How valuable is a Yale law degree?
Asked by: Reymundo Cummerata | Last update: December 11, 2025Score: 4.3/5 (60 votes)
Over half of the salaries of law school graduates of the class of 2022 ranged from $50,000-$90,000, while 22.5 percent of graduates reported annual earnings between $205,000-$215,000. Per Anidjar & Levine's study, the average Yale Law graduate is positioned well at the upper end of these salary brackets.
How prestigious is Yale Law?
Yale University 2024 Law & Specialties Rankings
Yale University is ranked No. 1 (tie) out of 196 in Best Law Schools. Schools were assessed on their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence.
Is going to Yale Law worth it?
Yale law graduates go on to earn much more than those who didn't go to university. In fact, the average salary of former Yale students is $118,400. That's 245% higher than the national average. You can't argue with the stats.
What can I do with a Yale law degree?
A degree from Yale Law School opens doors across the United States and around the world, including in public interest careers of all kinds; at law firms big and small; in business as founders, lawyers, and CEOs; in the judiciary as clerks and judges; and in the academy as scholars and teachers.
Where do most Yale law graduates work?
They work in private practice, ranging from one-person offices to major firms; in federal, state, and local government, including Congress, the Office of the President, and the judiciary; in law teaching and administration; in public service settings; for corporations and businesses; and for nonprofit organizations.
yes, where you go to law school matters.
Is Harvard or Yale better for law?
Yale has consistently ranked as the top law school since the list debuted, while Harvard has been in the top five. Law schools submit data to US News & World Report for its rankings.
What is the average salary of a Yale Law graduate?
More than 80% of students who join firms after graduation work for firms of 500+ lawyers. The average starting salary of graduates working for firms in the Class of 2021 was $210,068. Yale Law School alumni work in law firms around the world.
What makes Yale Law special?
With almost 200 courses taught by world-renowned faculty and a thriving network of legal clinics and intellectual centers, Yale Law School provides rich and challenging ways to gain the skills necessary to make an impact in the world at large. Yale Law School has one of the most robust clinical programs in the country.
What famous people went to Yale Law School?
Yale Law alumni include many prominent figures in law and politics, including U.S. presidents Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton, U.S. vice president JD Vance, U.S. secretaries of state Cyrus Vance and Hillary Clinton, U.S. secretaries of the treasury Henry H. Fowler and Robert Rubin, and nine U.S. attorneys general.
Is Yale good for lawyers?
Academics. Yale Law School is one of the world's premier law schools, offering an unmatched environment of excellence, a flourishing intellectual life, and an abundance of opportunities to engage with the law.
How hard is it to get into Yale law?
It's very difficult to get into Yale Law School. Only around 220-250 students are accepted each year out of thousands of applicants.
What is the hardest Law School in the USA?
1. Yale University. With an acceptance rate of just 6.9%, it's no wonder that Yale is the hardest law school to get into. Only around 1 in 15 of their highly qualified applicants makes it through.
Is Harvard or Yale more prestigious?
When comparing Ivy League schools, both Harvard and Yale are firm fixtures at the top of the QS World University Rankings. Harvard is pretty much unbeatable on most of the indicators used to create the rankings, performing particularly well in QS's huge global surveys of academics and graduate employers.
Does Yale Law prefer Yale students?
Due to their varied academic background, Yale College students are often some of the best applicants to YLS, YLS director of admissions Craig Janecek said.
Which Ivy League is best for law?
Yale University
As the best law school in the nation, Yale is an Ivy League school that has gained an impressive reputation for itself in the legal world. This law school ranks second in the nation for international law and third for constitutional law.
Can you get a full ride to Yale Law?
This year, nearly 15%, or one in seven students in the current 1L class, receives full-tuition scholarships to attend Yale Law School. Launched in 2022, the scholarship covered 51 students in its first year and expanded to cover 75 in its second.
What GPA is needed to get into Yale Law School?
Applicants must have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.3 and be 18 years old by the time the program begins.
Where do most Yale law students live?
Most students chose to live in non University-affiliated housing. Many apartments are suitable for students with families, and some allow pets. Off campus living resources are available here. Some students do live in the affordable and well-kept University housing options.
What is the average age to go to Yale Law School?
18% are first-generation college students. 31% are first-generation professionals, meaning that they are the first in their families to attend a graduate or professional school program. 7% are veterans or service members. The average age is 25.
Why is Yale law so prestigious?
One of the World's Premier Law Schools
Located in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale Law School offers a vibrant environment of excellence and educational intimacy in the form of world renowned faculty , small classes, limitless opportunities for clinical training, and strong encouragement of public service.
What tier is Yale Law School?
It is generally accepted that the Tier 1 Law Schools are the same as the T14 Law schools. T14 law schools are the schools that are consistently ranked between 1 and 14 by USNews. Traditionally the T14 schools are: Yale Law School (always #1)
How many years is Law School at Yale?
Yale Law School's three-year J.D. program provides students with a legal education of outstanding breadth and depth.
Which law degree pays the most?
- Patent attorney: $180,000.
- Intellectual property (IP) attorney: $162,000.
- Trial lawyer: $134,000.
- Tax attorney: $122,000.
- Corporate lawyer: $115,000.
- Medical lawyer: $113,000.
- Real estate lawyer: $98,000.
- Family lawyer: $93,000.
Does Yale Law have class rank?
There is no curve and no class rank. Our students often have intersectional academic interests. Many pursue a wide variety of joint degrees at Yale or another institution.