Where should you go to law school? There are nearly 200 law schools in the United States, and the right law school rankings can help you choose.
With a myriad of factors to consider, including tuition cost, career outcomes, and quality of life, many prospective students look to the rankings to determine where to spend their time applying.
Here, we look at the best-known law school rankings and provide our own ranking—weighing key factors for law students in 2023, such as whether schools offer technology classes and remote classes. Today, law students must have a firm grasp of technology for a successful career in law moving forward.
What are the top ranking law schools?
The top ranking law schools in the US include Yale, Stanford, the University of Chicago, and Harvard. The top 14 law schools in the US World and News Report (USWNR) annual rankings, typically referred to as the T14, or Top 14, have been top-ranked since the 1990s and are generally considered the best law schools in the country.
Clio Law School Rankings 2023
Schools with the Clio logo are part of Clio’s Academic Access Program (CAAP), which offers free Clio access to prepare students for the future of law.
How we determined the top law schools of 2023
To create a law school ranking that is relevant for law students in 2023, we used a combination of existing rankings as well as a score for remote class options and technology class offerings. Here’s how the rankings break down:
- 40% – USWNR Ranking. The annual law school rankings from USWNR have been the most influential rankings in the US for over three decades.
- 30% – Above the Law (ATL) ranking. ATL looks heavily at employment outcomes, weighing heavily towards a quality jobs score, employment score, and education cost it assigns to each school.
- 12% – Technology classes score. We assigned a score to each law school based on how many, if any, technology related classes were offered—covering either the use of technology or implications of technology for the law. Knowledge of technology is crucial for successful legal careers in 2023 and beyond.
- 6% – Remote classes score. The ability to attend some or all classes remotely is an important accessibility option for many students.
- 3% – Princeton Review Best Professors ranking. Based on student ratings of their professors—the quality of one’s legal education provides a rich foundation for their legal career.
- 3% – Princeton Review Best Career Prospects ranking. We believe it’s important that law students are able to launch strong careers after graduation.
- 3% – Princeton Review Best Quality of Life ranking. Based on some troubling law student mental health statistics, it’s crucial to consider the environment at any law school you’re thinking of attending.
- 3% – Princeton Review Best Classroom Experience ranking. Whether in the classroom or attending remotely, the experience in class needs to be top notch to get the most out of your legal education.
USWNR Law School rankings 2023
USWNR has released annual law school rankings since 1990. It is widely respected, with terms such as “T14 law school” arising from its ranking system. Over 196 law schools were included in its rankings for 2023.
The USWNR ranking is based on the following factors—relevant weightings are in brackets:
- Peer assessment score (0.25)
- Lawyers and judges assessment score (0.15)
- Employment rates for 2020 graduates 10 months after graduation (0.14) and at graduation (0.04)
- Bar passage rate (0.03)
- Average debt incurred obtaining a J.D. at graduation (0.03) and the percent of law school graduates incurring J.D. law school debt (0.02)
- Median Law School Admission Test and Graduate Record Examination scores (0.1125)
- Median undergraduate grade point average (0.0875)
- Acceptance rate (0.01)
- The average spending on instruction, library and supporting services (0.09) and the average spending on all other items, including financial aid (0.01)
- Student-faculty ratio (0.02)
- Library resources and operations (0.01)
Read more about the USWNR methodology for ranking here.
What is a Top 14 law school?
The top 14 law schools—or T14—are the top 14 law schools in the United States according to the USWNR. T14 law schools are often referred to as Tier 1 law schools. The USWNR law school rankings evaluate law schools on graduate placement, faculty, student achievement, and opinions from law schools, lawyers, and judges on program quality.
What is a tier 3 law school?
Tier 3 law schools are law schools ranked by the USWNR that don’t fall into Tier 1 or Tier 2. Tier 3 law schools make up the vast majority of schools ranked by the USWNR.
In 2023, the top 10 law schools according to USWNR were:
ATL Law School rankings 2022
ATL provides a ranking of the top 50 law schools each year. Their rankings are based on:
- 35% – Quality of jobs (jobs where graduates can actually pay off their debt)
- 30% – Graduate employment
- 15% – Education cost
- 10% – Debt per job
- 5% – Graduates who are active federal judges
- 5% – Graduates who are SCOTUS clerks
You can learn more about the rationale behind ATL’s law school ranking system here.
In 2022, the top 10 law schools according to ATL were:
Princeton Review Law School rankings 2023
Princeton Review provides 14 unique ranking lists for law schools based on surveys of 17,000 US law school students and administrators. The categories include Best Online JD Programs, Greatest Resources for Minority Students, Best Career Prospects, and much more.
Read more about the Princeton Review Law School Rankings here.
Final notes on law school rankings
Law school rankings are a valuable resource when deciding which law schools to apply to. Ultimately, different considerations apply for different students when deciding on the best law schools for them—which is why we’ve created a law school ranking that combines both trusted rankings with factors law students should be considering to prepare themselves for a successful future, including technology considerations.
Wherever you choose to apply to law school, good luck with your applications! And don’t forget to sign up for Clio’s Academic Access Program—this program provides law students with a head-start on their legal practice by introducing them to the opportunities available through cloud-based practice management software. Sign up for Clio’s Academic Access Program here.