Pritzker School of Law

The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. The law school is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law is considered part of the T14, an unofficial designation in the legal community for the best law schools in the United States.
Founded in 1859, it was the first law school established in Chicago. Notable alumni include numerous governors of several states; Arthur Goldberg, United States Supreme Court justice; Adlai Stevenson, governor of Illinois, cabinet secretary, and Democratic presidential candidate; John Paul Stevens, United States Supreme Court justice; Newton Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); and Harold Washington, the first black mayor of Chicago (1983–87) and, previously, a member of the United States House of Representatives.
Founded in 1859, the school now known as the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law was the first law school established in Chicago. The school was originally the law department of the Old University of Chicago under the founding direction of Henry Booth and enrolled twenty-three students. The law school became Union College of Law when it was jointly affiliated with Northwestern University in 1873. In 1891, the law school formally became the Northwestern University School of Law when Northwestern assumed total control.
During the 20th century, programs such as the JD-MBA and JD-PhD were added, helping to maintain the school's position among America's top-ranked law schools. In the 1930s, the school was home to the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory, which student Fred E. Inbau would direct and from which he would train prosecutors and police, leading to the Reid technique of deceptive interrogation to obtain confessions.
In October 2015, the Northwestern University School of Law was renamed the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law after J. B. Pritzker and his wife, M.K. Pritzker, gave $100 million to the law school.
In July 2024, a lawsuit was filed by a conservative group against the university citing its activities to increase the hiring of women and people of color for its faculty, as a violation of federal law prohibiting discrimination for reasons of race or sex, one year after affirmative action college admissions in the United States was struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States. The suit asserts that the law school discriminates against, specifically, white men in faculty hiring, as well as in selection of articles published in its noted law review.
Northwestern Law is located on Northwestern University's downtown campus in Chicago's Streeterville/Gold Coast neighborhood. The law school is on Lake Shore Drive and Chicago Avenue, adjacent to Lake Shore Park and Lake Michigan, and a few blocks from the John Hancock Center, Magnificent Mile, Water Tower, Oak Street Beach, and Navy Pier.
The law school's location in the heart of downtown Chicago provides a wealth of part-time employment options for students while in school and a setting in which to study law. The proximity to courts, commerce, and public interest activities enables students to experience the practice of law, as well as its theory.
Admission to Northwestern Law is highly selective. For the class entering in the fall of 2021, 1,031 out of 7,410 (13.9%) were offered admission, with 234 matriculating. The 25th and 75th LSAT percentiles for the 2021 entering class were 167 and 172, respectively, with a median of 171. The 25th and 75th undergraduate GPA percentiles were 3.60 and 3.93, respectively, with a median of 3.86.
The law school's practical philosophy is manifested in a strong preference for applicants with at least two years of work experience. Approximately 90% of the school's students enter with at least one year of full-time work experience; 70% possess more than two years of experience.
According to U.S. News & World Report's 2021 Edition, 94% of the law school's 2021 graduates obtained prospective, full-time employment prior to graduation, with a median starting salary of $215,000. According to Northwestern's official 2022 ABA-required disclosures, 94% of the Class of 2022 obtained full-time, long-term employment ten months after graduation. Northwestern's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 4.4%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2018 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.
Northwestern Law is well-established among BigLaw firms (defined as firms with 251 or more associates). In Vault's 2016 survey, of over 15,000 BigLaw associates, Northwestern Law ranked #2 as a "feeder" school for BigLaw firms, after accounting for school size. According to Vault, Northwestern Law outperforms its expected BigLaw representation by 315%. Northwestern Law ranked 2nd, 4th, and 3rd in 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively for the highest percentage of juris doctor graduates who receive associate positions at the largest 100 law firms in the country.
The law school enrolls approximately 985 students in its J.D., LL.M., S.J.D. and M.S.L. (Master of Science in Law) programs. The school employs an interdisciplinary research faculty, and has a low student-faculty ratio. The 2016 student/faculty ratio was 6.5 to 1. According to Northwestern's 2016 ABA-required disclosures, 93% of the Class of 2016 obtained full-time, long-term employment nine months after graduation.
The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, living expenses, books, and other miscellaneous expenses) at Northwestern Law for the 2022-2023 academic year is $104,564. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $367,588.
Northwestern Law sponsors seven student-run scholarly legal journals. Student staff members are selected based on a writing competition, editing competition, and first-year grades, or a publishable note or comment on a legal topic.
The Journal of International Law and Business has a substantive focus on private international law, as opposed to public international law or human rights. It seeks scholarship analyzing transnational and international legal problems and their effect on private entities. The Journal's stated goal is to promote an understanding of the future course of international legal developments as they relate to private entities.
The Northwestern University Law Review was first published in 1906 when it was called the "Illinois Law Review." Prior editors include: Roscoe Pound, long-time dean of Harvard Law School; Judge Robert A. Sprecher of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens; Dean James A. Rahl; Illinois Governor Daniel Walker; and former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Newton N. Minow; US Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg and Presidential Candidate Adlai Stevenson.
The Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property addresses subjects relating to law at the intersection of technology and intellectual property, including law and biotechnology, copyrights, the Internet, media, patents, telecommunications, and trademarks.
The School states that its Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology "is one of the most widely read and widely cited publications in the world". It is the second most widely subscribed journal published by any law school in the country. It is one of the most widely circulated law journals in the country. The journal was founded in 1910 by Dean John Henry Wigmore.
The Journal of Law and Social Policy is an interdisciplinary journal that explores the impact of the law on different aspects of society. Topics covered include race, gender, sexual orientation, housing, immigration, health care, juvenile justice, voting rights, family law, civil rights, poverty, the environment, and privacy rights.
The Journal of Human Rights is an interdisciplinary journal for the discussion of human rights issues and law.
The Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés is a "journal of law for legal rejects and the legal avant-garde" founded in 2022. It was inspired by the Paris Salon des Refusés and aims to discuss legal issues in a way that is more accessible to the general public, as well as help readers trying to understand more difficult works. It publishes one print-issue each Spring and additional online articles throughout the year.
The Pritzker Legal Research Center is the library, and fulfills the research and information needs of the faculty and students of Northwestern Law. The Center is named after the Pritzker family, a philanthropic Chicago family. Jay A. Pritzker (1922-1999) graduated from Northwestern University in 1941 and Northwestern University School of Law in 1947.
Clinical education at Northwestern dates back to the law school's beginnings. An innovative program developed by Dean John Henry Wigmore in 1910 with the Chicago Legal Aid Society evolved into the Legal Clinic, which opened its doors in 1969 with only two staff attorneys. In 2000, the Clinic was named for Northwestern University trustee and alum Neil Bluhm, a billionaire in real estate and casinos. Today, the Bluhm Legal Clinic houses around 20 clinics within 14 centers and is widely recognized as one of the most comprehensive and effective clinical programs in the country. Through the law school's clinical program, students gain direct experience representing clients and fine-tune their skills as advocates. They also work with clinical faculty and staff to challenge the fairness of our legal institutions and to propose solutions for reform. From 2000 to 2013, its director was Steven Drizin.
The Center on Wrongful Convictions (CWC) is dedicated to identifying and rectifying wrongful convictions. The Center investigates possible wrongful convictions and represents imprisoned clients with claims of actual innocence. It also focuses on raising public awareness of the prevalence, causes, and social costs of wrongful convictions and promoting reform of the criminal justice system. In 2009, faculty member Prof Steven Drizin co-founded a sister project to this Center, a Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth, which was merged back into the main center after 2018.
Established in 2006, the Appellate Advocacy Center includes the Federal Appellate Clinic and the Supreme Court Clinic, along with a moot program for practitioners. The Appellate Advocacy Center is directed by Xiao Wang.
In the Federal Appellate Clinic, students research and brief cases in federal appellate courts across the country. In certain instances, where a case involves significant federal issues or interests, students will also participate in state appellate court work. Clinic cases generally focus on immigration, qualified immunity, and criminal sentencing and post-conviction issues, although other topics and matters are covered as well. Where possible, Clinic students participate in oral argument before a United States court of appeals.
In the Supreme Court Clinic, students work with attorneys at Sidley Austin to draft certiorari, merits, and amicus briefs before the Supreme Court. Sidley attorneys Carter Phillips and Jeffrey Green co-direct the Supreme Court Clinic.
The Clinic works on a variety of legal matters. During any given year, the Clinic will file briefs in cases concerning international law, tribal law, sentencing, criminal procedure, habeas, and the First Amendment. The Clinic frequently collaborates with state and federal public defenders. The Clinic also works with nonprofit organizations, including the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In fall 2021, the Clinic partnered with Northwestern's Center for International Human Rights, Amnesty International, Global Justice Center, and Human Rights Watch to file an amicus brief in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, asserting that Mississippi's abortion ban was inconsistent with international law.
The Children and Family Justice Center represents young people on matters of delinquency and crime, family violence, school discipline, health and disability, and immigration and asylum. Attorneys, a social worker, and affiliated professionals help second- and third-year law students meet with clients, research legal issues, learn pretrial investigation, interviewing, and counseling skills, and litigate cases.
The MacArthur Justice Center focuses its work on police misconduct, wrongful detention compensation, post-9/11 work, and other public interest and civil rights issues. Of particular note is the Guantanamo Bay detainee representation led by Joseph Margulies, author of Guantanamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power and lead counsel in Rasul v. Bush.
The Donald Pritzker Entrepreneurship Law Center (DPELC), founded as the Small Business Opportunity Center (SBOC), is a transactional clinic that was founded in 1998. Clients include technology executives, consultants, inventors, manufacturers and sellers of consumer products, musical groups, and persons interested in establishing nonprofit organizations.
The Center is also heavily involved in teaching in the field of entrepreneurship law, and hosts symposia and conferences to facilitate that endeavor.
The Center for International Human Rights works to advance human rights while enabling students to test and refine their academic learning in real cases. Stressing a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach, the center provides policy perspectives to the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the U.S. Department of State, foreign governments, and nongovernmental organizations. Over the years faculty and staff working in the center have addressed, among other matters, the role of the International Criminal Court, international terrorism, U.S. death penalty laws, truth commissions, economic rights, NATO's humanitarian intervention, and political asylum cases. Students have investigated cases and had summer internships in Guatemala, Indonesia, and at the U.N. Human Rights Centre in Geneva.
The Center also offers students an opportunity to earn an LLM in Human Rights. The degree program is designed for students from transitional democracies and for those with career interests in international human rights law.
The Investor Protection Center provides assistance to investors with limited income or small dollar claims who are unable to obtain legal representation. Law students, under the supervision of faculty attorneys, represent customers in handling their disputes with broker-dealers.
During the last few years, the (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority)(FINRA) and other organizations have taken steps to make more information and services available to investors. Northwestern Law's Investor Protection Center operates with the aid of grants from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and other organizations to focus on priority areas. In particular, the Center is focused on helping to meet the needs of women, novice investors, and the elderly, in connection with securities arbitration.
Named in honor of an innovative leader in litigation and business strategies, the Fred Bartlit Center for Trial Advocacy was established in 1999 to conduct research and teach innovative and technologically advanced trial strategy. The Bartlit Center focuses on changes in trial craft brought on by new technologies and compensation approaches.
The Bartlit Center sponsors and conducts academic research on the litigation process; support teaching skills in the JD program; and holds national conferences to explore and teach innovative trial and trial management strategies. The Bartlit Center works to complement the law school's program in simulation-based teaching of trial skills and builds on the research produced by Northwestern Law faculty.
Notable Northwestern Law faculty, past and present, include:
Selected prominent Northwestern Law alumni include: