CHAPTER 0.01  
2012 TOP 25 LAW SCHOOLS 

 

2012 LAW SCHOOL RANKINGS 

 

 For all 190 ABA-approved law schools,
we give, if available, their rank and score
for each of the four years 2009-2012.



 

TOPICS

 

THE TOP 26 LAW SCHOOLS 2009-2012:
RANK AND SCORE DATA
PRESTIGE AND LSAT SCORES (Later) 

THE TOP 26 LAW SCHOOLS
RANK AND SCORE DATA 2009-2012

 
  • WHY TOP 26. There was a tie for positions 23, 24, 25, and 26. We ranked each of these law schools at position 24.5 (24.5 is the average of 23, 24, 25, and 26).  

  • Some Invariants. Looking at the 2009-2012 Rankings, we see that the top law school (Yale), the top three law schools, the top four law schools, the top thirteen law schools, the top fifteen, top seventeen law schools, and the top nineteen law schools have not changed; albeit the ordering of the law schools within these groups may have changed.  

  • The most impressive score improvement from 2009 to 2012 by a 2012 Top 26 Law School.  I consider the most impressive achievement to be that of U Chicago. U Chicago increased its score by 10, from 80 to 90; the most it could have increased its score being 20, from 80 to 100. That is, U Chicago increased its score by 50 percent (10/20 = .50) of its potential increase. By comparison, UC Davis increased its score by 13, from 54 to 67; with the most it could have increased its score being 46, from 54 to 100. That is, UC Davis increased its score by approximately 28 percent 13/46=.282... of its potential increase.
      

  • Two impressive improvement into the the Top 26 from 2009 to 2012. Both UC Davis and Indiana U (Bloomington) just made the 2012 top 26 coming in with rank 24.5. In 2009, UC Davis was positioned at 44.5 and Indiana at 36.5. 
      
  • Greatest rank decline of a 2009 Top 25 Law School. Emory U went from 23.5 in 2009 to 32 in 2012.
        
  • Best improvement within the top 25 from 2011 to 2012. U Minnesota increased its score by 4 and its rank by 3, which solidified its position within the top 25.
      
  • State with the most 2012 top-25 law-schools. CALIFORNIA. Five California law schools are in the top 25, including 3 state. NEW YORK has three, all private and all in the top 13.

USNews RANK

TOP  26

USNews SCORE

2009

2010

2011

2012

LAW   SCHOOL

2009

2010

2011

2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

1

1

1

Yale U (CT) 

100

100

100

100

2.5

2

2

2

Harvard U (MA) 

91

95

97

96

2.5

3

3

3

Stanford U (CA) 

91

93

93

94

4

4

4

4

Columbia U (NY) 

88

88

91

92

7.5

6.5

5

5

U Chicago (IL)

80

84

88

90

5

5

6

6

New York U 

85

87

87

89

10

9

9

7.5

U Michigan 

79

81

84

86

7.5

8

7.5

7.5

U Pennsylvania 

80

82

85

86

10

11

10

9.5

U Virginia 

79

80

83

85

6

6.5

7.5

9.5

UC Berkeley

81

84

85

85

12.5

11

11.5

11

Duke U (NC) 

77

80

82

83

10

11

11.5

12

Northwestern U (IL)

79

80

82

82

12.5

13

13

13

Cornell U (NY) 

77

78

78

80

14

14

14

14.5

Georgetown U (DC) 

74

75

77

77

16.5

15.5

15.5

14.5

U Texas, Austin 

71

74

76

77

16.5

15.5

15.5

16.5

UCLA

71

74

76

76

15

17

17

16.5

Vanderbilt U (TN) 

72

73

75

76

18

18

18

18.5

U Southern California

68

72

71

73

19

19

19

18.5

Washington U (MO)

67

69

70

73

20

28.5

20

20.5

George Washington

65

63

69

71

23

21

23.5

20.5

U Minnesota

63

66

67

71

21

21

23.5

22

Boston U 

64

66

67

68

36.5

24

27

24.5

Indiana U, B

57

65

65

67

28

24

21

24.5

U IIlinois-UC

60

65

68

67

23

24

23.5

24.5

U Notre Dame (IN) 

63

65

67

67

44.5

36.5

30.5

24.5

UC Davis

54

61

63

67

 


 


 

January 5, 2011

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