While ranking the top law schools in the world in 2011, Yale retains the top slot in the overall ranking.  Unanimously considered one of the preeminent centers of legal studies in the world, today’s top school Tuesday explores education in detail at the Yale Law School.

Located in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale Law School is one of the world’s premier law schools. It offers an unmatched environment of excellence and educational intimacy in the form of world renowned faculty, small classes, limitless opportunities for clinical training, and strong encouragement of public service. The Law School is small by design; its impact on the world is measured by its accomplished graduates and its ongoing scholarship and outreach through numerous centers and projects. Yale is known for its abolition of standard grades in the 1960s and the lowest ratio of students to faculty in the country [currently 1:6.8].

Admission

Let’s have a look at the YLS 2013 class profile.

Applicants 3797
Accepted 255(7%)
Matriculated 205(80%)
Women 50%
Students of color 36%
Average age 25
States represented 31
Directly from undergrad 20%
Full LSAT range 158-180
Full GPA range 3.40-4.17 

Famous Alumni

Bill Clinton

The famous Bill Clinton earned his graduation from Yale Law School. Bill Clinton ’73 also has a legacy of famous quotations. Among his entries in The Yale Book of Quotations (YQB) may be found phrases such as “The comeback kid,” “I feel your pain,” “The era of big government is over,” “Let us resolve to build [a] bridge to the 21st century,” “Strength and wisdom are not opposing values,” and “The American people [are] tired of the politics of personal destruction.”

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton also received her JD from Yale law School. Hillary Rodham Clinton ’73, has contributed her own share of memorable remarks found in the YBQ, such as:

We lack meaning in our individual lives and meaning collectively. We lack a sense that our lives are part of some greater effort, that we are connected to one another. We need a new politics of meaning. We need a new ethos of individual responsibility and caring. We need a new definition of civil society…that makes us feel that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.
Speech at University of Texas (1993).

President Ford, and Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Sonia Sotomayor also graduated from Yale Law School.

Students Life

Although for many years, YLS offered student housing in the law school complex, that is no longer the case. Law students who want to live in Yale-owned housing have the option to live in a variety of general graduate student housing complexes, but only 1-2% of students each year choose that option. Most students choose to live in privately-owned housing in one of three nearby neighborhoods: “Downtown/The Towers,” “Dwight/Edgewood,” or “East Rock.”

Many students form close bonds with the others in their “small group” or those that live in their apartment building. Others find their best friends through student groups, clinics, or taking the same classes.

Library

The Lillian Goldman Law Library contains over 1,230,913 volumes and spans six levels within the heart of the Yale Law School complex. It provides the law school community with ready access to one of the world’s finest collections of printed legal materials as well as a host of electronic resources.

The Law Library has special extensive collections in foreign & international law, government documents, and rare books.

Employment opportunities

Yale Law School places graduates into a wide variety of prestigious jobs upon graduation, and its name alone opens doors in countless fields.

First Job Choices

Graduating Class 2008  2009 2010
 Law Firm 41.4% 40.4% 35.8%
 Clerkship2 35.1% 30.6% 36.3%
 Public Interest 8.4% 13.5% 10.5%
 Government 5.2% 11.9% 10%
 Business and Industry 7.3% 3.1% 4.2%
 Academia 2.6% .5% 3.2%

 

First Non-Clerkship Job Choices

Graduating Class1 2006 2007  2008
 Law Firm  68% 62%  64%
 Public Interest 12%  14% 13%
 Government 7%  13% 10%
 Business and Industry 5% 5% 8%
 Academia 7% 6% 5%

 

Curriculum and Specialties

The Arthur Liman Public Interest Program

The Arthur Liman Public Interest Program supports the work of law students, law school graduates, and students from six universities, all of whom work to respond to problems of inequality and to improve access to justice.

International law

Yale has one of the country’s strongest international and comparative law programs. Yale Law School’s international law curriculum provides an array of traditional courses, smaller seminars, and clinical/experiential learning opportunities, from classic courses in International Law, Business Transactions, Constitutional, or Criminal Law, to clinical offerings in immigration, human rights, the environment, and foreign affairs.

Yale Law School is a clear choice for applicants, looking to truly enjoy the three years of legal study while becoming fully immersed in a rich and stimulating academic environment. Hope you like our research on the top law school. You may write to us, if you need any other information.

Till then keep reading :-)