The 2024/2025 U.S. News & World Report law school rankings have landed. This year's rankings have a few shifts and surprises that could influence the decision-making of prospective and current students.
Unexpected Ties and Top Contenders
Significant shifts occurred within the coveted Top 14, or T14, law schools. At the pinnacle of legal education, Stanford Law School and Yale Law School now share the top spot, a tie that has caught people off guard because Yale has been ranked first for the past 34 years in a row (1990-2024). The University of Chicago Law School held steady at third, with a tie for fourth place among the University of Virginia, Duke, Harvard, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Significant Changes
The fluctuation in rankings follows a revised methodology, with a heavier weight now placed on graduates' successful job placement (60% of the total score). This shift highlights the importance of employment as a primary metric for assessing law schools. Academic metrics and peer assessments round out the remainder of the evaluation criteria, maintaining their roles but with recalibrated influences.
The emphasis on employment after law school makes the rankings more practical for law students, providing a more direct assessment of what they can expect regarding a tangible career after their legal education. The promise of employment after graduation can justify the high costs associated with law school and help manage student debt.
The Movers and Shakers
The rankings have seen their fair share of climbers and sliders. Notably, the University of Virginia Law School has surged four spots to enter a four-way tie at fourth place, perhaps reflecting improved graduate employment rates or other institutional enhancements. Conversely, the New York University School of Law has dropped to ninth, tied with Northwestern and Michigan, signaling potential improvement opportunities at NYU, at least if you consider U.S. News rankings to accurately reflect the legal education at these schools.
Implications for Law Students
There are some significant questions over whether prospective law students should pay much attention to school rankings. Still, if nothing else, they serve as a barometer for the legal education landscape, potentially directing the flow of applications and influencing career trajectories. Schools that have ascended in the rankings might attract more applicants, drawn by the promise of stronger career prospects. However, many schools have voiced dissatisfaction with these rankings.
Criticism of the Ranking Methodology
Many Tier 1 (T1) law schools have recently withdrawn from the rankings, arguing that the criteria for the rankings disproportionately emphasized factors like median LSAT scores and GPAs of incoming classes, as well as peer assessment scores, which don't necessarily reflect the quality of the education provided. These withdrawals may have been the impetus to change the methodology of rankings. Ironically, Yale was the first to withdraw, and under U.S. News' new methodology, they "dropped" for the first time in 34 years.
Impact on Diversity
Another significant concern for T1 law schools was the impact the rankings had on diversity accessibility. The emphasis on high LSAT scores and undergraduate GPAs has led schools to prioritize these factors in their admissions processes, potentially sidelining important attributes such as diversity, unique personal experiences, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Many law school deans believe that this approach undermined efforts to create a more inclusive legal profession. By withdrawing from the rankings, these schools aimed to set their own standards for admissions and success, focusing more on creating equitable opportunities for all candidates regardless of their standardized test scores or previous academic performance.
Related Resources:
- Do Law School Rankings Matter? (FindLaw for Law Students)
- Choosing the Right Law School (FindLaw Careers)
- Should You Get an Online Law Degree? (FindLaw for Law Students)
