Law School Rankings Methodology

The rankings of 190 law schools fully accredited by the American Bar Association are based on a weighted average of the 12 measures of quality described here. Data were collected in fall 2010 and early 2011. Specialty rankings are based solely on nominations by legal educators at peer institutions. 

[See the Best Law Schools rankings.] 

Quality Assessment (weighted by .40) 

Peer Assessment Score (.25) In the fall of 2010, law school deans, deans of academic affairs, chairs of faculty appointments, and the most recently tenured faculty members were asked to rate programs on a scale from marginal (1) to outstanding (5). Those individuals who did not know enough about a school to evaluate it fairly were asked to mark "don't know." A school's score is the average of all the respondents who rated it. Responses of "don't know" counted neither for nor against a school. About 66 percent of those surveyed responded. 

Assessment Score by Lawyers/Judges (.15) In the fall of 2010, legal professionals, including the hiring partners of law firms, state attorneys general, and selected federal and state judges, were asked to rate programs on a scale from marginal (1) to outstanding (5). Those individuals who did not know enough about a school to evaluate it fairly were asked to mark "don't know." A school's score is the average of all the respondents who rated it. Responses of "don't know" counted neither for nor against a school. 

In the the fall 2010 lawyer and judge survey, U.S. News for the first time surveyed 750 hiring partners and recruiters at law firms who made the 2010 Best Law Firms rankings produced jointly by U.S. News and the publication Best Lawyers. Their ratings are included in the lawyer and judge survey score. About 14 percent of those lawyers and judges surveyed responded. The two most recent years lawyers' and judges' surveys were averaged and are weighted by .15.

Selectivity (weighted by .25)

Median LSAT Scores (.125) The combined median scores on the Law School Admission Test of all full-time and part-time entrants to the J.D. program's 2010 entering class.

Median Undergrad GPA (.10) The combined median undergraduate grade-point average of all the full-time and part-time entrants to the J.D. program's 2010 entering class.

Acceptance Rate (.025) The combined proportion of applicants to both the full-time and part-time J.D. program who were accepted for the 2010 entering class.

For the Best Graduate Schools 2012 edition, U.S. News continued the same main law school rankings methodology that was used in the 2010 and 2011 editions for admissions data. We used the combined fall 2010 class admissions data for both full-time and part-time entering students for the median LSAT scores, median undergraduate grade-point averages, and the acceptance rate in calculating the school's overall ranking.

Placement Success (weighted by .20)

Employment Rates for Graduates The employment rates for the 2009 graduating class determine success in this category. Employment rates are measured at graduation (.04 weight) and nine months after graduation (.14 weight). This year, we modified how we compute the new J.D. employment rates used in the law school rankings in an initial effort to publish employment data that is somewhat more reflective of the job market for new J.D. graduates compared to our previous calculation method.

In the past, new J.D.s counted as employed at graduation and at nine months out if they were working full or part time in a legal or non-legal job or pursuing additional graduate school education after their J.D.; so did 25 percent of those whose status was "unknown." Now, both the at graduation and nine months after employment rates are figured solely based on the number of grads working at that point in time full or part time in a legal or non-legal job divided by the total number of J.D. graduates. Also, those who are not seeking employment are now counted in the calculation as part of the total number of J.D. graduates; previously, they were excluded from the size of the graduating class and the calculation. U.S. News believes that this calculation is a more realistic presentation of the employment data that is currently available to U.S. News.