Northwestern Pritzker Law Named #1 Go-To Law School: Big Law

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law has been ranked number one for Big Law graduates by two major publications: Law.com and US News. For the second year in a row, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law earned the top spot in Law.com’s 2025 Go-To Law Schools: Big Law report, with 195 of its graduates, or 71.9%, now working in the nation’s 500 largest law firms (a 7% increase compared with the previous year).

US News & World Report also ranked Northwestern Pritzker Law number one in a new section of its annual Best Law School rankings: “Law Schools with the Most Graduates at Big Law Firms,” evaluating law schools whose graduates were most likely to obtain full-time, long-term jobs at law firms with greater than 500 attorneys.

The Law.com list ranks law schools that sent the highest percentage of 2024 JDs into associate jobs at the nation’s largest 500 law firms, while the US News ranking lists the top 40 law schools with the highest percentage of 2024 JDs who found employment in firms with 500 or more attorneys. The two firms that hired the most Northwestern graduates were once again Kirkland & Ellis and Sidley Austin.

“We are honored to be recognized once again as the country’s #1 Go-To Law School for Big Law in both Law.com and US News’ 2025 reports,” said Dean Hari Osofsky. “These recognitions are a testament to our remarkable 2024 graduates, who are already making an impact with their exceptional legal and professional skills. Our Class of 2024 was 98.1% employed at 10 months in full-time, long-term jobs for which bar passage was required or their law degree is an advantage. We are extremely grateful to Associate Dean Donald Rebstock, Assistant Dean Dave Diamond, Assistant Dean Leah Gould, and Professor Janet Brown; the Career Strategy Center, Public Interest Center, and Judicial Clerkships teams; and the many faculty, staff, and alumni whose support has made such a difference for our graduates.”

Dave Diamond, assistant dean of the Career Strategy Center, agreed that the list demonstrates the Law School’s strong reputation among the nation’s elite law firms, as well as the continued dedication of its students. “This is a statement on the strength of our students and the Northwestern brand. Their maturity, as well as for many their pre–law schoolwork experience, stands out in an in an increasingly challenging and crowded market,” said Diamond.

“We are thrilled with these results, and it is especially gratifying when considering the consistency of our strong employment outcomes over time,” said Don Rebstock, associate dean of admissions and career services. He further added that these strong outcomes reflect a community-wide effort. “So much of our success is because of our amazing teams of career advisors across our Career Strategy Center, our Public Interest Center, and our Clerkships program. The coaching and preparation they collectively provide our students and alumni is second to none and is a key reason our graduates are so highly coveted by the nation’s most prestigious law firms, judges, public interest and government agencies, and businesses.”

For the second year in a row, data for the report came to Law.com from law schools instead of the data being collected from the law firms, which means each school is reporting the complete picture for their graduates vs. receiving data from approximately 80% to 85% of the largest 500 law firms. Career outcomes figures from each school were also used to calculate the US News ranking.

The Law.com ranking has existed for 18 years, and Northwestern Pritzker Law has been ranked in the top five for 14 of those 18 years.