The edition of U.S. News World Report 's "Best Grad Schools" ranked Northwestern Law: [1]
- 9th in the country overall
- 3rd for Trial Advocacy
- 4th for Tax Law
- 8th for Legal Writing
- 5th in Percentage of Federal Appellate Clerkships for -
- 6th in Success Rate of Graduates on the Teaching Market 2006-
- 9th in Student Quality
- 10th in Total Supreme Court Clerks for 2000-2007 terms
The Princeton Review 2007 Rankings name the law school:
- 1st for "Best Career Prospects"
- 8th for "Toughest to Get Into"
- 10th for "Best Quality of Life"
- 10th for "Best Overall Academic Experience"
Vault Law School Guide rankings placed the law school:
- 9th in the country overall
The National Law Journal ranked Northwestern:
- 2nd for Percentage of Graduates Hired by NLJ250 Firms
Admission to Northwestern Law is extremely competitive; the median LSAT is in the top 2% of all test takers nationwide, ranking it #6 among all law schools.
The Law School's admissions philosophy also places unusual emphasis on matriculating students demonstrating maturity and interpersonal skills, attributes the School believes are conducive to career success. To this end, every applicant is invited to interview, either with a member of the admissions staff or a local alum. The interviewing program focuses on such personal qualities as speaking and writing skills, judgment, and ambition.
The School’s practical philosophy is manifested in a strong preference for applicants with at least two years of work experience. Approximately 95% of the school's students enter with at least one year of full-time work experience; 80% possess more than two years of experience. [ 4 ] In this respect, Northwestern Law is similar to many business schools.
According to the edition of the ABA-LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools, Northwestern students had the following credentials:
25% LSAT: 167 | Median LSAT: 170 | 75% LSAT: 172
25% GPA: 3.40 | Median GPA: 3.70 | 75% GPA: 3.80
The NU Law faculty is well regarded for academic strength in a number of disciplines including tax, international law, trial advocacy, alternative dispute resolution, and others. The 2007 student/faculty ratio was 10.4 to 1. [ 5 ]
Selected prominent NU Law faculty, past and present, include:
- Robert Bennett, constitutional scholar and founder of the Chicago Council for Lawyers. A leading scholar in Contract Law.
- Steven Calabresi. constitutional scholar and Founder and Chairman of the Federalist Society
- Anthony D'Amato, international legal scholar, European Court of Human Rights litigator
- Bernardine Dohrn. clinical professor, leader of the 1960s-70s radical leftist organization, Weatherman
- Andrew Koppelman. noted legal scholar on same-sex marriage
- Leon Green. former Dean ; renowned for pioneering work in the law of torts. especially causation and injuries to relations
- Steven Lubet, nationally recognized trial advocacy expert and director of the Fred Bartlit Center for Trial Strategy
- Charles T. McCormick. expert on evidence, damages, and federal court procedure; writings include the classic hornbooks. Handbook on the Law of Damages (1935) and Handbook on the Law of Evidence (1954).
- John O. McGinnis. renowned expert on trade law and one of nation's leading scholar in the field of Constitutional Law.
- Roscoe Pound. former dean of Harvard Law School. founder of the movement for "sociological jurisprudence"
- Stephen Presser, professor of legal history and jurisprudence
- Martin Redish, nationally renowned authority on the subjects of federal jurisdiction, civil procedure, and the First Amendment
- David S. Ruder. former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission
- David Scheffer. international law and war crimes expert who served as the first United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues
- Marshall Shapo, expert on tort law and author of The Law of Products Liability
- James B. Speta, expert in telecommunications and Internet policy
- Charles Taylor. internationally renowned political philosopher, Royal Society of Canada fellow, British Academy fellow, member of the American Academy of Arts Sciences
- John Henry Wigmore. the "father of modern evidence" and author of Treatise on Evidence