The magazine U.S. News and World Report has been ranking law schools for 23 years. And in those 23 years, there is only one law school that has reigned supreme: Yale Law School.
The school has a 9 percent acceptance rate. For those who complete the law degree curriculum, there is a good chance he or she will get a job, as 85 percent of students acquire positions at the time of graduation.
The publication’s methodology uses a number of factors in determining its rankings, including selectivity, employment and bar exam pass rates. Also taken into consideration is a peer assessment score, which is determined by law school deans.
Last year Stanford and Harvard were tied for second in the rankings but this year the Cardinal edged the Crimson to grab second place all to themselves.
Stanford Law 's communication department declined comment, saying it had a policy of not commenting on such rankings.
Newcomers to the Top 10 were Duke and Northwestern, which tied for 10th. Exiting the top 10 was Cal-Berkeley, which fell to 12th.
The biggest jumpers were Rutgers, No. 62, climbing 32 positions. Washington and Lee University was 28th, a 12-spot improvement from last year.
The biggest decliner was the University of Maine, which fell 28 spots to the 139th position.
Taking 21-point plunges were Washburn University School of Law and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law , which ended up at 106th and 127th, respectively.
The top 10 are: 1. Yale, 2. Stanford, 3. Harvard, 4. University of Chicago, 5. Columbia, 6. New York University, 7. University of Pennsylvania, 8. (tie) Michigan and Virginia, 10. (tie) Duke and Northwestern.