The University of Chicago Law School is the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago. It was founded in 1902 by a coalition of donors led by John D. Rockefeller.U.S. News & World Report ranks Chicago fourth among U.S. law schools, and it is noted for its influence on the economic analysis of law. The University of Chicago Law School was ranked third in the country by the 2015 Above The Law Rankings, which ranks law schools based on employment outcomes such as quality of jobs, federal clerkships, and alumni satisfaction. Chicago is ranked second by Brian Leiter of the University of Chicago Law School on the "Top 15 Schools From Which the Most 'Prestigious' Law Firms Hire New Lawyers," and first for "Faculty quality based on American Academy of Arts and Sciences Membership." It is ranked 12th in the 2016 QS World University Rankings.The Law School has the third highest gross and third highest per capita placement of alumni in U.S. Supreme Court clerkships with approximately 15-25% of each graduating class going on to a state or federal clerkship. The ABA disclosures indicate that 75% of Chicago graduates earned starting salaries of $160,000 or greater upon graduation. The law school was ranked # 3 of all law schools nationwide by the National Law Journal in terms of sending the highest percentage of 2015 graduates to the largest 100 law firms in the US (52.04%).HistoryUniversity president William Rainey Harper requested assistance from the faculty of Harvard Law School in establishing a law school at Chicago, and Joseph Henry Beale, then a professor at Harvard, was given a two-year leave of absence to serve as the first Dean of the law school. During that time Beale hired many of the first members of the law school faculty and left the fledgling school "one of the best in the country."
