We
are
pleased
to
announce
the
release
of
the
13th
annual
Above
the
Law
Top
50
Law
School
Rankings.
Above
the
Law’s
rankings
are
premised
on
the
belief
that
most
people
who
go
to
law
school
want
to
be
lawyers.
That’s
why
it
is
the
outcomes
for
graduates
(e.g.,
bar
passage,
job
placement)
rather
than
the
inputs
from
entrants
(e.g.,
LSAT
score,
undergraduate
GPA)
that
matter
most
in
our
ranking
methodology.
Our
formula
incorporates
six
factors.
Employment
represents
the
bulk
of
a
school’s
score
as
the
key
element
of
two
separately
weighted
criteria:
legal
employment
(full-time,
long-term
jobs
that
require
bar
passage)
and
“quality
jobs”
(which
include
positions
in
large,
typically
high-paying
law
firms
and
federal
judicial
clerkships).
Ours
are
the
only
rankings
that
include
the
latest
ABA
employment
data
for
the
Class
of
2024.
We
also
factor
in
first-time
bar
passage
rate
and
the
cost
of
obtaining
a
law
degree.
The
final
two
components
weigh
the
number
of
alumni
serving
as
federal
judges
and
the
number
who
have
clerked
for
the
U.S.
Supreme
Court.
(Read
more
about
our
methodology
here.)
Here
are
the
Top
10
law
schools
for
2025:
-
Duke
(+2) -
Cornell
(+5) -
University
of
Chicago
(-1) -
University
of
Virginia
(-3) -
Penn
(+1) -
Northwestern
(+2) -
University
of
Michigan
(-3) -
Yale
(+5) -
Columbia
(-4) -
Vanderbilt
(no
change)
In
case
you
are
wondering
why
some
elite
schools,
like
Harvard
and
Stanford,
don’t
appear
in
the
top
10,
it’s
obviously
not
because
these
aren’t
great
law
schools.
They
just
didn’t
score
as
well
in
our
ranking
criteria,
which
focus
on
certain
concrete
data,
such
as
job
placement
and
cost
of
attendance,
and
omit
other
factors
(like
median
LSAT
and
peer
assessments)
that
measure
less
tangible
qualities
of
selectivity
and
prestige.
That
said,
one
uber-elite
school
did
make
the
top
10
this
year.
Yale
(previously
No.
13)
moved
up
five
places,
thanks
to
higher
figures
for
bar
passage,
overall
legal
employment,
and
quality
job
placement.
In
fact,
most
of
the
ranking
shifts
are
the
result
of
changes
in
schools’
employment
and,
to
a
lesser
extent,
bar
passage
scores.
Duke
has
returned
to
the
top
spot
that
it
last
held
in
2023,
with
the
strongest
employment
scores
of
all
194
law
schools
this
year.
Cornell,
whose
scores
were
almost
as
impressive,
has
moved
up
to
second
place.
Conversely,
slightly
lower
quality
job
scores
meant
ranking
drops
for
Michigan
and
Columbia,
though
both
remain
in
the
top
10.
One
of
the
benefits
of
our
formula
is
that
it
highlights
schools
that
may
not
be
top
of
mind
for
everyone
but
have
succeeded
in
placing
the
bulk
of
their
students
in
well-paying
legal
positions
for
a
relatively
lower
cost.
For
example,
the
University
of
Illinois
jumped
25
places
this
year,
from
No.
44
to
No.
19,
thanks
to
much
higher
bar
passage
and
job
placement
rates.
Meanwhile,
schools
who
have
returned
to
the
Top
50
after
a
few
years’
absence
include
Texas
A&M,
University
of
Colorado,
University
of
Kansas,
UC
Davis,
and
Indiana
University-Bloomington.
We
recognize
that
not
everyone
shares
our
perspective
on
what
makes
a
top
law
school.
For
those
with
different
priorities,
visit
the
ATL
Law
School
DIY,
an
interactive
tool
where
you
can
adjust
the
relative
weights
of
11
factors
yourself
to
customize
rankings
based
on
your
personal
needs
and
goals.
Do
Law
School
Rankings
Affect
Your
Choice?
Share
your
insights
in
this
brief
survey.
Respondents
who
complete
the
survey
may
be
eligible
to
win
a
$250
gift
card.