Temple Law School has been ranked #54 in the 2024 US News and World Report overall ranking. Several specialty programs were ranked as well, including Trial Advocacy (#2), International Law (#10), Health Care Law (#17), and Legal Writing (#25). Temple Law’s evening division was also ranked #6 among part-time programs.
“I’m pleased with this recognition of Temple Law School,” said Dean Rachel Rebouché. “As diverse as our faculty is in both perspective and expertise, we share a common purpose: setting our students up for success on their terms while developing their commitment to public service and social justice no matter what areas of practice they pursue. Everything we do – doctrinal teaching, scholarship, clinical and experiential work, and skills-based instruction – is geared toward preparing our students to thrive in the legal profession. I’m proud today of what we have accomplished so far.”
Leaders in Temple’s ranked specialty programs reflected on the results as well.
“I’m excited about Temple’s #10 rank for international law,” said Associate Dean Jaya Ramji-Nogales, whose scholarship on global migration law is widely acclaimed. “We have very intentionally built a faculty with wide-ranging expertise that covers the spectrum of what international law includes, and a curriculum that offers a range of international law courses in which students learn about global challenges from faculty with first-hand experience in UN agencies and tribunals, leading non-governmental organizations, and the US Department of State. Through Temple’s Institute for International Law, Policy, and Practice, our students have opportunities to participate in discussions with world-class scholars here on main campus, and through our global network of campuses and exchange partners, they can pursue their legal studies around the world.”
Temple’s vaunted trial advocacy program, historically ranked among the top three nationally, continued its strong performance with a #2 rank. Director of Advocacy Programs Jules Epstein noted that for students, this historic strength translates to both job readiness and an excellent reputation among lawyers and judges. “(Advocacy professors) Marian Braccia, Elizabeth Lippy, and I hold frequent training sessions for employers in the region at large firms, various DA and public defender offices, legal services agencies, and others,” he said. “And what I hear from them is that Temple students are better equipped and more ready for practice than other new hires. Since so many Temple students take at least one of our advocacy courses, we take very seriously the responsibility to ensure that Temple’s reputation is deserved and that our students are ready to be the litigators of tomorrow.”
Professor Scott Burris leads Temple’s Center for Public Health Law Research. “It’s difficult to overstate the importance of health law today,” he said. “So many of the legal challenges we’re grappling with, from drug laws to abortion access to emergency preparedness, have a direct effect on health. Temple’s #17 rank for health care law reflects the incredible work of my colleagues at the Center and our commitment to teaching students how health law intersects with so many other aspects of our legal system.” Temple was also ranked #25 in Legal Writing, another traditional area of strength. Associate Dean Kristen Murray had high praise for her colleagues. “Legal Writing, which at Temple includes legal research, is foundational to the skills lawyers need for success,” Murray said. “We are very mindful that these skills change as technology advances and as the profession itself grows in new directions. I have tremendous admiration for the innovative ways in which my colleagues help students develop as legal writers and thinkers and prepare them to grow in those roles throughout their careers.”
Dean Rebouché also noted that Temple’s diverse, inclusive law school community is a critical element of the legal education its students receive. “In addition to delivering academic excellence across the board, our law school community has come together from around the world and across many backgrounds. We learn with and from people whose experiences have been vastly different from our own, and we celebrate the people who enrich our community with their unique perspectives. It makes us better teachers and scholars, and it makes our students better lawyers. I am tremendously proud of the community we have built here.”