About Top Law Schools (TLS)

Last Updated: September 2026

 

Top Law Schools, commonly known as TLS, is a resource and online community for prospective law students, current law students, graduates, and legal professionals. Since its founding in 2002, TLS has helped readers research law schools, understand the admissions process, prepare for the LSAT, evaluate legal education options, navigate law school, and explore careers in the legal profession.

The site combines informational resources with a long-running discussion community where applicants, students, graduates, and attorneys can exchange experiences and perspectives. Visitors can begin with the Law School Admissions section, research schools through the Law Schools section, or participate in discussions through the TLS Forums.

 

Our Mission

 

The mission of Top Law Schools is to help people make better-informed decisions about legal education and legal careers.

Applying to law school can involve major decisions about tuition, debt, geographic location, career goals, admissions strategy, LSAT preparation, scholarships, employment prospects, and quality of life. TLS brings together resources designed to help applicants evaluate those issues rather than relying on rankings or reputation alone.

The site also serves current law students and graduates who need information about academics, employment, law firms, clerkships, practice areas, and the transition from law school into professional practice.

Our goal is to provide practical information that helps readers ask better questions, research their options carefully, and make decisions based on their individual goals and circumstances.

 

Who Top Law Schools Serves


Prospective Law Students

 

Prospective students can use TLS to learn about the application process, evaluate whether law school is the right choice, research individual schools, prepare for standardized testing, develop application materials, and compare potential schools.

The Law School Admissions section includes resources covering applications, recommendations, personal statements, financial considerations, and other parts of the admissions process.

Applicants preparing for standardized testing can also explore the updated LSAT Preparation Resources, while students working on their essays can review the Law School Personal Statements Guide.

 

Law School Applicants Comparing Schools

 

Choosing where to attend law school can affect debt, employment opportunities, geographic mobility, professional networks, and career options.

TLS provides law school profiles and research designed to help applicants examine schools beyond a single ranking number. Readers should consider factors such as cost, scholarships, employment outcomes, bar passage, location, academic programs, and their individual career goals.

Applicants can also compare experiences and ask questions in the Choosing a Law School Forum.

 

Current Law Students

 

Once admitted, students face a different set of questions involving coursework, examinations, grades, internships, summer positions, journals, clinics, networking, and employment.

The Law School Students section provides a gateway to TLS resources for current students, including information about academic success, financial aid, transfers, employment, and the transition into practice.

Students preparing for their careers may also find LawCrossing's Law Student Career Framework for Long-Term Success helpful for understanding how academic planning, practical experience, networking, and skill development can work together over the course of law school.

 

Law School Graduates and Attorneys

 

TLS also contains resources for graduates and practicing attorneys who are evaluating legal employers, practice areas, lateral opportunities, clerkships, and other career paths.

Readers researching private-practice employers can explore the TLS Law Firm Profiles.

For additional career planning, LawCrossing provides resources such as How Law Students Can Successfully Land Legal Jobs and Career Readiness for Law Students: Preparing Early for Legal Practice.

 

What You Will Find on Top Law Schools

 

TLS covers several major areas of legal education and career development.

 

Law School Admissions Resources

 

The TLS Law School Admissions section provides information intended to help applicants understand the many components of the admissions process.

Topics include:

  • Deciding whether to attend law school
  • Selecting schools
  • Application strategy
  • Personal statements
  • Letters of recommendation
  • LSAT preparation
  • Financial aid
  • Law school loans
  • Admissions interviews
  • Waitlists
  • Application timing

 

Because admissions policies and testing procedures can change, applicants should always confirm important requirements and deadlines directly with individual law schools, LSAC, and other authoritative sources.

 

Law School Profiles and Research

 

Choosing a law school involves more than identifying the highest-ranked institution that will admit you.

TLS's Law Schools section provides profiles, directories, interviews, and other resources designed to help students investigate individual schools and compare their options.

Important factors may include:

  • Tuition and estimated cost of attendance
  • Scholarships and scholarship conditions
  • Employment outcomes
  • Bar passage
  • Location
  • Academic strengths
  • Clinics and experiential learning
  • Student culture
  • Class size
  • Career placement
  • Geographic reach
  • Debt and potential return on investment

 

Applicants should compare multiple sources and use current disclosures from law schools, the American Bar Association, and other authoritative organizations whenever making significant enrollment or financial decisions.

 

LSAT Preparation

 

For many applicants, the LSAT remains an important part of the law school admissions process.

TLS maintains a collection of LSAT preparation resources covering study strategies, preparation materials, test-taking approaches, and related topics.

The LSAT Prep and Discussion Forum also allows applicants to discuss preparation strategies and experiences with other community members.

 

Personal Statements and Application Essays

 

Application essays give candidates an opportunity to provide context that may not be apparent from grades, test scores, or a résumé.

TLS maintains a dedicated Law School Personal Statements resource covering personal statement strategy, examples, common mistakes, and writing considerations.

Applicants can also visit the Law School Personal Statements Forum to discuss essays and application writing with members of the TLS community.

 

Resources for Current Law Students

 

Law school presents academic and professional challenges that differ substantially from the admissions process.

The Law School Students section provides access to resources related to:

  • Law school courses
  • Examinations
  • Academic performance
  • Financial aid
  • Student loans
  • Transfers
  • Summer employment
  • Legal recruiting
  • Career planning

 

Students looking ahead to employment can also review LawCrossing's The Law Student Career Blueprint for Long-Term Success for guidance on gaining practical experience, developing professional skills, and planning for the transition into practice.

 

Law Firm and Legal Career Research

 

A law student's career decisions often begin well before graduation.

TLS provides law firm profiles and community discussions about private practice, judicial clerkships, government work, public interest positions, in-house opportunities, and alternative careers.

Students still exploring potential directions may also find LawCrossing's Top Legal Career Paths for Law Students useful for understanding both traditional and emerging career options.

 

The TLS Forums and Community

 

One of the defining features of Top Law Schools is the TLS Forums.

Over the years, the forums have developed into a substantial archive of discussions involving law school applicants, students, graduates, and legal professionals. Topics range from LSAT preparation and admissions to legal employment, law firm recruiting, clerkships, practice areas, and career changes.

The value of the forums comes largely from the range of experiences represented by individual members. Applicants can read about how others approached admissions decisions, students can discuss academic and recruiting experiences, and attorneys can exchange information about different sectors of the legal profession.

However, forum posts are user-generated content. They represent the opinions, recollections, and experiences of individual contributors and should not automatically be treated as verified factual information.

For decisions involving admissions requirements, tuition, scholarships, accreditation, bar eligibility, employment statistics, deadlines, or other significant matters, users should verify information through appropriate primary sources.

 

Editorial Standards and Research

 

TLS aims to provide useful, accurate, and practical information for people researching law schools and legal careers.

When updating informational content, reliable primary or authoritative sources should be prioritized whenever possible. Depending on the subject, those sources may include:

  • Official law school websites
  • ABA-required disclosures
  • LSAC
  • State bar authorities
  • Government agencies
  • Court websites
  • Official employer websites
  • Published institutional data

 

Whenever statistics are used, readers should pay attention to the reporting year and the population being measured. Admissions rates, employment results, tuition, bar passage, rankings, and other law school data can change from year to year.

Historical information may still provide useful context, but it should not be assumed to describe current conditions.

 

Editorial Content and Community Discussion

 

TLS includes both editorial resources and community-generated discussions, and readers should understand the distinction.

Editorial pages are intended to organize, explain, or analyze information about law schools, admissions, legal education, and legal careers.

Forum discussions, by contrast, reflect individual members' experiences and opinions. Those discussions can provide valuable perspective, particularly on subjective subjects such as campus culture, recruiting experiences, workload, or student life, but anecdotal experiences may not be representative of every student or applicant.

For that reason, TLS encourages readers to combine community insight with verified data and primary-source research.

 

The History of Top Law Schools

 

Top-Law-Schools.com was founded in 2002 by Ken DeLeon.

While researching and applying to law schools, DeLeon recognized a need for an online resource where applicants could access useful information about law schools and exchange experiences in a collaborative community.

TLS developed around that idea, combining informational resources with discussion forums where applicants could ask questions about admissions, LSAT preparation, law schools, and student life.

As the community grew, the site's coverage expanded to include resources for current law students, graduates, and legal professionals. TLS now includes sections covering admissions, school research, LSAT preparation, law school life, legal employment, law firms, and related career topics.

 

About Founder Ken DeLeon

 

Ken DeLeon founded Top Law Schools while pursuing his own interest in legal education and the law school admissions process.

He studied Mathematics and Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara and later attended the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Before attending law school, he also taught the LSAT and advised students preparing for the application process.

His experience researching schools and applying to law school helped inspire the creation of TLS as a place where applicants could obtain information and learn from one another.

The site's subsequent growth expanded that original mission beyond admissions, creating resources for law students, graduates, and legal professionals as well.

 

Making Better Law School Decisions

 

No website, ranking, discussion board, or individual source can determine which law school or legal career path is right for every person.

Applicants should consider their own priorities, including:

  • Career goals
  • Geographic preferences
  • Scholarship offers
  • Total expected debt
  • Employment outcomes
  • Bar passage
  • Practice interests
  • Personal circumstances
  • Risk tolerance

 

Prospective students should verify important information through primary sources and carefully evaluate the financial consequences of attending law school before enrolling.

TLS is intended to support that research process by making information and community perspectives easier to find.

 

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Join the TLS Community

 

Whether you are researching law school for the first time, preparing an application, comparing admission offers, studying for the LSAT, navigating law school, or planning your legal career, the TLS community provides a place to learn from both informational resources and the experiences of others.

Visit the Top Law Schools Forums to browse discussions or participate in the community.

 

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