Career Resources

Chaos Reigns: U.S. News Releases Two Conflicting 2025 Law School Rankings

The 2025 U.S. News & World Report law school rankings have officially been released—but in true U.S. News fashion, the rollout wasn’t without confusion, drama, and outright absurdity. Instead of one authoritative list, legal education observers were greeted with two separate rankings posted on two different pages of the U.S. News website, both mysteriously carrying the same timestamp: 9:00 p.m. EST.

Which one is correct? That’s still up for debate.

If you’re wondering whether this is a one-time glitch or a symptom of broader issues with the U.S. News rankings methodology, you’re not alone. Given the fierce criticism of these rankings from top law schools over the past two years, this dual-list blunder couldn’t come at a worse time.

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Here’s the (Maybe Accurate?) 2025 U.S. News T14 Law School Rankings

For now, we’ll focus on the version posted to the U.S. News Best Law Schools site. While the rankings might change (again), this is the list that appeared as of 9:00 p.m. EST:

Rank	Law School	Change
1	Stanford University	–
1	Yale University	–
3	University of Chicago	–
4	University of Virginia	–
5	University of Pennsylvania	+1
6	Duke University	-2
6	Harvard University	-2
8	New York University	+1
8/9?	University of Michigan	+1 / –
10	Columbia University	-2
12	UC Berkeley	–
13	UCLA	–
14	Cornell University	–
14	Georgetown University	–

Yes, you read that right: Michigan appears twice—once tied for 8th and again potentially listed at 9th, depending on which version you’re viewing. Meanwhile, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law is completely missing from the list. Was it pushed out of the Top 14, or forgotten altogether? U.S. News hasn’t clarified.

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Major Takeaways: Winners, Losers, and WTF Moments