The 25 best law schools for landing a high-paying job at a big firm
Cornell Law School
Cornell Law School graduates celebrate their new degrees.
Earning a law degree was once a sure-fire path to a successful and lucrative career. Law school enrollment remains high, but an oversaturation of lawyers has left graduates struggling in the job market. Even the grads who find jobs aren’t guaranteed a six-figure salary, leaving many stuck under a mountain of student debt.
Which is why Business Insider’s recently released list of the 50 best law schools in the country focused on the institutions that lead to top jobs in the legal world. The ranking primarily homed in on the percentage of graduates who land full-time, long-term, highly coveted jobs, which we narrowed down to two things: positions at big law firms and federal clerkships.
Landing a spot at a large firm all but guarantees financial success — big firms pay significantly more than small ones. And the mega firms tend to play follow-the-leader when it comes to compensation: After a prominent New York City firm raised its base starting salary to $180,000 last month, many other big names followed suit.
We culled data from the American Bar Association to find the schools that funnel the highest percentage of graduates into the largest law firms — those with more than 500 employees. We used overall rank on our main list as a tiebreaker. Read on to see which law schools send the most graduates these companies.
Additional reporting by Kaitlyn Yarborough and Alexa Pipia.
25. Emory University
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 17%
Bar passage rate: 89%
Median LSAT score: 165
Seventy-five percent of Emory Law’s more than 300 graduates secured long-term, full-time jobs requiring bar passage. The private school, which is known for its public service law program, costs $51,510 per year.
24. University of Notre Dame
Location: South Bend, Indiana
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 20%
Bar passage rate: 84%
Median LSAT score: 164
The University of Notre Dame law school encourages students to extend their education outside of the US and offers several opportunities to study abroad, including stays at Notre Dame’s programs in London, Chile, or Italy. Grads join the ranks of successful alumni, such as Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano.
23. Washington University in St. Louis
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 21%
Bar passage rate: 89%
Median LSAT score: 165
Seventy-five percent of Emory Law’s more than 300 graduates secured long-term, full-time jobs requiring bar passage. The private school, which is known for its public service law program, costs $51,510 per year.
22. Fordham University
Location: New York, New York
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 22%
Bar passage rate: 86%
Median LSAT score: 163
Following its motto of “in the service of others,” Fordham University’s school of law places an emphasis on pro bono work, and the class of 2015 racked up nearly 130,000 hours of public interest work during their time in school. This hands-on experience pays off: 67% of graduates secured full-time, long-term jobs where they put their law degree to use.
21. George Washington University
Location: Washington, D.C.
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 23%
Bar passage rate: 86%
Median LSAT score: 165
The oldest law school in the nation’s capital, GW Law has the fourth-highest number of graduates (465) on our list. Students can choose from over 275 elective courses and 20 different specialized areas of study. The school’s intellectual property law program is among the best in the country.
20. Boston College
Location: Newton, Massachusetts
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 23%
Bar passage rate: 91%
Median LSAT score: 162
The private law school has a dynamic environmental law program that offers a dual degree with Tufts University to earn an MA in urban planning and environment. In 2015, 77% of Boston College Law graduates secured jobs requiring bar passage.
19. Boston University
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 23%
Bar passage rate: 93%
Median LSAT score: 163
Boston University boasts one of the highest percentages of women on the list, with female students making up 55% of the class of 2015. BU Law features diversity in its classes as well, offering more than 200 courses that cover almost every type of law, from construction to patents to food, drugs, and cosmetics.
18. Vanderbilt University
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 23%
Bar passage rate: 93%
Median LSAT score: 166
Vanderbilt Law School opened in 1847 as one of the university’s first two departments. It offers nine different programs — including social justice, international, and intellectual property — to JD candidates to focus on a specialized area of law once they complete the first-year core curriculum.
17. University of Texas at Austin
Location: Austin, Texas
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 25%
Bar passage rate: 88%
Median LSAT score: 167
Texas Law had one of the largest graduating classes on our list with more than 350 students earning degrees last year. The public school’s renowned trial advocacy program was founded nearly 40 years ago and has won 17 national advocacy championships in the past 11 years.
16. University of Southern California
Location: Los Angeles, California
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 28%
Bar passage rate: 87%
Median LSAT score: 166
The USC Gould School of Law features tailored programs, such as its Media, Entertainment, and Technology certificate program, that cater to its Los Angeles-based campus and students. Seventy-three percent of graduates land full-time jobs that require passing the bar.
15. University of California at Los Angeles
Location: Los Angeles, California
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 30%
Bar passage rate: 82%
Median LSAT score: 166
At UCLA Law, students are both taught a spirit of community service and immersed in one through the school’s emphasis on mentorship. Students can take advantage of advice from hands-on professors as well as networking opportunities with UCLA’s alumni base. These connections in part help students land jobs, and a respectable 30% of the class of 2015 procured positions at large law firms with over 500 employees upon graduation.
14. Yale University
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 30%
Bar passage rate: 92%
Median LSAT score: 173
Students admitted to Yale Law were among the best-performers on the LSAT, with a median score of 173 — tied for the top spot with Harvard. Thirty-four percent of graduates of the Ivy League school landed federal clerkships, the most of any school on our list. Its 81% of graduates that landed full-time, long-term jobs requiring bar passage was the lowest in the top 10.
13. Georgetown University
Location: Washington, D.C.
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 32%
Bar passage rate: 88%
Median LSAT score: 167
Georgetown Law prepares students well: 88% of graduates pass the bar on the first try. These newly minted lawyers join the ranks of notable Georgetown alumni, including the “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie, former-FCC Chairman Michael Powell, and former-US President Lyndon B. Johnson, although he never graduated.
12. University of California at Berkeley
Location: Berkeley, California
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 35%
Bar passage rate: 88%
Median LSAT score: 166
Berkeley Law is the only top 20 law school on the West Coast aside from Stanford, and it’s revered for its robust intellectual property program and pioneering environmental and energy law programs. Berkeley Law has the highest percentage of women enrolled (56% of students) on our list.
11. University of Michigan
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 37%
Bar passage rate: 93%
Median LSAT score: 168
Michigan Law possesses a rich historical background. Three Supreme Court justices have attended the school, and one of its graduates became the first woman with a law degree to be admitted to the state’s bar in 1871. Michigan Law is the second-highest ranked public school on our list.
10. University of Virginia
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 44%
Bar passage rate: 94%
Median LSAT score: 168
Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson himself, the University of Virginia School of Law is one of the oldest in the nation, and it aims to train lawyers who are committed to the ideals of leadership, integrity, and community service. The top public school on our list, UVA Las sends some of the most graduates into federal clerkships in the country, with 16% of the class of 2015 accepting such positions.
9. Stanford University
Location: Stanford, California
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 44%
Bar passage rate: 90%
Median LSAT score: 171
Students of Stanford Law are paying an estimated $31,005 per year to live in California’s pricey Bay Area, on top of a $56,274 annual tuition price tag. But the return on investment is worth it: 73% of graduates at the West Coast’s top law school secure highly-coveted jobs, with 26% landing of graduates landing federal clerkships.
8. Harvard University
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 44%
Bar passage rate: 95%
Median LSAT score: 173
With 68% of students accepting highly coveted jobs right out of school, a law degree from Harvard proves well worth the investment. But it’s not easy to come by: the median LSAT score of accepted students is 173, tied with Yale as the highest on our list. Harvard Law also boasts several prominent alumni, including President Barack Obama, former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein.
7. Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, New York
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 48%
Bar passage rate: 92%
Median LSAT score: 167
Annual tuition for Cornell Law School is just shy of $60,000, among the highest on our list. But it pays off: 90% of graduates secured full-time, long-term jobs that required passing the bar. The school is recognized for its opportunities for pro bono work through programs like the Cornell Law School Public Service Challenge. Last year, students completed 1,165 hours of pro bono work.
6. Duke University
Location: Durham, North Carolina
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 48%
Bar passage rate: 94%
Duke Law’s curriculum focuses on areas of law where the demand for jobs will increase in the near future, such as international law, environmental law, and public law. The alma mater of Richard Nixon and Charlie Rose has the fifth-highest percentage on our list of graduates securing highly coveted jobs. It also has the highest percentage on our list of graduates securing full-time jobs at law firms with 251-500 employees.
5. New York University
Location: New York, New York
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 50%
Bar passage rate: 96%
Median LSAT score: 169
Located in NYC’s Greenwich Village, NYU School of Law was founded in 1835 and has gained a stellar reputation for its curriculum, especially its international law and tax law programs. The school has 10 student-run publications, and 87% of graduates secured full-time jobs requiring bar passage.
4. Northwestern University
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 51%
Bar passage rate: 87%
Median LSAT score: 168
Out of 4,095 applications, the Pritzker School of Law enrolled just 213 students (5.2%) for the 2015-2016 academic year. The private institution was founded in 1859 and is renowned for its competitive admissions, with 70% of entering students possessing at least two years of full-time work experience.
3. University of Chicago
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 54%
Bar passage rate: 92%
Median LSAT score: 170
Graduates of the law school cofounded by John D. Rockefeller are destined for success. University of Chicago’s law school boasts the highest percentage of graduates securing highly coveted jobs (80%) of any school on our list. And more than half of employed grads (54%) find jobs at law firms with over 500 employees.
2. University of Pennsylvania
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 55%
Bar passage rate: 98%
Median LSAT score: 169
Graduates of the University of Pennsylvania’s law school, the No. 1 school for 2016, have no trouble landing top jobs: 75% of grads secure federal clerkships or positions at big law firms, and a full 90% end up in full-time jobs that require passing the bar. These graduates follow in the footsteps of several notable Penn Law alumni, including Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz and former Supreme Court Justice Owen Roberts.
1. Columbia University
Location: New York, New York
Percent of graduates who secure jobs at law firms with over 500 employees: 61%
Bar passage rate: 92%
Median LSAT score: 171
Columbia Law School may be the most expensive school on our list — annual tuition runs $62,700 — but the price tag goes a long way toward securing a great job: 77% of graduates secure full-time, highly coveted jobs at big law firms or in federal clerkships. The school also welcomes diversity: 47% of students are women and 33% are minorities.
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