The 24 smartest law schools in the US

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Median LSAT score: 164

Bar passage rate: 85%

The University of Minnesota Law School's library holds one of the largest collections in the nation, with over 1 million volumes. The curriculum promotes experiential learning and offers 24 diverse clinical programs that more than 50% of students use to gain real-world experience with clients.

Location: South Bend, Indiana

Median LSAT score: 164

Bar passage rate: 84%

The University of Notre Dame law school encourages students to extend their education outside of the US and offers several opportunities to study abroad, including stays at Notre Dame's programs in London, Chile, or Italy. Grads join the ranks of successful alumni, such as Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano.

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Median LSAT score: 165

Bar passage rate: 89%

Seventy-five percent of Emory Law's more than 300 graduates secured long-term, full-time jobs requiring bar passage. The private school, known for its public-service law program, costs $51,510 per year.

Location: Washington, D.C.

Median LSAT score: 165

Bar passage rate: 86%

The oldest law school in the nation's capital, GW Law has the fourth-highest number of graduates — 465 — on our list. Students can choose from over 275 elective courses and 20 different specialized areas of study. The school's intellectual-property law program is among the best in the country.

Location: Los Angeles, California

Median LSAT score: 166

Bar passage rate: 87%

The USC Gould School of Law features tailored programs, such as its Media, Entertainment, and Technology certificate program, that cater to its Los Angeles-based campus and students. Seventy-three percent of graduates land full-time jobs that require passing the bar.

Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Median LSAT score: 166

Bar passage rate: 93%

Vanderbilt Law School opened in 1847 as one of the university's first two departments. It offers nine different programs — including social justice, international, and intellectual property — to JD candidates to focus on a specialized area of law once they complete the first-year core curriculum.

Location: Los Angeles, California

Median LSAT score: 166

Bar passage rate: 82%

At UCLA Law, students are taught a spirit of community service and immersed in one through the school's emphasis on mentorship. Students can take advantage of advice from hands-on professors as well as networking opportunities with UCLA's alumni base. These connections in part help students land jobs, and a respectable 30% of the class of 2015 procured positions at large law firms with over 500 employees upon graduation.

Location: Berkeley, California

Median LSAT score: 166

Bar passage rate: 88%

Berkeley Law is the only top-20 law school on the West Coast aside from Stanford, and it's revered for its robust intellectual-property program and pioneering environmental- and energy-law programs. Berkeley Law has the highest percentage of women enrolled — 56% of students — on our list.

Location: St. Louis, Missouri

Median LSAT score: 167

Bar passage rate: 86%

Post-graduation, a full 100% of Wash U Law graduates who were seeking a job secured one last year, with 76% of those positions requiring a law degree. This can be chalked up in part to Wash U's myriad of opportunities for students to gain real-world experience, including a selection of nine externship opportunities, 18 clinical courses, and six trial teams and moot courts where students can put their skills to the test.

Location: Austin, Texas

Median LSAT score: 167

Bar passage rate: 88%

Texas Law had one of the largest graduating classes on our list, with more than 350 students earning degrees last year. The public school's renowned trial-advocacy program was founded nearly 40 years ago and has won 17 national-advocacy championships in the past 11 years.

Location: Washington, D.C.

Median LSAT score: 167

Bar passage rate: 88%

Georgetown Law prepares students well: 88% of graduates pass the bar on the first try. These newly minted lawyers join the ranks of notable Georgetown alumni, including the "Today" show anchor Savannah Guthrie, former FCC Chairman Michael Powell, and former US President Lyndon B. Johnson, although he never graduated.

Location: Ithaca, New York

Median LSAT score: 167

Bar passage rate: 92%

Annual tuition for Cornell Law School is just shy of $60,000, among the highest on our list. But it pays off: 90% of graduates secured full-time, long-term jobs that required passing the bar. The school is recognized for its opportunities for pro bono work through programs like the Cornell Law School Public Service Challenge. Last year, students completed 1,165 hours of pro bono work.

Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Median LSAT score: 168

Bar passage rate: 93%

Michigan Law possesses a rich historical background. Three US Supreme Court justices have attended the school, and one of its graduates became the first woman with a law degree to be admitted to the state's bar in 1871. Michigan Law is the second-highest-ranked public school on our list.

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Median LSAT score: 168

Bar passage rate: 87%

Out of 4,095 applications, the Pritzker School of Law enrolled just 213 students — 5.2% — for the 2015-16 academic year. The private institution was founded in 1859 and is renowned for its competitive admissions, with 70% of entering students possessing at least two years of full-time work experience.

Location: Charlottesville, Virginia

Median LSAT score: 168

Bar passage rate: 94%

Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the University of Virginia School of Law is one of the oldest such schools in the nation, and it aims to train lawyers who are committed to the ideals of leadership, integrity, and community service. The top public school on our list, it has one of the best records of sending graduates into federal clerkships in the country, with 16% of the class of 2015 accepting such positions.

Location: New York, New York

Median LSAT score: 169

Bar passage rate: 96%

Located in New York City's Greenwich Village, the NYU School of Law was founded in 1835 and has gained a stellar reputation for its curriculum, especially its international and tax law programs. The school has 10 student-run publications, and 87% of graduates secured full-time jobs requiring bar passage.

Location: Durham, North Carolina

Median LSAT score: 169

Bar passage rate: 94%

Duke Law's curriculum focuses on areas of law where the demand for jobs will increase in the near future, such as international, environmental, and public law. The alma mater of Richard Nixon and Charlie Rose has the fifth-highest percentage on our list of graduates securing highly coveted jobs. It also has the highest percentage on our list of graduates securing full-time jobs at law firms with 251 to 500 employees.

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Median LSAT score: 169

Bar passage rate: 98%

Graduates of the University of Pennsylvania's law school, the No. 1 school for 2016, have no trouble landing top jobs: 75% of grads secure federal clerkships or positions at big law firms, and a full 90% end up in full-time jobs that require passing the bar. These graduates follow in the footsteps of several notable Penn Law alumni, including Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz and former US Supreme Court Justice Owen Roberts.

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Median LSAT score: 170

Bar passage rate: 92%

Graduates of the law school cofounded by John D. Rockefeller are destined for success. The University of Chicago's law school boasts the highest percentage of graduates securing highly coveted jobs — 80% — of any school on our list. And more than half of employed grads — 54% — find jobs at law firms with over 500 employees.

Location: Stanford, California

Median LSAT score: 171

Bar passage rate: 90%

Students of Stanford Law are paying an estimated $31,005 per year to live in California's pricey Bay Area, on top of a $56,274 annual-tuition price tag. But the return on investment is worth it: 73% of graduates at the West Coast's top law school secure highly coveted jobs, with 26% of graduates landing federal clerkships.

Location: New York, New York

Median LSAT score: 171

Bar passage rate: 92%

Columbia Law School may be the most expensive school on our list — annual tuition runs $62,700 — but the price tag goes a long way toward securing a great job: 77% of graduates secure full-time, highly coveted jobs at big law firms or in federal clerkships. The school also welcomes diversity: 47% of students are women and 33% are minorities.

Location: New Haven, Connecticut

Median LSAT score: 173

Bar passage rate: 92%

Students admitted to Yale Law were among the best-performers on the LSAT, with a median score of 173 — tied for the top spot with Harvard. Thirty-four percent of graduates of the Ivy League school landed federal clerkships, the most of any school on our list. Its 81% of graduates who landed full-time, long-term jobs requiring bar passage was the lowest in the top 10.

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Median LSAT score: 173

Bar passage rate: 95%

With 68% of students accepting highly coveted jobs right out of school, a law degree from Harvard proves well worth the investment. But it's not easy to come by: The median LSAT score of accepted students is 173, tied with Yale as the highest on our list. Harvard Law also boasts several prominent alumni, including US President Barack Obama, former US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein.