Top 14 Law Schools

The top 14 law schools, known as the T14, are the fourteen schools that have effectively always held the U.S. News top 14: Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, NYU, Penn, Virginia, Berkeley, Michigan, Duke, Northwestern, Cornell, and Georgetown. Their national hiring reach sets them apart. In U.S. News 2026-27 their order runs Stanford 1st; Chicago and Yale tied 2nd; Penn and Virginia tied 4th; Harvard 6th; Duke and NYU tied 7th; Columbia, Northwestern, and Michigan tied 9th; Cornell tied 13th; Berkeley tied 16th; and Georgetown tied 18th, per U.S. News 2026-27 (via LSD.law).

By Ali Unar, JD candidate at Georgetown Law and founder of Lovare Institut. Last updated August 2026. Every figure on this page was verified in August 2026 against the sources listed below.

What are the top 14 law schools?

The top 14 law schools, universally called the T14, are the fourteen schools that have effectively always occupied the U.S. News top 14. The table lists all fourteen with their current rank and the two admissions medians that drive your odds. School names are stable, and the rank column reflects the U.S. News 2026-27 edition while the medians come from each school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 report.

Law schoolCurrent U.S. News rankMedian LSATMedian GPAYale University2 (tie)174See ABA 509 reportStanford University11733.96University of Chicago2 (tie)1743.97Columbia University9 (tie)1733.92Harvard University61743.96New York University7 (tie)1723.92University of Pennsylvania4 (tie)1733.95University of Virginia4 (tie)173See ABA 509 reportUniversity of California, Berkeley16 (tie)1703.92University of Michigan9 (tie)171See ABA 509 reportDuke University7 (tie)171See ABA 509 reportNorthwestern University9 (tie)1733.96Cornell University13 (tie)173See ABA 509 reportGeorgetown University18 (tie)1713.93

Ranks are from the U.S. News 2026-27 Best Law Schools list (via LSD.law); median LSAT and GPA come from each school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 report. Where a school does not report a median UGPA in that set (Yale, Virginia, Michigan, Duke, Cornell), the figure is in its ABA Standard 509 disclosure.

Why are these fourteen called the T14?

These schools earned the T14 label because they have held the U.S. News top 14 with remarkable consistency and because they hire nationally rather than regionally. A T14 degree competes for elite law firm jobs, federal clerkships, and academic positions anywhere in the country. The exact bottom of the group can shift at the margin: in the U.S. News 2026-27 numeric top 14, Vanderbilt (12th), UCLA, and Washington University in St. Louis (tied 13th) now place inside, while Berkeley (16th) and Georgetown (18th) fall just outside, per U.S. News 2026-27.

How are the T14 ranked against each other?

Within the T14, U.S. News separates schools using peer and lawyer-judge reputation surveys, LSAT and GPA medians, employment and bar-passage outcomes, and per-student spending, with weights that change each cycle and are published in the U.S. News Best Law Schools methodology. Because these schools cluster so tightly on most measures, small changes in the formula or the data can move a school several spots.

How do you get into a top 14 law school?

Admission to a T14 school is driven mainly by a high LSAT and GPA at or above the school's medians (each school's medians appear in its 2025 ABA Standard 509 report). Strong essays, recommendations, and meaningful experience matter, especially when your numbers sit near a median. Applying early in the cycle and targeting several T14 schools rather than one improves your overall odds.

Frequently asked questions

What are the T14 law schools?

The T14 refers to the fourteen law schools that have effectively always ranked in the U.S. News top 14: Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, Penn, NYU, Virginia, Berkeley, Michigan, Duke, Northwestern, Cornell, and Georgetown. They are grouped because they place graduates nationally rather than regionally. Their internal order changes yearly; in U.S. News 2026-27 it runs Stanford 1st; Chicago and Yale tied 2nd; Penn and Virginia tied 4th; Harvard 6th; Duke and NYU tied 7th; Columbia, Northwestern, and Michigan tied 9th; Cornell tied 13th; Berkeley tied 16th; and Georgetown tied 18th, per U.S. News 2026-27.

How hard is it to get into a top 14 law school?

Very hard. T14 schools post some of the lowest acceptance rates and highest LSAT and GPA medians in legal education; T14 acceptance rates run from Yale's 4.06% to Cornell's 18.19%, with medians in each school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 report. Applicants above both medians are admitted at far higher rates, but strong numbers are only a baseline; essays, recommendations, and experience decide close cases.

What are the best law schools?

The schools usually called the best are the T14; in the U.S. News 2026-27 list the top five are Stanford 1st, Chicago and Yale tied 2nd, and Penn and Virginia tied 4th, per U.S. News 2026-27. The best school for you, though, is the one where your LSAT and GPA are competitive and that places graduates in the market you want to work in.

How do law school rankings work?

Law school rankings are compiled by private publishers, mainly U.S. News, not by the ABA or any government body. U.S. News scores each school on reputation surveys, incoming LSAT and GPA medians, graduate employment and bar-passage rates, and per-student spending to produce the rank. The exact weights change periodically and are published in the U.S. News Best Law Schools methodology.

Sources

• U.S. News 2026-27 Best Law Schools rankings (via LSD.law)
• ABA Standard 509 disclosures (2025)

Verified August 2026.