But Oxford and Cambridge miss out on the top spot
One fifth of the top 50 law schools across the world are based in the UK, according to the latest league tables released this week.
QS World University Rankings — which carried out the research — surveyed over 70,000 academics and 40,000 employers across the globe. The organisation then took this information and ranked law schools in accordance with four key criteria: academic reputation, employer reputation, research quality and impact of work published.
The UK’s highest performing university for law in the top 50 is Oxford, which came second. The law faculty at the elite university — whose graduates are favoured by top City firms and chambers — narrowly saw off its Cambridge rivals, which secured third position. Neither prestigious law faculty was able to wrestle the top spot away from Harvard University.
Three London universities made the top 20. The London School of Economics (LSE) secured seventh place, University College London (UCL) came in 14th and King’s College London (KCL) landed 17th position. Edinburgh — the only Scottish university to make the QS list — took home a respectable 28th place.
It was also good news for Queen Mary Law School. Having only just secured a place last year, the London university has leapt 10 positions to secure 35th place in the 2016 ranking. Further north, Durham University, breaking into the top 50, came in joint 41st, alongside Nottingham University. Bristol featured on the list for the first time, securing 49th position.