The UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law received its highest-ever overall ranking in U.S. News & World Report's 2016 list of best law schools. Boyd ranked 67 out of 198 accredited law schools, up 16 spots from last year. The school also maintained top 10 specialty rankings for its programs in legal writing and dispute resolution.

"We couldn't be prouder of the achievements of our faculty, students and alumni over the past 16 years as we've built a first-rate public law school. We are glad to see our ranking go up, but our main goal is to build a better law school every day," said Daniel Hamilton, dean of Boyd Law School. "Our faculty is nationally recognized; our students excel in the classroom and beyond; and our alumni are leading lawyers in the state and region as partners in law firms, public defenders, district attorneys, public interest lawyers, judges, and legislators. We will continue to build on our strengths and the strengths of this state."

The Lawyering Process Program ranked third in legal writing for the fourth consecutive year. The program emphasizes professionalism and the relationship between legal analysis and lawyering skills, including legal writing, research, oral advocacy, client interviewing, counseling and negotiation.

The Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution ranked ninth among programs in dispute resolution. The Saltman Center has been ranked in the top 12 for the past nine years. Established in 2003, the Saltman Center is dedicated to advancing education in the field of alternative dispute resolution and provides a venue for the advanced study of the nature of conflict and the methods through which conflicts may be resolved.

Among part-time law programs, UNLV's law school ranked 22nd. Fewer than half of the country's law schools offer part-time programs, which generally take four years to complete.

The school also ranked 43rd for diversity, moving up five spots from last year.

The UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law has more than 400 students and offers three juris doctor degree programs: a full-time day program, a part-time day program and a part-time evening program. The school also offers a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Gaming Law and Regulation and three dual degree programs: a J.D./MBA, a J.D./M.S.W. and a J.D./Ph.D. It is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the American Association of Law Schools.

Released today, U.S. News & World Report's 2016 Best Graduate School Rankings includes an analysis of more than 1,300 graduate and specialty programs in a wide range of disciplines. Programs are ranked by discipline or specialty and evaluated on standardized test scores of newly enrolled students, opinions from experts on each program's quality, acceptance rates and other criteria specific to each degree field.

For more information about the William S. Boyd School of Law and its programs, visit law.unlv.edu. A complete list of rankings is available at U.S. News & World Report.