Jonah Dalton Chadwick Griego didn’t plan to become a lawyer.
Born into a middle class military family, he had lived in several places, including near Pensacola, Florida, where he attended University of West Florida.
After graduation, he took a job as a security guard and then a job processing long-term disability applications. He soon realized this was not his “forever” job.
“I knew there had to be more,” Griego said. “Some of my fraternity brothers went to law school, so I reached out and learned about the LSAT and admissions . . . It all sounded pricey to me.”
As the first in his family to venture down the legal education route, Griego did a lot of research. He learned that where a person attends law school is typically where they stay to practice law.
He turned his attention to what type of law he wanted to pursue and where it made sense to attend law school. Working in Washington, D.C., appealed to him. University of Georgia School of Law in Athens became his top choice.
“It so happened that University of Georgia’s top graduate placement outside of the state is D.C.,” Griego said. “I felt UGA School of Law was where I belonged. I felt welcome and seen as a person versus just a number.
“I knew attending law school was going to be an expense no matter where I was accepted. My research showed the cost at UGA School of Law was lower than some other schools and financial assistance would help lessen the student loan debt when I completed my J.D.”
University of Georgia is No. 1 on preLaw Magazine’s Best Value Law School list, a repeat from last year.
This year, for the second time, preLaw ranked schools by assigning grades for each category and then determining an overall GPA. In the past, each school was simply assigned an overall score.
This year’s list included three newcomers: Regent University School of Law (A-), University of Maine School of Law (B+) and University of North Dakota School of Law (B+).
Meanwhile, seven law schools fell off the list.
Brigham Young University – J. Reuben Clark Law School maintained its spot at No. 2, and The University of Alabama School of Law stayed at No. 3. University of Nebraska College of Law was No. 4, moving up from 15th last year.
Dean Richard Moberly at Nebraska Law said an important aspect of the school’s mission is to develop leaders who can advance justice without having to mortgage their future for a law degree.
“We have an efficient, streamlined administration, and we work hard to keep our cost down,” Moberly said.
Another school that moved up in the rankings this year is University of Wisconsin Law School, coming in at No. 9, up from No. 17.
Rebecca Scheller, associate dean for admissions and financial aid and chief administrative officer, said it’s been a collective effort at University of Wisconsin to prioritize affordability and a world-class education.
“It’s at the forefront of our strategic planning and the way that we think about how we deliver our education,” Scheller said. “To offset tuition and other costs, we make fundraising a top priority, utilizing our alumni base, and reducing expenses elsewhere in our legal education structure or streamlining our institution so we are benefitting the students overall.”
Texas A&M University School of Law came in at No. 5 this year, moving up nine spots.
The school’s culture is centered around hard work and dedication, Dean Robert Ahdieh said.
“Our trajectory for value is on the rise,” he said. “Between the support from Texas for higher education and outside scholarships from an engaged community of philanthropic supporters, we are keeping the school’s cost affordable and accessible.”
Best Value Law Schools
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UGA Law’s three principles
For Griego, law school debt was a big concern. A scholarship based on his status as a first-generation law student aided him during his first two years, and he received a graduate assistant scholarship during his third year. He also had a job with admissions, which greatly eased his budget.
After graduating in May 2023, Griego moved to Northern New Mexico to be closer to his paternal family. He now clerks for Senior Justice Michael Vigil of the New Mexico Supreme Court.
“I’ve come a long way since 1L at UGA,” he said. “I’m not sure I would be where I am or have the combined knowledge and confidence to pursue my passion had I attended another law school. It was worth the investment, every penny.”
Peter “Bo” Rutledge, dean of UGA School of Law, cited three principals the school focuses on, starting with a culture of listening.
“It is important for a school to listen to its students,” Rutledge said. “Students choose to go to law school because they have some ambition, but they confront barriers, including financial ones, that often might be invisible.”
UGA School of Law started a program several years ago to help defray the cost of purchasing professional attire. Students had noted the importance of having the right clothes for job interviews, so the school created a program to help students on tight budgets get the outfits they need.
The school’s second principle, Rutledge said, is to provide financial help to those students who need it. The only way to ensure that legal education lives up to its promise, he said, is to try to reduce the student debt load.
For the 2022-23 school year, 92% of the student body received some form of financial assistance. Both first-generation college graduates and veterans have been guaranteed financial assistance for the past four years, and soon to be five, Rutledge said.
In September, the school announced it is raising its commitment to first-generation college graduates and veterans. The minimum guaranteed award will now be a one-quarter scholarship (up to a full-tuition-plus scholarship) for all three years of law school.
“For the non-tuition costs, one of the things that has been successful for UGA School of Law is to pilot a package of housing stipends,” he said. “For students with housing costs as a barrier to realizing their professional potential, the housing stipends reduce their out-of-pocket costs for what is often the largest driver of their non-tuition expenses.”
Another issue, Rutledge said, is the cost of bar exam preparation and the financially lean time between when a student graduates and when they sit for the bar. If they are going to work in a large firm, the firm will often cover that cost.
But the 20% of graduates who take clerkships and the 16% who go to work in government or public interest jobs will not have that cost covered, Rutledge said. Therefore, UGA School of Law provides a bar preparation stipend for students whose first employer out of law school is not going to help with expenses.
The school’s third principle is to track student outcome in a clear-eyed fashion, Rutledge said.
“For UGA School of Law, the aspiration has always been to be the nation’s best return on investment for legal education, where the return is measured by the job opportunities and bar passages for students,” he said. “The investment is measured by the indebtedness of the student body.”
Nebraska Law’s affordable tuition
Nebraska Law’s Dean Moberly said the school has great support from alumni, and since it’s a state institution, the taxpayers of Nebraska help as well.
Last year, the school received the largest gift in its history from Acklie Charitable Foundation. This allowed the school to double the number of scholarships offered this year.
Moberly said the school’s outstanding bar-passage rate and high graduate employment rate, combined with low tuition, low student debt figures and the low cost of living in Nebraska, lead to students receiving a high-quality education at a reasonable cost.
“Our school’s outcomes for bar passage and employment are strong compared to others of our size in the country,” Moberly said.
David Earl expects to graduate from Nebraska Law in May 2025.
“When I think about value, I think about cost measured against outcomes,” Earl said. “Nebraska Law tuition is affordable, and by taking advantage of all that the school offers, I’m in a good place to focus on my education without the worry of the financial burden of my law degree.”
Nebraska Law provides students with insight about various types of post-graduate employment, emphasizing law firm jobs, public interest and public service employment.
Yes, bar-passage and employment rates are important for students to consider when deciding which school to attend, Moberly said. But it’s also important to look at other aspects to see if the school aligns with a student’s values and determine which factors are most important.
About half of Nebraska Law’s students come from outside the state, Moberly said.
“Our students have a wide range of views on all types of issues,” he said. “We can disagree without being disagreeable and have civility and professionalism when talking about issues that affect this country.”
Regent Law’s high employment rate
Brad Lingo, dean of Regent Law, echoes the importance of students considering all factors that make up a law school.
“At Regent Law, we believe finding employment is downstream from finding purpose,” Lingo said. “So we work with each student individually to find their unique calling in the law.”
Regent Law has a required 1L course called Foundations of Practice, which allows students to think about the kinds of lawyers they want to be and sets them up for employment success. In that course, students are exposed to a variety of career paths and paired with mentors to help them take practical steps toward the types of jobs they are seeking.
Regent Law emphasizes practical skills training. Externships, clinics, competition teams and experiential learning allow students to try various types of law, develop a work ethic and graduate practice ready.
“It’s much easier to find a job if you know what kind of job you want, are willing to work hard, and are ready to contribute immediately,” Lingo said.
Tyler Gustafson, a 2023 graduate of Regent Law, said his time at the school opened his eyes to career possibilities.
“Regent Law provides a high-quality, practical and substantive education,” Gustafson said. “I left with less than average law school debt and took a clerkship with the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and I later plan to go into politics.”
The numbers for Regent Law’s Class of 2023 tell the story. Its first-time bar-passage rate was 83.51%, which is 8.14% higher than the ABA average.
The Class of 2023’s employment rate was 90.3%, according to the ABA and U.S. News & World Report.
Regent Law has worked with the bar prep provider Themis to design a three-year plan for bar preparation.
“It starts in the first year with weekly one-hour sessions designed to provide academic support and early stage bar preparation, and ends with two unique courses in the third year, one designed to prepare students for the essay portion of the bar and the other focused on those tricky multiple choice questions,” Lingo said.
He said students benefit from professor accessibility, teaching quality and a supportive community where students are known and cared for as individuals.
“When those values become part of a law school’s culture, as they have at Regent Law, strong bar and employment outcomes will follow,” Lingo said.
Texas A&M focuses on professional identity
Dean Ahdieh said Texas A&M Law is in a fast-growing market with the capacity to offer great opportunities to its students, from internships to externships to summer jobs and ample employment leads, all of which help with post-graduate employment success.
Professional identity is the cornerstone of Texas A&M Law.
“We strive to be more thoughtful about who our students are and what they want to do,” Andieh said. “We cater personally to students, developing a sense of belonging and nurturing personal relationships.”
Texas A&M Law is known for meeting students where they are and helping them to achieve excellence.
“We distribute lunch outside the bar exam room and cheer for our students,” Ahdieh said. “Students feel less alone and receive positive reinforcement in overcoming challenges.
“We are in the human capital business. At Texas A&M Law, we advance human knowledge through the students we graduate from our law school and train to be lawyers. We aim to be a best value school each and every year.”
UW Law’s financial wellness
In the past decade, University of Wisconsin has become known for its financial wellness programming.
“Just this past year, UW Law started requiring students, prior to orientation, to meet with one of our financial aid advisers to receive counseling on how to budget, calculate needs, encourage ways to cut expenses and have the mindset to get through the first year,” Dean Scheller said. “This opens the door to communication and a comfort level to talk about expenses, debt and planning.”
University of Wisconsin’s website even offers budget tips with an outline of student expenses for a typical year. This can help students develop realistic expectations of how much law school will cost.
“It’s an important part of the student experience to be able to forge their career with a debt that is manageable,” Scheller said. “Our average debt load versus the national average is low, and we are proud of that.”
Wisconsin is the only state with diploma privilege, which allows graduates of ABA-accredited law schools in the state to practice law without taking the bar exam.
“In early June, 100% of the Class of 2023 got sworn in to the Wisconsin bar,” said Jini Jasti, associate dean for external affairs and alumni relations. “It’s a cost savings to students who wish to stay in the state to practice law.”
The University of Wisconsin Class of 2023 had an employment rate 10 months after graduation of 97.8%, with 82% employed at the time of graduation. Of the 97.8% employed 10 months after graduation, 95% had long-term, bar-passage-required or J.D. advantage positions.
Jasti said University of Wisconsin makes sure its law students have training and opportunities that set them up for successful legal careers.
“We keep track of trends, as every cohort has its own personality and needs, and we adjust accordingly,” Jasti said. “We constantly evaluate our courses, processes, communications, clinics and programming to ebb and flow with the ever-changing student body.”
