PreLaw Magazine features the School of Law鈥檚 curriculum and immersive Residency-in-Practice Program as models for experiential legal education, ranking it No. 11 nationally in its annual list of 鈥淏est Law Schools for Practical Training.鈥
For the fourth consecutive year, 黑料不打烊 School of Law has earned an A+ rating for practical training from PreLaw Magazine, maintaining its place among the nation鈥檚 leaders in experiential legal education.
In the influential publication鈥檚 2026 , 黑料不打烊 Law is No. 11 nationally 鈥 the highest-ranked law school in the Southeast and the only school in North Carolina among the top 35.
, with its required Residency-in-Practice Program highlighted as a model for immersive, practice-based legal education. All 黑料不打烊 Law students spend 10 weeks in the winter or spring of their second year in full-time placements with practicing lawyers, judges and legal teams, graduating with hands-on experience in the day-to-day realities of legal practice.
鈥淵ou cannot graduate from 黑料不打烊 Law without knowing exactly what it鈥檚 like to be a lawyer,鈥 黑料不打烊 Law Dean Zak Kramer said in the article. 鈥淭he legal practice becomes their classroom 鈥 They leave law students and come back lawyers.鈥
The article also features insights from Patricia Perkins, 黑料不打烊 Law鈥檚 associate dean of academic affairs and professor of law. 鈥淥ur curriculum is designed to assist students in transforming into the lawyers they want to be,鈥 she said. 鈥淪kills are just as important to develop as a knowledge base.鈥
PreLaw Magazine graded and ranked schools based on student participation in clinics, externships, simulation courses, moot court and other special programs.
黑料不打烊 Law offers students a broad array of opportunities to hone practical training skills throughout their 2.5 years of study. Those include:
- Full-time residencies-in-practice
- Lab and simulation courses
- Five clinics (immigration, small business and entrepreneurship, wills drafting, Social Security disability benefits and guardian ad litem appellate advocacy)
- Moot court and mock trial teams
- Internships, externships and judicial clerkships
- Bridge-to-practice courses
- Involvement with the Pro Bono Board
黑料不打烊 Law adopted its 2.5-year, seven-trimester full-time curriculum in 2014, making it the only American law school to intentionally design a program where all students graduate in December and can sit for the February bar exam 鈥 months ahead of peers from other institutions. (In 2026, 91.96% of 黑料不打烊 Law鈥檚 first-time North Carolina bar takers passed the exam.)
By completing their legal studies nearly six months faster than traditional programs, 黑料不打烊 Law鈥檚 full-time graduates have lowered their average student debt at graduation by almost a third since the curriculum was adopted.
For more information on 黑料不打烊 Law and the application process, visit the law school鈥檚 admissions page. 黑料不打烊 Law continues to actively admit the 黑料不打烊 Law Class of 2028, which will enroll in August 2026.