Yale Law School

Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private, research institution located in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1824 and has been recognised as the finest law school in the United States by U.S. News & World Report every year between 1990 until 2022, when Yale decided to voluntarily withdraw from the rankings, citing problems with the methodology. The 2020–21 admission rate for one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the world was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United States. It routinely has the greatest yield rate of any law school in the United States.

The three-year J.D. programme at Yale Law enrols roughly 200 students every class. The Yale Law Journal is the most referenced legal periodical in the United States and Yale's premier law review. According to ABA-required disclosures from Yale Law School, 83 percent of the Class of 2019 acquired full-time, long-term, JD-required or JD-advantage employment nine months following graduation, excluding sole practitioners.

At the 1800s, lawyer training started in the New Haven legal office of Seth P. Staples, who founded the institution. In 1810, he established a law school. David Daggett joined Samuel J. Hitchcock, a former pupil, as a legal partner in 1824, and Hitchcock became the owner of the New Haven Law School. Representing Seth Staples and David Daggett, the Yale Law School shield depicts staples and a raging dog. The institution's association with Yale started in the mid-1820s, and students began getting Yale degrees in 1843.

Daggett served as mayor of New Haven, senator of the United States, and judge on Connecticut's highest court. He led resistance to the construction of a college for African Americans in New Haven and presided over the prosecution of a lady who managed a boarding school for African-American girls.