of the law.
practical information:
Address: 40 Washington Square S, New York, NY 10012, United States
Phone: +1 212-998-6100
Dean: Trevor Morrison
Total enrollment: 1,395 (2015)
Founder: Benjamin Franklin Butler
7. University of Pennslyvania
University of Pennsylvania- Author; WestCoastivieS- Wikimedia
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This institution is among the most selective and oldest law schools in the United States. Currently, it is ranked sixth overall by U.S. News & World Report.
It offers the degrees of Juris Doctor (J.D.), Master of Laws (LL.M.), Master of Comparative Laws (LL.C.M.), Master in Law (M.L.), and Doctor of the Science of Law (S.J.D.).
Further, the school offers an extensive curriculum and hosts various student groups, research centers, and activities. Students publish the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the oldest law journal in the United States.
Students also publish The Regulatory Review, regulatory news, analysis, and commentary that publishes daily.
Penn Law students have the option to earn certificates of specialization in fields such as East Asian Studies or Gender and Sexuality Studies.
FYI: Prior to graduation, each student must complete at least 70 hours of pro bono service.
practical information:
Address: 3501 Sansom St, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
Phone: +1 215-898483
Undergraduate tuition and fees: 47,600 USD (2011 – 12)
Dean: Theodore Ruger
8. University of Virginia
University of Virginia- Image by tomrichey from Pixabay
The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia.
It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his “academical village” which became the University of Virginia where law was one of the original disciplines taught.
This university is the fourth-oldest active law school in the United States and the second-oldest continuously operating law school.
The law school offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees in law and hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers.
UVA Law is consistently ranked among the top 10 most prestigious law schools in the United States and is currently ranked 8th overall by U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, UVA Law has been ranked in the “T14” law schools ever since U.S. News & World Report began publishing rankings.
UVA Law ranks 3rd in the number of alumni serving as general counsels and chief legal officers at the nation’s top 500 companies.
practical information:
Address: 580 Massie Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22903, United States
Phone: +1 434-924-7354
Acceptance rate: 19.9% (2016)
Undergraduate tuition and fees: Local tuition 47,900 USD, Domestic tuition 52,900 USD (2013 – 14)
Dean: Risa L. Goluboff
9. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) postcard- Author; Tichnor Brothers, Publisher-Wikimedia
practical information:
Address: 385 Charles E Young Dr E, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
Phone: +1 310-825-4841
Acceptance rate: 20% (2011)
Undergraduate tuition and fees: 52,500 USD (2011 – 12)
Dean: Jennifer Mnookin
10. Duke University
Author; Warren LeMay- Wikimedia
Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, which is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina.
Duke Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States, and admits about 20% of applicants.
The law school is one of the “T14” law schools that have consistently ranked within the top 14 law schools since U.S. News & World Report began publishing rankings.
Duke’s 2019 class bar passage rate was “almost 98 %” — the second-highest bar passage rate in the country, after Harvard Law School. As of 2019, Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is roughly $329,609
