SMU Dedman Law Excels in National Ranking Reports
SMU Dedman Law Excels in Recent National ‘Best Graduate and Law School’ Ranking Reports
April 9, 2024
DALLAS (SMU) – SMU Dedman School of Law has moved up three spots in the annual ranking of “Best Law Schools” compiled by U.S. News & World Report, rising to #42 in the 2024 listing. This recognition joins other recent inclusions in TaxProf Blog and Law.com, which place SMU Dedman Law in the top tier of law schools in categories that matter most to the school’s students and alumni: success in employment outcomes, including placement at top law firms and prestigious judicial clerkships.
Published online today, the 2024 law school ranking within the U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools list includes the 196 schools that are fully accredited by the American Bar Association.
The list’s methodology bases nearly 60 percent of its evaluation of law schools on placement and bar passage of graduates. Other factors include academic metrics about faculty resources, admitted student credentials, student selectivity, and ratings by fellow law school administrators as well as lawyers and judges on overall program quality.
In the U.S. News ranking of law programs and specialties, the following subject-specific programs at SMU Dedman Law are in the top 50 in the nation:
• Criminal Law – #33
• Health Care Law – #36
• Tax Law – #40
• Contracts/Commercial Law – #41
• Business/Corporate Law – #42
“At SMU Dedman School of Law, we are laser-focused on preparing our graduates to land influential job opportunities and excel in the legal profession,” said SMU Dedman Law Dean Jason P. Nance. “Our inclusion in the rankings of top law schools shines a light on the commitment shown by our faculty and staff toward our students’ success, both in the classroom and beyond.”
In addition to the U.S. News & World Report ranking, TaxProf Blog – a leading national news outlet for law professors – recently ranked SMU Dedman Law #10 in the nation for percentage of graduates placed in long-term, full-time, bar-passage required or J.D. advantage jobs.
In March 2024, Law.com in its 2024 Go-To Law Schools hiring report ranked SMU Dedman Law #21 for the highest percentage of 2023 J.D.s into associate jobs at the nation’s largest 100 law firms. Also, SMU Dedman Law was ranked #34 in the nation for placing students in judicial clerkships immediately following graduation.