Accolades
UC Irvine School of Law is a world class law school that is dedicated to training practice-ready lawyers and legal professionals.
Law School Rankings from Princeton Review
Princeton Review compiles its list of Best Law Schools based on data provided by 18,000 students and administrators at the law schools. The rankings below are compiled by Princeton Review and TaxProf Blog’s analysis of these critical areas:
2024
- No. 5 Greatest Resources for Minority Students (Princeton Review)
- No. 6 Most Liberal Students (Princeton Review)
- No. 19 Admissions Selectivity (TaxProf Blog)
- No. 20 Career Rating (TaxProf Blog)
- No. 24 Overall Ranking (TaxProf Blog)
- No. 28 Academic Experience (TaxProf Blog)
2023
- No. 2 Professors: Teaching (TaxProf Blog)
- No. 7 Professors (Teaching and Accessibility) (TaxProf Blog)
- No. 16 Professors: Accessibility (TaxProf Blog)
Academic Excellence and Reputation
- No. 2 law school in California (No. 13 nationally) for practical training by preLaw Magazine
- No. 3 in the nation for community service hours per student, according to National Jurist
- No. 5 best law school in California (Best Value Schools) (Juris Education)
- No. 15 in the world in law (No. 65 overall for UC Irvine) (Shanghai Ranking)
- No. 16 in the United States and No. 53 in the world and for “best universities for law degrees” (Times Higher Education)
- No. 19 top law school in the country using the combined results of the “big four” law school rankings of the last 12 months (Fortuna Law)
- No. 22 in the United States for law and No. 101-150 in the world (Top Universities)
- The city of Irvine is ranked #3 Best Place to Raise a Family, #3 Best City for Women, #5 as Happiest City in America, #10 Healthiest City in America, Best City to Live in Orange County, #13 Best City to Live in the U.S.
Faculty Scholarship
- No. 5 in the nation in faculty interdisciplinary impact for the second time in a row. Two faculty members, Elizabeth Loftus and Alejandro Camacho, are named among the top 50 cited faculty with fields and citation counts. The report also lists UC Irvine Law's top five most-cited faculty as follows: Elizabeth Loftus, Alejandro Camacho, Kenneth Simons, Joseph DiMento and Bryant Garth. (Total Scholarly Impact Report: Law Professor Citations in Non-Law Journals)
- No. 9 nationally for faculty academic impact using SSRN download counts and the Hein citation metrics (Heald & Sichelman: The Top 100 Law School Faculties in Citations and Impact)
- No. 20 in the nation and “top tier” in the ranking of “Law Faculties by Academic Influence.” (“Forward Looking Academic Impact Rankings for U.S. Law Schools")(Matthew Sag, Emory University School of Law)
- No. 21 in faculty scholarly distinction (Brian Leiter's Law School Reports)
- No. 21 in terms of faculty quality (Brian Leiter's Law School Reports)
- No. 22 in the nation in faculty scholarly impact (Brian Leiter’s Law School Reports). UC Irvine Law's most-cited faculty are Victor Fleischer, Christopher Leslie, Carrie Menkel-Meadow, Rachel Moran, R. Anthony Reese and Kenneth Simons
- Several UC Irvine Law faculty are among the most-cited scholars in their areas of expertise (Brian Leiter's Law School Reports), including Victor Fleischer (No. 5 in Tax), Christopher Leslie (No. 5 in Antitrust), Carrie Menkel-Meadow (Law and Social Sciences)
- The UC Irvine Law Graduate Tax Program has faculty ranked among the "50 Most Downloaded U.S. Tax Law Professors Of 2023," with Prof. Omri Marian at No. 28, Prof. Joshua Blank at No. 40, and Prof. Victor Fleischer at No. 47
Diversity & Racial Justice
- Best law schools for diversity (No. 1 for Asian students, No. 9 for Hispanic students and No. 25 for Black students)(preLaw Magazine)
- No. 17 and an A grade among top racial justice schools (preLaw Magazine)
- No. 18 among Most Diverse Law Schools with an A grade (preLaw Magazine, Above the Law)
- UC Irvine Law recieved the California LAW Pathways (Cal LAW) Diversity Champion Award for leadership in withdrawing from the U.S. News & World Report Law School Rankings
Employment Opportunities
- No. 2 in California, No. 18 in the nation for federal clerkships (Law 360)
- No. 3 in California, No. 26 in the nation for federal clerkships (Excess of Democracy)
- No. 6 in California, No. 24 in the nation — for graduates’ annual earnings net of debt payments four years following law school graduation (Report by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce)
- No. 6 for employment outcome among graduates of California law schools (Excess of Democracy)
- No. 12 for having the most 2023 J.D. graduates in full-time, long-term, bar passage-required jobs, and is listed as the only school in California (Reuters)
- Top 15 school and highlighted for high salary-to-debt ratio using 2021 data. USC is the only other Califonia law school on the list (Above the Law)
- No. 20 top go-to law school (Law.com's 2024 Go-To Law School Report)
- No. 22 top go-to law school (Law.com's 2023 Go-To Law School Report)
- No. 23 in the nation for large law firm jobs (Law 360)
- No. 30 in Above the Law's 2024 Top 50 Law School Rankings, which lists "the law schools that put their graduates in the best position to get jobs"
Specialty Areas & Programs
- Business law with an A grade (prelaw Magazine)
- Criminal law with an A grade (prelaw Magazine)
- Tax law with an A- grade (prelaw Magazine)
- Legal technology with an A- grade (preLaw Magazine)
- International law with an A grade (preLaw Magazine)
- Public policy with an A grade (preLaw Magazine)
- UC Irvine Law's Graduate Tax Program is ranked No. 1 on the West Coast, No. 5 nationally among law schools with a graduate tax program (TaxProf Blog)