Law schools now have a record number of black deans and faculty members, which is a big positive for black students who have their hearts set on earning a law degree. If you’re a black student searching for a law school where you’ll be truly valued for who you are as a person, rather than a law school where you’ll be nothing more than a diverse face in marketing materials to promote diversity and inclusion efforts, then have we got a ranking for you.
In the third edition of the Black Student’s Guide to Law Schools & Firms, Lawyers of Color presents the Top 25 National Law Schools for Black Students. The following criteria were considered for inclusion on this year’s ranked list:
- JD Required
- Bar Passage
- Black JDs Awarded
- Big Law Hires
- Federal Clerkships
- Tuition
- Selectivity
- Legal Market
- Area Black Population
- Black Faculty
- Black Dean (Bonus)
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Without further ado, here are the Top 10 National Law Schools for Black Students:
(Table via Lawyers of Color)
Here’s a bit of background on why Howard Law was able to clinch the top spot:
This year Howard Law School celebrates its 150th anniversary. It also leaps to the top spot in Lawyers of Color’s rankings. Howard has been among the top law schools since we began ranking the best law schools for black students; however, this marks the first time the nation’s oldest black law school ranks number one. …
Howard has done well under [Dean Danielle R. Holley-Walker’s] leadership, recently raising its bar passage rate by more than twenty points.
The perennial “go to” law school for corporate law firms, Howard also routinely places its lawyers in prestigious public sector positions. Its black alumni have built a decadent array of black firsts, among them are first black United States Supreme Court Justice, (Thurgood Marshall) and woman lawyer (Charlotte E. Ray). The school has produced a black governor (Douglas Wilder) and many mayors and congressional leaders, including Representative Gregory W. Meeks. It also lays claim to a SCOTUS clerkship.
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Congratulations to Howard Law, its dean, its faculty, and all of its students!
Click here to see the full ranking, courtesy of Lawyers of Color.
Best Law Schools for Black Students [Lawyers of Color]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.