List of law schools in the United States
Law schools in this list are categorized by whether they are currently active or closed; within each section they are listed in alphabetical order by state, then name. All of them grant the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, which is the professional degree in law in the United States. Alaska is currently the only state without a law school.
ABA accredited law schools
[edit]Law schools are nationally accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA),[1] and graduates of these schools may generally sit for the bar exam in any state. In 2026, there are 198 ABA accredited law schools. The ABA occasionally revokes accreditation, as was done mostly recently with the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2019.[2]
ABA accredited non-profit schools
[edit]ABA accredited for-profit schools
[edit]| State (city) | School | Founded | Accredited |
|---|---|---|---|
| California (Irvine) | Western State College of Law at Westcliff University | 1966 | 2005
(1998–2004) |
| Georgia (Atlanta) | Atlanta's John Marshall Law School | 1933 | 2005 |
State approved law schools
[edit]In addition, individual state legislatures or bar examiners, like the State Bar of California, may maintain a separate approval system which is open to non-ABA accredited schools. As of 2026, 21 law schools are approved by the State Bar of California.[39]
Also, the CBE allows registered unaccredited schools to operate and students of those schools are eligible to take the California Bar Examination upon graduation. 9 other law schools, primarily correspondence and online law schools, although not accredited, are registered by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California.[39] This means that the graduates of these law schools can sit for the California Bar Examination and, under varying circumstances, the bar exams in other states.
In California in 2022, 75% of ABA-accredited law school graduates passed the bar, 36% of State Bar of California approved law school graduates and 13% of unaccredited law school graduates.[40]
Other states that approve non-ABA accredited law schools include Alabama, Massachusetts, and Tennessee.
| State (city) | School | Type | Accreditation/approval | Founded | State accredited | Bar passage rate | Campus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama (Birmingham) | Birmingham School of Law[41] | Private | Alabama[42] | 1915 | Yes | 12.5% (2023) | urban |
| Alabama (Birmingham) | Miles Law School[43] | Private | Alabama | 1974 | Yes | 7.1% (2019) | suburban |
| California (Chico) | Cal Northern School of Law | Private | California | 1992 | 1992 | 74.4% (2024)[44] | small/medium city |
| California (Clovis) | San Joaquin College of Law | Private | California | 1969 | Yes | 62% (2025) | medium city |
| California (Fresno) | Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy | Private | Unaccredited | 1994 | No (registered in California) | 52.9% (2000–2025)[45] | correspondence |
| California (Indio) | California Desert Trial Academy College of Law[46] | Private | Unaccredited | 2012 | No (registered in California) | small city | |
| California (Inglewood), (Chatsworth) | University of West Los Angeles School of Law | Private | California | 1962 | 1978 | 45.3% (2024) | suburban |
| California (Los Angeles) | Abraham Lincoln University School of Law[47] | Private for-profit | Unaccredited | 1996 | No (registered in California) | 8% (2022) | online |
| California (Los Angeles) | Purdue Global Law School, Purdue University Global | Public | California | 1998 | 2020 | 74.3% (2024)[44] | online |
| California (online) | JFK School of Law, National University | Private | California | 1965 | Yes | 60% (2019–2024)[48] | online |
| California (Ontario) | University of La Verne College of Law | Private | California | 1970 | 2020 | 61.5% (2025) | suburban |
| California (Menlo Park) | St. Francis School of Law | Private | California | 2011 | Yes | 53.8% (2016–2022) | online |
| California (Sacramento) | Lincoln Law School of Sacramento | Private | California | 1969 | Yes | 46% (2025) | urban |
| California (Sacramento) | Northwestern California University School of Law | Private | California | 1982 | 2020 | 50% (2025) | online |
| California (San Diego) | Thomas Jefferson School of Law | Private | California | 1969 | 2020 | 4% (2023) | urban |
| California (San Francisco) | San Francisco Law School, Alliant International University | Private | Unaccredited and unregistered | 1909 | No (Unaccredited and unregistered) | 7% (2022) | urban |
| California (San Jose) | Lincoln Law School of San Jose | Private | California | 1919 | 1993 | 53.1% (2019–2024) | urban |
| California (Santa Ana) | Taft Law School at William Howard Taft University | Private for-profit | Unaccredited | 1984 | No (registered in California) | 9% (2023) | online |
| California (Santa Ana) | Trinity Law School, Trinity International University | Private | California | 1980 | Yes | 18% (2023) | suburban |
| California (Santa Barbara) | California School of Law | Private | Unaccredited | 2007 | No (registered in California) | 81% (2020–2025)[49] | distance-learning |
| California (Seaside) | Monterey College of Law | Private | California | 1972 | 1981 | 61.2% (2025) | small city |
| California (Stockton) | Laurence Drivon School of Law, Humphreys University | Private | California | 1951 | Yes | 13% (2015) | suburban |
| California (Torrance) | American Institute of Law | Private | Unaccredited | 2010 | No (registered in California) | correspondence | |
| California (Ventura) | Colleges of Law | Private | California | 1969 | Yes | 47% (2023) | suburban |
| California (Ventura) (Santa Barbara) | Southern California Institute of Law | Private | Unaccredited | 1986 | No (registered in California) | 14.3% (2024) | online[50] |
| Massachusetts (Andover) | Massachusetts School of Law | Private | Massachusetts, Connecticut | 1988 | 1997 | 73% (2024) | suburban |
| Tennessee (Nashville) | Nashville School of Law | Private | Tennessee | 1911 | 2001 | 68.5% (2019) | suburban |
Defunct
[edit]See List of defunct law schools in the United States for law schools that once operated but have sinced closed.
See also
[edit]- History of the American legal profession
- Law school in the United States
- Law school rankings in the United States
- Legal education in the United States
- List of defunct law schools in the United States
- List of law school GPA curves
- List of law schools attended by United States Supreme Court justices
- Lists of law schools
- Online law school
- Reading law
- Catholic University of America School of Canon Law
Notes
[edit]- ↑ "ABA Accreditation Process". Archived from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2006.
- ↑ Moran, Lyle (November 21, 2019). "It's Official: Thomas Jefferson Law School Will Lose Its National Accreditation". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
- ↑ "Cumberland School of Law". Cumberland.samford.edu. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Thomas Goode Jones School of Law". December 16, 2008. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008.
- ↑ "The University of Alabama | School of Law". Law.ua.edu. Archived from the original on June 17, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law". Law.asu.edu. Archived from the original on June 17, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ "James E. Rogers College of Law". Law.arizona.edu. May 22, 2012. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ "University of Arkansas School of Law". Law.uark.edu. Archived from the original on June 17, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ "William H. Bowen School of Law | University of Arkansas at Little Rock". Law.ualr.edu. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ "California Western School of Law – San Diego, CA". Cwsl.edu. May 22, 2012. Archived from the original on June 24, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Chapman University – Chapman University School of Law". Chapman.edu. January 27, 2012. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ UC Irvine receives $1 million gift for its new law school's library Archived 2007-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, UCI press release, May 1, 2007 (noting the approval of the law school's creation by the University of California Board of Regents with an expected 2009 opening date).
- ↑ It's Agreed: No Bren Name on UCI Law School, Orange County Business Journal 10-20-2008 [dead link]
- ↑ Founded in 1977 as the University of Bridgeport School of Law, in 1992 merged with Quinnipiac University
- ↑ "Widener University Delaware Law School – Home". delawarelaw.widener.edu. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ↑ Started in 1972 as the Antioch School of Law, in 1996 merged with the District of Columbia School of Law, itself founded in 1986
- ↑ Opened in 1949, closed in 1968 and reopened in 2000
- ↑ "Moscow & Boise – College of Law – University of Idaho". www.uidaho.edu. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
- ↑ Founded in 1975 as Lewis University College of Law and in 1979 merged with Northern Illinois University
- ↑ Northeastern closed, because of lacking resources, in 1956 and reopened in 1968.
- ↑ Opened in 1982 as Southern New England School of Law, because UMass-Dartmouth School of Law in 2010.
- ↑ Ward, Stephanie (November 5, 2020). "Western Michigan University trustees vote to end affiliation with Cooley Law, calling it 'a distraction'". ABA Journal. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- ↑ Founded in 1923, closed in 1933 and reopened 1999
- ↑ First of five predecessor school founded in 1900; mergers completed in 1956
- ↑ Two of the five predecessor schools were ABA accredited: William Mitchell College of Law (1938) and Hamline University School of Law (1975)
- ↑ Closed in 1845 and reopened in 1908
- ↑ Founded separately as Cleveland Law School in 1897 and John Marshall School of Law in 1916, merged in 1946
- ↑ Law, University of Oregon School Of. "Portland Program | University of Oregon School of Law". Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
- ↑ All Day. "Welcome to Lewis & Clark Law School in Beautiful Portland, Oregon". Lclark.edu. Archived from the original on June 24, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Widener University Commonwealth Law School – Home". commonwealthlaw.widener.edu. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
- ↑ "Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico". Derecho.inter.edu. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Charleston School of Law". charlestonlaw.edu. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017.
- ↑ "Belmont University | Nashville, TN | College of Law". Belmont.edu. October 7, 2009. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Proposed UNT Law College : A Public College of Law for DFW and north Texas". Untsystem.unt.edu. April 10, 2012. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ William & Mary Law School. "William & Mary Law » Homepage". Law.wm.edu. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ "School of Law – University of Richmond". Law.richmond.edu. Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ The U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School confers the Master of Laws (LL.M) degree only, and it is generally open only to Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps military officers.
- ↑ Originally opened in 1942, closed in 1946 and then reopened in 1950
- 1 2 "The State Bar of California". www.calbar.ca.gov. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ↑ "California Bar Exam Pass Rates - Law School Profile". publications.calbar.ca.gov. Retrieved August 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Welcome". BSOL. May 29, 2012. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Birmingham School of Law". Justia. April 25, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Miles Law School". Mlaw.edu. April 27, 2012. Archived from the original on July 2, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- 1 2 "2024 Minimum Cumulative Five-Year Bar Examination Pass Rates for California Accredited Law Schools" (PDF). The State Bar of California.
- ↑ "Statistics - Oak Brook College of Law | Online Christian Law School". March 3, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2026.
- ↑ DeBenedictis, Don J. (July 12, 2012). "New law school to focus on advocacy". Los Angeles Daily Journal. p. 5.
- ↑ "Online Law School | Online Law Degree: Abraham Lincoln University – Online Law School in California | Online Legal Studies Programs | Legal Training Courses". Alu.edu. Archived from the original on November 27, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Accreditation | The JFK School of Law at National University". JFK School of Law. Retrieved August 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Bar Exam Results". California School of Law. Retrieved August 12, 2026.
- ↑ "General Information | The Southern California Institute of Law". Retrieved August 12, 2026.
External links
[edit]- List of ABA approved law schools
- Law Schools, State Bar of California
- NALP (National Association for Law Placement) Directory of Law Schools—a non-profit educational association listing of law schools
- List of Top Law Schools – U.S. News University Directory