Which are the best law schools in the U.S.? There is no simple answer. While U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings have held a lot of sway over prospective students during the past 20 years, most experts agree that the decision is a lot more complicated. The National Jurist and preLaw magazine have published several rankings over the years in an effort to provide ample information for prospective students. Each ranking is designed to give a different perspective and it should be up to each individual to determine how much weight to place on any one ranking.
Here our the most popular rankings from the last few years, along with a story on the problem with rankings:
Best Law Schools
We rank law schools based on employment rates, career advancement, bar pass, affordability, diversity and quality of teaching.
Most Diverse Law Schools
We identity the 50 most diverse law schools when it comes to having a mix of blacks, Asians, Hispanics and other races that most closely mirror the U.S. populaiton.
Best Value Law Schools: 2012
This annual ranking identifies the schools where you can get a job and pass the bar exam without spending a fortune.
Most Innovative Law Schools
We identify the 20 schools that are at the cutting-edge with curriculum changes and improvements.
Best Law Schools for Public Service
We identify the schools that excel when it comes preparing students for public interest, government, clerkships and other public service professions.
Best Law Schools for Standard of Living
Our detailed 2011 study looks at the starting salaries for each school and calculates cost of living and debt payments. The end result: the school’s where graduates have the most take home pay.
Bar Exam stars: Best schools for improvement
This 2012 study compared bar pass rates to LSAT scores to determine which schools perform better on the bar than their incoming LSAT scores would otherwise suggest.
The problem with Rankings
This 2011 story looks at how rankings were destroying legal education
