Protecting human rights is one of the world’s most difficult challenges. Human rights lawyers work to uphold these protections by holding governments and institutions accountable, often through litigation, international advocacy or policy reform. They may work on cases involving civil liberties, racial or gender-based discrimination, abuses by state actors or violations of international treaties.
Students studying human rights law often participate in clinics or externships involving immigration, anti-trafficking, prison conditions or global justice initiatives.
The following law schools earned a place on our Human Rights Law Honor Roll, recognized for the strength of their programs. Following the list, you’ll find the latest developments and news from human rights law programs at these various law schools.
Top law schools for human rights law
Case Western Reserve University School of Law student Kenny Wallace came to law school to make a difference. What he didn’t expect was how deeply his clients and the experience would shape him in return. A dual-degree student in law and social work, Wallace spent his second year working in the Human Trafficking Law Clinic under Maya Simek, a dual-trained attorney and social worker. There, he supported expungement cases for survivors of trafficking and saw firsthand the power of resilience and trust.
“To see that kind of strength and resilience up close, and to be trusted in their most sensitive moments, is something I will never forget,” he said.
The clinic experience helped reinforce Wallace’s larger goal: to improve the legal profession from the inside out. As a Mandel School Leadership Fellow, he proposed a framework focused on student mental health and wellbeing starting in the 1L year — one he hopes will become real-world policy.
“The Master of Social Work program helped me turn abstract goals into tangible tools,” he said. After graduation, Wallace will begin work at a full-service firm in North Dakota, continuing his mission to help create a healthier, more humane legal field.
Florida State University College of Law’s Public Interest Law Center launched its International Human Rights Advocacy Clinic in 2023. The clinic gives students experience representing human rights victims and partnering with international non-governmental organizations on human rights advocacy. Several students spent the summer in Miami monitoring a federal civil trial. The case was brought under the Torture Victim Protection Act by family members of victims of the 1972 Trelew Massacre in Argentina. Clinic students prepared daily reports that were translated into Spanish and published in English and Spanish online.
University of Connecticut School of Law established the Center on Community Safety, Policing and Inequality in 2023 to bring researched and informed information to the national conversation about policing. The center supports policy-focused scholarship, hosts events on related topics and advises legislative and judicial efforts toward reform. The center will be a hub for community engagement regarding policing and other aspects of community safety.
The University of Minnesota School of Law’s Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic, part of the James H. Binger Center for New Americans, partnered with the American Immigration Council in March 2024 to publish a new practice advisory aimed at helping lawyers advocate for noncitizen clients facing removal based on criminal convictions. The guide, Common Tools of Statutory Construction for Criminal Removal Grounds, outlines how to use statutory interpretation tools when arguing that a client’s conviction does not make them removable under federal law. Law students Mollie Clark Ahsan (’24), Coryn Johnson (’24) and Chloe Chambers (’25) contributed to the project, which was led by Professors Seiko Shastri (’21) and Nadia Anguiano (’17).
Methodology
preLaw magazine grades law schools based on the breadth of their curricular offerings. Scores are weighted as follows: 30% for a concentration, 24% for a clinic, 12% for a center, 12% for an externship, 9% for a journal, 8% for a student group, 5% for a certificate and added value for additional offerings.
