U.S. News Ranks The Best Law Schools For Getting Public Interest Jobs (2025)

Every year, tens of thousands of students enroll in law school, each with a dream in their hearts of saving the world. Whatever their public-interest cause may be, only a select few will go on to accept a position that goes hand-in-hand with their do-gooder career goals.

Some law schools, of course, are better than others when it comes to getting their graduates a leg up on the competition for one of these coveted jobs — but which ones?

U.S. News has compiled a new ranking for that, and these are the law schools whose graduates were “most likely to obtain … full-time, long-term jobs in public interest law,” working, for example, on behalf of “nonprofit organizations, public defender offices, labor unions and other entities aiming to advance the public interest.” Only the Top 40 schools (including ties) were included in this ranking, due to the “limited share” of graduates headed into public interest that each school produces.

That said, here are the Top 15 law schools with the most graduates working in public interest (and because this is U.S. News, there are multiple ties listed here):

1. CUNY: 53%

2. U. District of Columbia: 26%

3. Northeastern: 25%

4. UC Davis: 22%

5. NYU: 21%

5. Cincinnati: 21%

7. Wisconsin-Madison: 19%

8. Lewis & Clark: 18%

9. SUNY Buffalo: 17%

9. Yale: 17%

11. Roger Williams: 16%

11. UC Berkeley: 16%

11. Oregon: 16%

14. Appalachian: 15%

14. Northern Illinois: 15%

14. UCLA: 15%

14. Colorado: 15%

14. Maine: 15%

14. Montana: 15%

14. Utah: 15%

14. Vermont: 15%

Click here to see the rest of the Top 40 law schools with the most graduates working in public interest.

As you can see, there are 21 law schools sitting pretty in the Top 15 best law schools for public interest, and hoo boy, does this list put the four-way tie for 14th place within the T14 to shame, with eight schools tied for 14th place here.

Is this ranking useful? If you’re able to look past the incessant ties that tend to plague all U.S. News rankings, then yes, it could certainly serve as a way for law students, both current and prospective, to gauge their employment prospects. Best of luck in your search for the public interest job that serves your altruistic ideals!

Law Schools With the Most Graduates in Public Interest Law [U.S. News]

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 Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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