The Top 10 Law Schools In America: U.S. News And World Report List

Legendary author Gore Vidal took a shot at the New York Times in an interview with Details magazine that was posted on Monday afternoon.

The magazine sat down with Vidal to discuss his fiction and his career. One of the things he brought up was what he called the "hysterical" reaction to his first big novel, "The City And The Pillar," which dealt openly with gay issues.

"The New York Times was always hysterical about sex of any kind, and Orville Prescott, then the principal book reviewer, said that under no circumstances would any book written by Gore Vidal be reviewed there again," Vidal said. "Ever...not to be mentioned in the New York Times is, I have always thought, a point of honor. So I survived and I notice that the New York Times did not. They can't get any advertising, and I chuckle over that as much as possible."

It should be noted that the Times has since eased that purported ban. Vidal, however, has been nothing but consistent in his scorn for the paper, telling one of its former columnists in 2008 that "I can't name three first-rate literary critics in the United States. I'm told there are a few hidden away at universities, but they don't print them in The New York Times."

For the twentieth year running, Yale University remains the best law school in the country, according to rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News and World Report.

As in 2011's list, Yale's law school is followed by those at Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and the University of Chicago. Although these schools have maintained their spots, others made some leaps -- the University of Maryland moved from 48th on the list to 42nd, and UC Davis from 28th to 23rd.

U.S. News and World Report considered 190 fully accredited institutions and rated the schools according to quality, selectivity, post-graduation placement and faculty resources. With the help of lawyers in each field, U.S. News also looked at the best schools in specific areas, like environmental and health law.

Below, see which schools topped the list of best law schools, and check out U.S. News for the full rankings, plus information on each school and more on methodology. Did your school make the cut? Let us know in the comments section.

#1: Yale University

#2: Harvard University

#3: Stanford University

#4: Columbia University

#5: University of Chicago

#6: New York University

#7: University of Pennsylvania

(Tied with University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)

7: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

(Tied with University of Pennsylvania)

#9 University of California, Berkeley

(Tied with University of Virginia)

#9: University of Virginia

(Tied with University of California, Berkeley)