Top law schools

Many of the world’s top law schools are located either in the US or Canada.

Harvard University in the US scores particularly highly in the employer reputation indicator. Harvard Law’s graduates are highly sought after by employers in law firms, businesses, government and non-profit organisations. The university awards several Public Service Fellowships each year to help graduates pursue careers in public services.

Canada’s University of Toronto earns a notable score in the academic reputation indicator. The University of Toronto’s law school professors are leading experts in their field and the school’s law programmes are incredibly diverse, allowing students to tailor their study to meet their individual needs and ambitions.

Europe is represented by around 150 ranked law schools, with a significant number of those located in the United Kingdom. Among them is the  University of Oxford, which states its aim is to help law students analyse complex information, construct arguments and write with precision and clarity. This is reflected in its high score for academic reputation.

KU Leuven’s law school in Belgium was founded in 1425 and is the largest in Belgium, emphasising an international and comparative approach to law.

France’s Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne boasts a growing international presence, with links to universities around the world and is largely recognised as one of the most distinguished centres of education and research in Europe.

Elsewhere in Europe, Germany is represented by Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München among others, while top law schools in The Netherlands include Leiden University and the University of Amsterdam.

There are over 50 Asian law schools in the rankings this year.

Mainland China's Tsinghua University and Peking University are both incredibly research intensive and have produced many prominent legal scholars, judges and lawyers .

In Singapore, the National University of Singapore (NUS) receives a high score across all indicators which perhaps can be credited to its broad curriculum, which, in addition to the core areas of law, allows students to choose electives ranging from Asian legal studies to banking and finance. 

Japan's The University of Tokyo teaches law together with political science, with students studying the administrative, legislative and judicial branches of the government from a range of angles. 

Other notable Asian universities in this year's rankings include, from South Korea, Seoul National University (SNU), and The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) from Hong Kong.

Australia’s The University of Melbourne is one of many universities in the country to be recognised as one of the world's top law schools. Other notable Australian universities include: The University of New South Wales (UNSW), The University of Sydney, the  Australian National University (ANU), Monash University and The University of Queensland (UQ).

New Zealand is represented by The University of Auckland, and Victoria University of Wellington. The latter performs particularly well for the research citations per paper indicator, reflecting the high quality of the research done at the university.

Latin America has a significant presence in the law rankings this year.

Mexico’s Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) produces high-level legal research aimed at solving current national and international problems and is home to one of the largest law libraries in Latin America.

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile’s law school has been teaching students for over 125 years and challenges its students to learn and develop abilities from a comprehensive standpoint, encouraging reflection, critical analysis and active participation in the legal and social debate on a global scale.

Argentina and Brazil are represented by many institutions including Universidad de Buenos Aires and Universidade de São Paulo (USP) respectively, while one of Colombia’s top law schools this year can be found at Universidad de Los Andes Colombia.

African schools featured in the law rankings, are primarily located in either South Africa or Egypt. The University of Cape Town and Cairo University deserve mention in particular, with the latter achieving a high score for employer reputation compared to other universities in the region.

In the Middle East, Israel  and Saudi Arabia are represented by Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv University respectively. 

Hebrew University of Jerusalem has taught the majority of the recipients of the prestigious Israel Prize in Law and Criminology and many of Israel’s past and present Supreme Court Justices attended the law school.