Ranking The Most Impressive Law School Buildings

You don't have to be a terrible law school to have a beautiful building, but it helps.

We rank everything else about law schools, so why not their buildings?

A quality building may not be more important than a school capable of getting you a job, but there are advantages to nice buildings. If you’re going to law school, you will have to spend significant time there, so it may as well be nice. If you’re an alum, it’s always nice to see your donation to the school went to something nice.

So did your law school make the list of the top 50 best law school buildings in the world?

Best Choice Schools compiled its Top 50 Most Impressive Law School Buildings in the World. Apparently being a really bad law school helps a lot in making this list.

A few of the highlights:

No. 43 — University of Baltimore School of Law

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Baltimore Law is not in the same tier as most of the law schools on this list — in a good way — but this list would lose all credibility without an appearance from Lego Law School, the $119 million headquarters of Baltimore Law. The building boasts cutting-edge green technology that should save the school money in the long run. In the meantime, when you go to Baltimore Law, you can feel comfortable they know exactly what it’s like to rack up a big bill hoping it’ll pay off years in the future.

No. 35 — Thomas M. Cooley Law School

The good news for 1Ls shut out of Cooley’s Ann Arbor campus is that at least the more attractive Auburn Hills campus is still taking students.

No. 31 — UVA Law School

On the one hand, that’s a beautiful building. On the other hand… BEES!!!

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No. 4 — Southwestern Law School

They may not earn a published rank from U.S. News, but Southwestern’s building is a gorgeous historical landmark. Once upon a time it was a high-end department store. Now it’s the hot place to go if you want to drop $135K for a slim chance of paying off. So a little less Saks and a little more Walmart.

No. 3 — Thomas Jefferson School of Law

Another monument to green architecture. Also another rankings reject.

Apparently, if you’re an administrator at a TTT, at least you can brag about the quality of your building. This should also make everyone think about exactly how these schools prioritize their spending. It seems as though shiny objects are getting way more play than career placement.

For fun, can you guess which school has the most impressive building? Here it is:

The 50 Most Impressive Law School Buildings in the World [Best Choice Schools via TaxProf Blog]