If you’re applying to law schools, you might wonder which of America’s law schools top the US News & World Report annual ranking. You may have perused the profiles of the nine justices of the United States Supreme Court and their predecessors and realized they all happened to attend the same few law schools. So, what are the top law schools, and what are a few distinguishing facts about each one? Let’s dive in!

The Top Law Schools in 2023-2024, According to US News

Below, you’ll find the 2023-2024 best U.S. law schools, as ranked by US News & World Report, along with some fun facts about each school.

U.S. Law School	2023-2024 US News & World Report Ranking	Fun Facts
Stanford University	#1	Stanford Law School operates the Supreme Court Legal Clinic, which has brought over 30 cases to the Supreme Court, making it one of the most prolific Supreme Court practices in the nation.
Yale University	#1	Yale Law School has a reputation for producing graduates who are more likely to turn to academia and government service, as opposed to private practice, than those from other law schools.
University of Chicago	#3	University of Chicago Law School professors are known to cold-call students to test their knowledge of hypothetical scenarios, which is known as the Socratic Method.
University of Pennsylvania (Carey)	#4	Penn Carey Law publishes the oldest law review in the nation. Additionally, over half of courses have an interdisciplinary focus, a much higher proportion than most other law schools.
Duke University	#5	Duke Law is home to the first U.S. Chapter of the International Criminal Court Student Network, which was established in 2009.
Harvard University	#5	Harvard Law School is the oldest continuously-operating law school in the nation, and lays claim to the largest number of alumni of any law school who have joined the Supreme Court, Congress, and the ranks of U.S. Attorney General.
New York University	#5	NYU Law offers the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship, which is considered to be the most prestigious public service law scholarship in the nation.
Columbia University	#8	Columbia Law School was a pioneer of many fields, including comparative law, international law, space law, and gender and sexuality law. It operates the first technology-based and gender and sexuality law school clinics in the nation.
University of Virginia	#8	Virginia Law ranks among the best law schools for student quality of life, as evidenced by robust opportunities for extracurricular involvement and civic engagement on campus.
Northwestern University (Pritzker)	#10	Northwestern’s Law School has a reputation for favoring applicants who have worked full-time for at least two years, which reflects an institutional philosophy that focuses on the practical aspects of law.
University of California, Berkeley	#10	Berkeley Law leads the nation in the study of environmental and intellectual property law, and was one of the first schools on this list to regulate the use of ChatGPT in courses.
University of Michigan — Ann Arbor	#10	Michigan Law places a large emphasis on clinical experiences and moot court competitions, both of which provide students with hands-on experience in court proceedings.
Cornell University	#13	Cornell Law School might have some of the smallest cohorts of any major law school, with a student body of about 600, but it has a big reputation for producing alumni who go on to high-powered jobs in the private sector.
University of California, Los Angeles	#14	UCLA Law leads the world in the study of entertainment law, and provides aspiring artists with legal counsel through a unique clinical program.
Georgetown University	#15	Georgetown University Law Center is the largest law school in the United States, with a student body of over 2,000. It maintains a close relationship with the U.S. Supreme Court, although about two-thirds of alumni go into the private sector.
University of Minnesota	#16	University of Minnesota Law School runs two of the most highly ranked law journals in the nation: Law and Inequality for family law, and Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology for energy law.
University of Southern California (Gould)	#16	USC Gould School of Law was a pioneer of the clinical legal education approach. It is home to the first modern legal aid program, which arose out of a USC Gould Clinic.
University of Texas at Austin	#16	Texas Law boasts one of the largest academic law libraries in the nation, containing over one million volumes and a collection of pop culture memorabilia that depicts fictional representations of the legal system.
Vanderbilt University	#16	Vanderbilt University Law School created the first Law & Economics PhD program in the nation in 2007, which is offered alongside several other interdisciplinary degree and certificate programs.
University of Georgia	#20	Through the UGA Law Mentorship Program, upon arriving on campus, first-year students at Georgia Law are paired with a team of mentors, including faculty and working professionals.
Washington University in St. Louis	#20	Washington University School of Law sponsors four legal journals that are entirely student run and edited, six dual-degree programs, and several online degree programs.
Brigham Young University (Clark)	#22	BYU Law is affiliated with the Church of Latter-day Saints, and requires admitted students to adhere to LDS principles. Graduates automatically become members of the LDS-affiliated J. Reuben Clark Law Society.
Ohio State University (Moritz)	#22	One in three Moritz College of Law students receive a scholarship, which is the highest proportion of any law school in the country. Such scholarships include the Moritz Merit Scholarship Fund, and the Robert K. Barton Memorial Scholarship Fund.
University of Florida (Levin)	#22	UF Law is a national leader in the study of tax law, offering L.L.M. and S.J.D. degrees in taxation, in addition to a J.D. degree in tax law.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	#22	Carolina Law houses several world-renowned centers, including those which focus on banking and finance, media law, and environmental law.
Wake Forest University	#22	Wake Forest University School of Law maintains study abroad and “externship” programs located in D.C., London, Venice, and Vienna. The school also maintains seven legal clinics, and three student-run journals.

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