2026 U.S. News Law School Ranking: Stanford Replaces Yale At The Top
Reuters: “Yale Law School slipped to No. 2 on U.S. News & World Report’s latest law school rankings, marking the first time in 36 years that the elite institution has not topped the list.
Stanford Law School is now the sole occupant of the No. 1 spot after sharing top billing with Yale since 2023 on U.S. News’ closely-watched list — the latest version of which was released Tuesday. Stanford law did not respond to a request for comment.
Yale is now tied at No. 2 with the University of Chicago Law School, which rose in the rankings from No. 3.
A Yale law spokesperson said the school is “focused on providing a rigorous and excellent legal education and increasing access and opportunity to law school and the profession.”
A slightly lower employment rate appears to have contributed to the school’s drop from the previous year. This year, 94.9% of Yale graduates were in long-term, full-time jobs that either require bar passage or for which a law degree is an advantage within 10 months after graduation, down from 95.5% in 2025. Yale’s bar pass rates and median LSAT score were largely unchanged.
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Here are the top 25 law schools in 2026 (along with accompanying data) according to U.S News.
| 2026 Rank | 2025 Rank | School Name | Ultimate Bar Passage (2 Year Average) | Peer Assessment Score (Overall) | Lawyer and Judge Assessment Score | Median LSAT Score | Median Undergraduate GPA | Acceptance Rate |
| 1 | 1 | Stanford University | 98.90% | 4.8 | 4.7 | 173 | 3.96 | 6.10% |
| 2 | 3 | University of Chicago | 99.50% | 4.6 | 4.6 | 174 | 3.97 | 9.74% |
| 2 | 1 | Yale University | 99% | 4.7 | 4.5 | 174 | 3.96 | 4.06% |
| 4 | 5 | University of Pennsylvania (Carey) | 98.40% | 4.4 | 4.3 | 173 | 3.95 | 8.05% |
| 4 | 4 | University of Virginia | 99.50% | 4.4 | 4.5 | 173 | 3.99 | 10.17% |
| 6 | 6 | Harvard University | 99.50% | 4.7 | 4.6 | 174 | 3.96 | 9.20% |
| 7 | 6 | Duke University | 99.10% | 4.3 | 4.4 | 171 | 3.91 | 12.88% |
| 7 | 8 | New York University | 99% | 4.5 | 4.4 | 172 | 3.92 | 13.39% |
| 9 | 10 | Columbia University | 97.80% | 4.5 | 4.4 | 173 | 3.92 | 11.84% |
| 9 | 10 | Northwestern University (Pritzker) | 98.70% | 4.2 | 4.3 | 173 | 3.96 | 12.30% |
| 9 | 8 | University of Michigan–Ann Arbor | 98% | 4.4 | 4.4 | 171 | 3.88 | 8.57% |
| 12 | 14 | Vanderbilt University | 97.20% | 4.1 | 4.1 | 170 | 3.91 | 13.26% |
| 13 | 18 | Cornell University | 94.80% | 4.2 | 4.2 | 173 | 3.92 | 18.19% |
| 13 | 12 | University of California–Los Angeles | 96.70% | 4.2 | 4.1 | 171 | 3.95 | 12.05% |
| 13 | 14 | Washington University in St. Louis | 95.60% | 3.9 | 3.9 | 175 | 3.96 | 18.96% |
| 16 | 13 | University of California, Berkeley | 98.80% | 4.5 | 4.3 | 170 | 3.92 | 14.84% |
| 16 | 14 | University of Texas–Austin | 97.30% | 4 | 4.2 | 172 | 3.89 | 13.99% |
| 18 | 14 | Georgetown University | 95.70% | 4.3 | 4.3 | 171 | 3.93 | 15.75% |
| 18 | 18 | University of North Carolina | 94.50% | 3.6 | 3.8 | 168 | 3.89 | 11.19% |
| 20 | 25 | Boston College | 97.10% | 3.5 | 3.7 | 168 | 3.83 | 8.48% |
| 20 | 20 | University of Notre Dame | 97.60% | 3.7 | 4 | 170 | 3.89 | 16.07% |
| 22 | 22 | Texas A&M University | 96.80% | 3.1 | 3.1 | 169 | 4 | 12.10% |
| 22 | 20 | University of Minnesota | 98.20% | 3.7 | 3.6 | 171 | 3.88 | 26.70% |
| 24 | 22 | Boston University | 97.10% | 3.6 | 3.6 | 170 | 3.88 | 12.08% |
| 24 | 28 | Brigham Young University (Clark) | 99.10% | 3.1 | 3.4 | 170 | 3.95 | 22.80% |
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Anonymous Donor Gives Indiana Maurer Grads $10,000 Each
Indiana Daily Student: “Third-year students in the IU Maurer School of Law gathered in the DeLaney Moot Court Room on March 31 for what many assumed would be a routine event.
The event was promoted via flyers and on social media as a special surprise students would not want to miss.
“Initially, our eyes started rolling because we thought that she was going to ask us to eventually donate,” Jack Phillips, president of the IU Student Bar Association and a graduating third-year law student, said.
Instead, IU Maurer School of Law Dean Christiana Ochoa delivered some news: an anonymous group of donors had given nearly $1.6 million to the law school, and each student would receive $10,000.
Ochoa told students the $1.6 million sum would be distributed equally among the graduating students in IU’s Juris Doctor program.”
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Why Law Grads Are Receiving More Time In The Bar Exam
MSN: “More aspiring young lawyers are asking for—and getting—extra time to finish the bar exam, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
In California, for instance, where more people take the bar than in any other state, 14% of the nearly 8,000 test takers last July received accommodations, up from 4% a decade earlier, according to the state bar. In Washington, D.C., the number has exceeded one in seven.
The development follows one already coursing through high schools and colleges: More students have diagnoses for disabilities like ADHD and receive extra time for classwork or the SAT. Now, as this generation enters the workforce, the phenomenon has reached professional licensing exams—and law firms are adapting, launching programs to support young associates with diagnoses.”
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