Tribune staff report | Northwestern was awarded the top spot in the National Law Journal’s annual rankings of the top 50 law schools in the U.S., according to its own measurement based on hiring. The ranking looks at the percentage of J.D. graduates who found jobs at the largest 250 law firms in the U.S. (those law firms were also ranked by the National Law Journal, and that list can be found here.)

Northwestern sent 55.9% of its 2009 graduates to those 250 law firms, the most of any law school in 2009.