For the second year in a row, the University of Georgia School of Law has been named the best value in legal education in the country by National Jurist. These rankings are based on outcome-driven metrics such as bar passage and employment rates in addition to average indebtedness, tuition and cost of living.
 
This recognition speaks volumes to the School of Law’s relentless pursuit to be the nation’s very best return on investment in legal education, according to School of Law Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge. “Over the past five years, buoyed by private donations and holding the line on tuition, the aggregate annual indebtedness of our students has been reduced by more than $5 million, and for the 2018-19 academic year almost 40% of our J.D. student body did not borrow funds to support their legal education,” he said.
 
“The first-rate training our students receive helps them secure jobs, posting one of the nation’s top employment rates and best in the state earlier this year,” Rutledge said. “For the second straight year, roughly 95% of our students passed the bar within 12 months of graduation. This sort of success, coupled with a laser-like focus on student debt, allows our grads to make professional career choices based on their passions, not their finances.”
 
Over the last several years, the School of Law has implemented a three-part strategy to achieve its best return-on-investment vision:  holding the line on tuition increases, critically examining expenditures and increasing student scholarship support. More than 70% of the Juris Doctor Class of 2022 is receiving some kind of scholarship aid, with 100% of first-generation college graduates in the first-year class and all enrolled military veterans receiving financial assistance.
 
“The School of Law provides students a strong foundation so they can become future leaders serving state, nation and society,” Rutledge said. “We remain committed to advancing our vision to be the nation’s best return on investment in legal education. I’d like to thank President Jere Morehead, Provost Jack Hu as well as our alumni and alumnae, donors, faculty, staff and students who all support this vision.”