We’re
still
a
few
months
out
from
the
release
of
the
latest
iteration
of
the
U.S.
News
law
school
rankings,
but
we
know
that
many
are
eager
to
see
what
the
future
may
hold.
For
those
of
you
who
can’t
get
enough
of
the
rankings,
we’ve
got
a
surprise
for
you.
Today,
we
unveil
a
new
rankings
prediction,
courtesy
of
noted
law
school
consultant
Mike
Spivey
of
the
Spivey
Consulting
Group.
With
58%
of
the
data
available,
Spivey
was
able
to
calculate
the
top-ranked
schools
for
the
upcoming
U.S.
News
law
school
rankings
using
the
magazine’s
current
methodology.
Before
we
get
to
the
ranking,
Spivey
cautions
that
his
predictions
may
not
be
completely
accurate
for
a
number
of
reasons:
[O]ur
model
won’t
be
entirely
precise,
especially
given
that
U.S.
News
can
always
change
metric
weights
or
methodology.
For
example,
there
is
ample
reason
to
believe
U.S.
News
likes
to
keep
Yale
ranked
at
#1
and
very
well
might
make
a
slight
metric
or
weight
change
to
do
so.
In
fact,
we’d
predict
they
will
do
just
that
(our
model
is
simply
following
the
current
58%
data
and
not
amending
it
with
our
instincts).
We
do
project
little
methodological
change
this
year….
That
being
said,
what
could
the
new
edition
of
U.S.
News
law
school
rankings
look
like
at
the
very
top?
Here
are
the
top
11
schools
—
of
course
there
are
ties
here,
would
you
expect
anything
less
from
U.S.
News?
—
based
the
calculations
he’s
run:
1.
Stanford
University
2.
Yale
University
3.
University
of
Chicago
4.
Harvard
University
4.
University
of
Pennsylvania
(Carey)
4.
University
of
Virginia
7.
Duke
University
8.
Michigan
University
8.
Columbia
University
8.
New
York
University
8.
Northwestern
University
(Pritzker)
No
more
tie
for
No.
1?!
Stanford
overtakes
Yale
as
the
best
law
school
in
the
country?!
Yale
has
been
ranked
as
the
top
law
school
in
America
for
more
than
30
years.
This
would
be
a
historic
change.
U.S.
News
would
never…
or
would
they?
And
Michigan,
Columbia,
NYU,
Northwestern
in
a
four-way
tie!
This
is
just
too
much.
Will
any
or
all
of
these
things
happen?
That’s
unclear,
but
given
Spivey’s
vast
experience
with
the
rankings,
these
could
all
be
serious
possibilities.
“Our
model
with
the
complete
data
has
proven
to
be
incredibly
precise,”
Spivey
said.
“Last
year,
our
model
predicted
177
schools
exactly
where
they
landed,
and
the
remaining
were
only
off
by
+/-1.”
Stay
tuned
for
Spivey’s
predictions
for
the
Top
100,
due
out
in
December
following
the
release
of
the
2024
ABA-required
509
disclosures.
The
complete
U.S.
News
law
school
rankings
will
likely
be
published
sometime
this
spring.
Stay
tuned
for
what
could
be
a
major
change!
Top
11
U.S
News
Law
Schools
Modeled
2025
Rankings
[Spivey
Consulting]
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
X/Twitter
and
Threads
or
connect
with
her
on
LinkedIn.