University of Virginia School of Law

The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his "academical village," the University of Virginia. The law school maintains an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students in its initial degree program (the Juris Doctor or J.D.). It also offers the Master of Laws (LL.M.) and the Doctor of the Science of Law (S.J.D.) degrees.

Virginia Law is regarded as one of the top 10 most prestigious and selective law schools in the United States. U.S. News & World Report currently ranks Virginia Law 9th in the nation,

Virginia Law is third nationally in the number of alumni who are chairpersons and managing partners at law firms nationwide, and a survey by the National Law Journal found that the law school ranked fifth in the number of graduates hired by NLJ's top 250 firms in 2009. Additionally, Virginia Law is second only to Harvard in the number of alumni serving as general counsel at Fortune 500 companies.

From 2000 to 2010 (the latest available data), Virginia Law had the fifth-highest...
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