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Survey & Rankings

2020 Go-To Law Schools

We’ve ranked the top 50 law schools according to the percentage of their 2019
juris doctor graduates who took associate jobs at the largest 100 firms.

  • news

    Want to Work in Big Law? These Schools Are Good Bets

    Karen Sloan | March 05, 2020

    Columbia Law School lands at the top of our 2020 Go-To Law Schools ranking of Big Law feeder schools—marking the seventh straight year the school tops the list.

  • news

    Harvard, NYU and Columbia Embrace Early Summer Associate Hiring—Sort Of

    Karen Sloan | March 05, 2020

    After resisting the trend of law firms interviewing summer associate candidates prior to on-campus interview programs, three major Big Law feeder schools are now embracing early hiring.

  • news

    The Top 50 Go-To Law Schools

    Karen Sloan | March 05, 2020

    These law schools sent the highest percentage of 2019 graduates to associate jobs at the largest 100 law firms.

  • news

    Go-To Law Schools: Associates to Partner

    Karen Sloan | March 05, 2020

    These law schools saw the most alumni promoted to partner in 2019.

  • news

    Go-To Law Schools: Tuition

    Karen Sloan | March 05, 2020

    Here’s a look at how much it costs to attend a law school that has a strong Big Law track record.

  • news

    Go-To Law Schools vs. U.S. News

    Karen Sloan | March 05, 2020

    How Go-To Law School rankings match up with U.S. News & World Report.

  • news

    Go-To Law Schools: Firm Favorites

    Karen Sloan | March 05, 2020

    See which law schools specific firms hired from the most.

  • news

    Go-To Law Schools: All Schools Data

    Karen Sloan | March 05, 2020

    See hiring stats for every law school that sent a 2019 graduate to one of the largest 100 firms.

  • news

    Go-To Law Schools: Search By School

    Karen Sloan | March 05, 2020

    Search our Go-To Law Schools data by school to see the firms where 2019 graduates found associate jobs.

  • news

    Go-To Law Schools: Search By Firm

    Karen Sloan | March 05, 2020

    Search our Go-To Law Schools hiring data by firm to see the schools from which they hired new associates.

  • news

    Explore the Data Behind The Go-To Law Schools

    Karen Sloan | March 05, 2020

    Our interactive database allows you to delve into all the Go-To Law Schools School associate hiring and alumni partner promotion data.

  • news

    Go-To Law Schools Methodology

    Karen Sloan | March 05, 2020

    Find out how Law.com determines its Go-To Law Schools ranking.

  • news

    Sneak Peek at the 2020 Go-To Law Schools: Nos. 41-50

    Karen Sloan | March 02, 2020

    Here's an early look at Law.com's 2020 Go-To Law School Big Law hiring report, featuring schools 41-50 on our annual ranking of the 50 law campuses that sent the highest percentage of recent graduates on to large firm associate jobs.

  • news

    Sneak Peek at the 2020 Go-To Law Schools: Nos. 31-40

    Karen Sloan | March 03, 2020

    Here's an early look at Law.com's 2020 Go-To Law School Big Law hiring report, featuring schools 31-40 on our annual ranking of the 50 law campuses that sent the highest percentage of recent graduates on to large firm associate jobs.

  • news

    Sneak Peek at the 2020 Go-To Law Schools: Nos. 21-30

    Karen Sloan | March 04, 2020

    Here's an early look at Law.com's 2020 Go-To Law School Big Law hiring report, featuring schools 21-30 on our annual ranking of the 50 law campuses that sent the highest percentage of recent graduates on to large firm associate jobs.

  • news

    Sneak Peek at the 2020 Go-To Law Schools: Nos. 11-20

    Karen Sloan | March 05, 2020

    Here's an early look at Law.com's 2020 Go-To Law School Big Law hiring report, featuring schools 11-20 on our annual ranking of the 50 law campuses that sent the highest percentage of recent graduates on to large firm associate jobs.

  •  
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About the Survey

The law school class of 2019 may well have hit the sweet spot in the Big Law hiring market, as firms aggressively recruited from top law schools to fill out their new associate ranks. The nation’s largest 100 law firms hired 4,423 recent law graduates. Among the 50 schools most popular with those large firms, more than 30 percent of 2019 graduates landed associate jobs, up slightly from the previous year. Summer associate recruiting has since declined, meaning the class of 2019 likely represents a high point in new associating hiring.

We’ve ranked the top 50 law schools according to the percentage of their 2019 juris doctor graduates who took associate jobs at the largest 100 firms. To comprise that list, we used The National Law Journal’s annual survey of law firms by lawyer head count.

In addition to ranking the top 50 law schools, we present the law schools that saw the most alumni promoted to partner in 2018, which firms hired the most associates, and how each school’s tuition compares to its Big Law placement rate.


 

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