Best Law Schools in America For Career Prospects
The Princeton Review recently released its annual law school ranking, covering the best 168 law schools in the country (but disregarding the fact that there are ~200 law schools with varying degrees of accreditation by the ABA). Our condolences to the ~30 law schools that were unable to make the cut for the Princeton Review’s 2024 edition of the rankings — it must sting knowing that your institution is part of the small sliver of law schools that aren’t among the “best.”
We’ve focused on one of the 14 rankings categories that we thought people would be the most interested in: The law schools where graduates have the best career prospects. It wasn’t long ago that the Princeton Review’s loose definition of “career prospects” meant an entire class of law graduates could be putting the “bar” in “barista,” but thankfully the methodology was changed, and these career rankings mean something now.
Princeton Review’s “Best Career Prospects” results are now based on highly relevant data reported by law school administrators, including median starting salaries, the percentage of students employed in jobs requiring bar passage (and not employed by the school — a factor that is now at odds with the U.S. News law school rankings), and the percentage of students who were able to pass the bar exam on their first try. The Princeton Review also relies on responses from student surveys.
Here are the top 10 law schools on the Princeton Review’s “Best Career Prospects” list for 2024. Things changed a bit for T14 schools this year:
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University of Georgia School of Law
UGA Law School Dean Joins Morris, Manning & Martin
Morris, Manning & Martin today announced that Peter “Bo” Rutledge has joined the firm as senior counsel in the firm’s litigation practice in Atlanta. Currently the dean of the University of Georgia School of Law, Rutledge will join the firm on a part-time basis before transitioning from his law school post to Morris Manning full time in the summer of 2025.
At Morris Manning, Rutledge will be focused on building out an appellate practice and rounding out the firm’s ADR practice with his significant international dispute resolution experience.
“Given his vast legal knowledge and experience, Bo could have joined any firm in Atlanta, and we are thrilled he chose MMM,” said the firm’s managing partner, Simon Malko. “His leadership at the UGA law school has been truly transformative, as has his commitment to recruiting from a rich and diverse talent pool, including ex-military and first-generation college students. Bo is the perfect fit to take the firm’s litigation practice to the next level.”
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Law School Grads Could Earn License Through Work Rather Than Bar Exam In Some States
Before Bailey McQueeny-Rose attended law school at the University of Oregon, she worked in reproductive health care, first as a medical assistant and then as a trainer, teaching others to do the same job. The work opened her eyes to how access to health care differed based on the laws in the six states where she oversaw training, and she began to consider becoming a civil rights lawyer.
She’d planned to take the bar exam after law school, but in late 2023, Oregon began offering graduates an alternative pathway to practicing law. Instead of sitting for the multiday bar exam, which most states offer twice a year, new graduates can be admitted to practice in Oregon through on-the-job training.
The graduates are required to work 675 hours under the supervision of a licensed attorney as well as submit a work portfolio for approval to Oregon’s Board of Bar Examiners. And just like anyone who takes the traditional bar exam, those approved under what’s known as a Supervised Practice Portfolio Examination, or SPPE, are required to pass an ethics test.
“The bar exam is not going to teach me how to be a civil rights lawyer,” McQueeny-Rose said. “But the SPPE pathway, working with civil rights employers, learning what the day-to-day duties and what the day-to-day job looks like, it’s a hands-on way. That’s what’s going to teach me how to be a civil rights lawyer.”
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