2019 Law School Rankings by Employment Outcomes

The new ABA employment outcomes data for law schools have been released, and that means it's time for a new WITNESSETH law school employment A-Rankings. As I have in the past, I've ranked law schools using all of the data in the ABA employment reports. The technique used incorporates each outcome with a unique weight, rather than simply counting "good" and "bad" outcomes. In fact, this technique does not rely at all on a subjective determination of what outcomes are good or bad. It's an unsupervised machine learning technique that determines the weight of each outcome based on its relationship to other outcomes among the 201 schools. Therefore, this is a truly objective* ranking measure.

As in past years, the results differ slightly from typical US News rankings. Penn and Chicago are the highest performers, which is consistent with past years in which they have been in the top three. Although I will expand on this in a follow-up post, the primary reason for this is judicial clerkships and public interest jobs. The majority of Yale graduates go into judicial clerkships or public interest, as opposed to large law firms (501+ lawyers) where the majority of Penn and Chicago graduates go. Large law firms have a higher weighting score than federal clerkships because federal clerkships are sprinkled more evenly throughout the law school hierarchy than are large law firm jobs. If the ABA category for federal clerkships were broken down into appellate and non-appellate clerkships, my guess is that Yale would rise to the top.

* A note about objectivity and methodology follows the rankings.

Here are the 2019 law school employment A-Rankings!

UPDATE: I also created another, updated version using a slightly different methodology with different results for several of the elite schools. This updated ranking is probably a slightly better measure because it scaled and centered the data prior to analysis.

A-Rank	Law School	Score
1	PENNSYLVANIA, UNIVERSITY OF	0.460322
2	CHICAGO, UNIVERSITY OF	0.453658
3	VIRGINIA, UNIVERSITY OF	0.443592
4	COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY	0.418959
5	HARVARD UNIVERSITY	0.408021
6	DUKE UNIVERSITY	0.40102
7	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	0.396698
8	YALE UNIVERSITY	0.390213
9	CORNELL UNIVERSITY	0.388366
10	STANFORD UNIVERSITY	0.38659
11	NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY	0.384478
12	CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY, UNIVERSITY OF	0.37934
13	MICHIGAN, UNIVERSITY OF	0.365023
14	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY	0.312403
15	GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY	0.288056
16	FORDHAM UNIVERSITY	0.250512
17	TEXAS AT AUSTIN, UNIVERSITY OF	0.247994
18	WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY	0.206468
19	BOSTON UNIVERSITY	0.199171
20	NOTRE DAME, UNIVERSITY OF	0.185449
21	CALIFORNIA-LOS ANGELES, UNIVERSITY OF	0.167739
22	SETON HALL UNIVERSITY	0.166374
23	CALIFORNIA-IRVINE, UNIVERSITY OF	0.162925
24	MINNESOTA, UNIVERSITY OF	0.143225
25	IOWA, UNIVERSITY OF	0.139478
26	WILLIAM AND MARY LAW SCHOOL	0.133526
27	WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY	0.130281
28	SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, UNIVERSITY OF	0.112934
29	NORTH CAROLINA, UNIVERSITY OF	0.111584
30	BOSTON COLLEGE	0.110999
31	ILLINOIS, UNIVERSITY OF	0.093678
32	OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY	0.088874
33	VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY	0.083804
34	EMORY UNIVERSITY	0.073163
35	GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY	0.068327
36	GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY	0.064452
37	WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY	0.056451
38	ALABAMA, UNIVERSITY OF	0.050596
39	BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY	0.044569
40	NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY	0.042431
41	INDIANA UNIVERSITY - BLOOMINGTON	0.042361
42	WASHINGTON, UNIVERSITY OF	0.037082
43	KENTUCKY, UNIVERSITY OF	0.036122
44	CONNECTICUT, UNIVERSITY OF	0.034919
45	MARYLAND, UNIVERSITY OF	0.030893
46	SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY	0.027377
47	TEMPLE UNIVERSITY	0.02544
48	GEORGIA, UNIVERSITY OF	0.021151
49	PENNSYLVANIA STATE - DICKINSON LAW	0.020587
50	TULANE UNIVERSITY	0.018448
51	LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY	0.017703
52	MISSOURI, UNIVERSITY OF	0.016972
53	ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY	0.015155
54	WISCONSIN, UNIVERSITY OF	0.004716
55	PENNSYLVANIA STATE - PENN STATE LAW	0.001376
56	ST. THOMAS, UNIVERSITY OF (MINNESOTA)	-0.00034
57	RUTGERS UNIVERSITY	-0.00682
58	HOWARD UNIVERSITY	-0.02077
59	CARDOZO SCHOOL OF LAW	-0.02428
60	WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY	-0.02477
61	FLORIDA, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.02559
62	CALIFORNIA-DAVIS, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.03163
63	PITTSBURGH, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.03358
64	DREXEL UNIVERSITY	-0.03389
65	UTAH, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.03489
66	COLORADO, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.03498
67	SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY	-0.03617
68	CINCINNATI, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.03996
69	TENNESSEE, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.04031
70	HOUSTON, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.04177
71	LOUISVILLE, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.04478
72	RICHMOND, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.0454
73	NEBRASKA, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.05834
74	BROOKLYN LAW SCHOOL	-0.05843
75	GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY	-0.05916
76	CALIFORNIA-HASTINGS, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.06791
77	NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIVERSITY OF	-0.07056
78	LOYOLA UNIVERSITY-CHICAGO	-0.07623
79	ALBANY LAW SCHOOL OF UNION UNIVERSITY	-0.07632
80	UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO-SUNY	-0.07855
81	AMERICAN UNIVERSITY	-0.07878
82	LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY-LOS ANGELES	-0.08256
83	BAYLOR UNIVERSITY	-0.0914
84	UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA - LAS VEGAS	-0.0943
85	PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY	-0.09533
86	FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY	-0.096
87	DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY	-0.10019
88	WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY	-0.1024
89	MISSISSIPPI, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.10437
90	DETROIT MERCY, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.10604
91	HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY	-0.10901
92	KANSAS, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.1095
93	ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY	-0.11586
94	WYOMING, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.11864
95	CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA	-0.12131
96	CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY	-0.12488
97	CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY	-0.12894
98	NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL	-0.12911
99	SOUTH CAROLINA, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.13089
100	SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY	-0.13133
101	CHICAGO-KENT COLLEGE OF LAW-IIT	-0.13277
102	CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY	-0.13453
103	MIAMI, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.13516
104	ARIZONA, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.13638
105	ARKANSAS, FAYETTEVILLE, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.1394
106	TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY	-0.14086
107	OKLAHOMA, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.14124
108	MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY	-0.14595
109	DENVER, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.14972
110	SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY	-0.15804
111	SAN DIEGO, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.15847
112	VERMONT LAW SCHOOL	-0.16502
113	FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY	-0.16556
114	TOLEDO, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.16961
115	LEWIS AND CLARK COLLEGE	-0.17073
116	MEMPHIS, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.1797
117	MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY	-0.18346
118	CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK	-0.18485
119	DEPAUL UNIVERSITY	-0.18726
120	MONTANA, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.19175
121	TULSA, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.19636
122	OREGON, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.19657
123	BALTIMORE, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.19784
124	QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY	-0.20002
125	STETSON UNIVERSITY	-0.20017
126	DRAKE UNIVERSITY	-0.20025
127	MERCER UNIVERSITY	-0.2053
128	WASHBURN UNIVERSITY	-0.20648
129	MAINE, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.20776
130	SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY	-0.21277
131	MITCHELL|HAMLINE	-0.21415
132	SAMFORD UNIVERSITY	-0.21463
133	PACE UNIVERSITY	-0.21583
134	HAWAII, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.21835
135	NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY	-0.22248
136	MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.22284
137	DAYTON, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.23804
138	TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY	-0.23846
139	AKRON, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.23898
140	LOYOLA UNIVERSITY-NEW ORLEANS	-0.24945
141	WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY	-0.26031
142	ST. THOMAS UNIVERSITY (FLORIDA)	-0.2632
143	WIDENER-COMMONWEALTH	-0.26324
144	SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY-CARBONDALE	-0.26359
145	ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY	-0.26728
146	JOHN MARSHALL LAW SCHOOL	-0.26849
147	TOURO COLLEGE	-0.26879
148	BARRY UNIVERSITY	-0.27042
149	CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY	-0.27099
150	SOUTH DAKOTA, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.27619
151	SEATTLE UNIVERSITY	-0.28573
152	AVE MARIA SCHOOL OF LAW	-0.29295
153	INDIANA UNIVERSITY - INDIANAPOLIS	-0.29904
154	NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY	-0.30033
155	BELMONT UNIVERSITY	-0.30505
156	SOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOL	-0.30797
157	WIDENER UNIVERSITY-DELAWARE	-0.31044
158	DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	-0.31179
159	GONZAGA UNIVERSITY	-0.31213
160	SOUTH TEXAS COLLEGE OF LAW HOUSTON	-0.31583
161	CONCORDIA LAW SCHOOL	-0.31617
162	CAPITAL UNIVERSITY	-0.32545
163	NEW MEXICO, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.33336
164	NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY	-0.33343
165	CAMPBELL UNIVERSITY	-0.33475
166	ELON UNIVERSITY	-0.33968
167	MCGEORGE SCHOOL OF LAW	-0.34397
168	FLORIDA COASTAL SCHOOL OF LAW	-0.34403
169	ARKANSAS, LITTLE ROCK, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.34467
170	REGENT UNIVERSITY	-0.35025
171	OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY	-0.35082
172	OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY	-0.35099
173	NEW ENGLAND LAW | BOSTON	-0.353
174	NORTH DAKOTA, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.35424
175	LIBERTY UNIVERSITY	-0.35732
176	PUERTO RICO, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.36083
177	MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE	-0.36142
178	IDAHO, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.36549
179	SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY	-0.36779
180	SAN FRANCISCO, UNIVERSITY OF	-0.37162
181	WESTERN NEW ENGLAND UNIVERSITY	-0.37532
182	FAULKNER UNIVERSITY	-0.37693
183	NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY	-0.37718
184	GOLDEN GATE UNIVERSITY	-0.38097
185	CALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW	-0.38487
186	LINCOLN MEMORIAL	-0.38945
187	ST. MARY'S UNIVERSITY	-0.39532
188	UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS DARTMOUTH	-0.39898
189	UNT DALLAS COLLEGE OF LAW	-0.41331
190	WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY	-0.41399
191	CHARLESTON SCHOOL OF LAW	-0.42958
192	ARIZONA SUMMIT LAW SCHOOL	-0.44807
193	FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY	-0.45568
194	APPALACHIAN SCHOOL OF LAW	-0.45984
195	WESTERN STATE COLLEGE OF LAW	-0.48141
196	TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY	-0.48308
197	INTER AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO	-0.51413
198	THOMAS JEFFERSON SCHOOL OF LAW	-0.5261
199	UNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE	-0.5312
200	ATLANTA'S JOHN MARSHALL LAW SHOOL	-0.58447
201	PONTIFICAL CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF P.R.	-0.62359

*Jerry Organ commented by email that my calling this method "truly objective" is a bit of an overstatement. His comment was well received, as it was a strong statement on my part. However, I do think the statement is mostly warranted. The method used here is principal component analysis run over all of the (non-overlapping) "terms" and "types" of employment as defined in the ABA report. The resulting ranking is the first principal component of the schools based on the employment criteria that best explain the variance in the data among the schools. There is no weighting on my part or other assessment of "good" or "bad," other than to say which end of the ranking (#1 or #201) is "better" or "worse." Given that one end of the ranking is dominated by biglaw jobs and federal clerkships, and the other end is dominated largely by unemployment, I feel this is a safe judgment. So the possible subjective components to this ranking are (1) the choice of methodology, (2) whether school #1 or school #201 has "better" outcomes, and (3) whether to use the first principal component or some other one.