The 24 best law schools for securing federal clerkships
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University of Pennsylvania’s law school sends 11% of graduates into federal clerkships.
Business Insider recently released its list of the 50 best law schools in the country, which 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.
While not the highest-paying positions, federal clerkships allow young lawyers to make connections and can set them up for career success.
“Clerkships offer an opportunity to work closely with a judge, learn about the inner workings of the judicial system, and hone your legal research and writing skills,” Stanford Law School — which sees 26% of graduates accept federal clerkships — explains on its website. “They also provide one or two years of practical training and enable you to make valuable professional contacts in the substantive and/or geographical areas in which you hope to practice.”
We culled data from the American Bar Association to find the schools that funnel the highest percentage of graduates into these positions, using overall rank on our main list as a tiebreaker. Read on to see which law schools send the most graduates to federal clerkships.
Additional reporting by Kaitlyn Yarborough and Alexa Pipia.
24. University of Mississippi
Location: Oxford, Mississippi
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 6%
Bar passage rate: 85%
Median LSAT score: 155
Tuition at the University of Mississippi’s school of law costs only $15,036 for in-state residents, climbing up to $32,374 for non-residents. The school includes author John Grisham and Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker among its notable alumni.
23. The College of William and Mary
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 6%
Bar passage rate: 88%
Median LSAT score: 163
Founded in 1779, William & Mary Law School stands as the oldest law school in the US — and it’s still going strong. Fifteen percent of the class of 2015 secured jobs at big law firms with over 500 employees, and 88% passed the bar the first time around.
22. University of Georgia
Location: Athens, Georgia
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 6%
Bar passage rate: 91%
Median LSAT score: 162
University of Georgia Law has excelled in international-law instruction for decades. Dean Rusk, the US secretary of state during the Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson presidential administrations, served as a professor for more than a decade and is the namesake of the school’s international law center. The law school has one of the lowest annual tuition costs on our list at $37,524.
21. Baylor University
Location: Waco, Texas
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 6%
Bar passage rate: 91%
Median LSAT score: 160
Baylor Law School prides itself on being one of the smallest law schools in the nation — it has the least number of graduates (108) on our list. Students can pick from areas of concentration that include business litigation, healthcare law, and estate planning. It’s also the fourth best school for trial advocacy, according to U.S. News and World Report.
20. Columbia University
Location: New York, New York
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 6%
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.
19. New York University
Location: New York, New York
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 6%
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.
18. University of Montana
Location: Missoula, Montana
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 7%
Bar passage rate: 71%
Median LSAT score: 153
University of Montana’s Alexander Blewett III School of Law boasts a 71% bar passage rate. In addition to a standard law degree, students can also earn specialized certificates in areas such as American Indian law or natural resources conflict resolution. And with annual tuition of only $30,078, it’s one of the most affordable law degrees in the country.
17. Northwestern University
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 7%
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.
16. University of Notre Dame
Location: South Bend, Indiana
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 8%
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.
15. University of Texas at Austin
Location: Austin, Texas
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 8%
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.
14. University of Iowa
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 8%
Bar passage rate: 87%
Median LSAT score: 161
The University of Iowa College of Law is one of the most affordable choices in the top 25 of our list, with an annual tuition for non-residents of $42,021 and estimated living costs of $16,892 per year. The school’s Citizen Lawyer program encourages students to promote public access to justice and law through pro bono work and community service.
13. University of Kentucky
Location: Lexington, Kentucky
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 8%
Bar passage rate: 90%
Median LSAT score: 155
For Kentucky residents, tuition at the University of Kentucky College of Law costs only $21,618 per year (that number rises to $40,836 for out-of-state students), comparatively much cheaper than other top 25 schools on the list. And there’s plenty to entice students to attend: The college offers four dual-degree programs, operates two law journals, and sponsors more than 20 student-run organizations.
12. University of Alabama
Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 8%
Bar passage rate: 95%
Median LSAT score: 163
The only public law school in the state of Alabama, the University of Alabama School of Law counts Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller among its distinguished alumni. An impressive 95% of Bama graduates pass the bar on the first try, and with annual tuition of $37,664, the school is the least expensive in our top 15.
11. Duke University
Location: Durham, North Carolina
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 9%
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.
10. Vanderbilt University
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 10%
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.
9. University of Michigan
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 10%
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 overall list.
8. University of California at Berkeley
Location: Berkeley, California
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 11%
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.
7. University of Pennsylvania
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 11%
Bar passage rate: 98%
Median LSAT score: 169
Graduates of the University of Pennsylvania’s law school, the No. 1 overall 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.
6. University of California at Irvine
Location: Irvine, California
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 13%
Bar passage rate: 78%
Median LSAT score: 162
Just opened in 2009, UC Irvine School of Law is already producing top-notch lawyers. Students earn a median LSAT score of 162 and go on to hold highly-coveted jobs post-graduation, with 65% securing full-time, long-term positions that require passing the bar.
5. University of Chicago
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 15%
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.
4. University of Virginia
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 16%
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, it has one of the best records of sending graduates into federal clerkships in the country, with 16% of the class of 2015 accepting such positions.
3. Harvard University
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 19%
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.
2. Stanford University
Location: Stanford, California
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 26%
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.
1. Yale University
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Percent of graduates securing federal clerkships: 34%
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.
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