Yale Law School retained its hold at the top of U.S. News & World Report's annual law school rankings, which the magazine released on March 13.
 
There were a few shakeups among the top 10 this year -- most notably, Stanford Law School overtook Harvard Law School for the No. 2 spot, pushing Harvard to No. 3. 
 
The University of California, Berkeley School of Law and the University of Virginia School of Law -- tied at No. 9 last year -- were tied again, at No. 7. Those showings pushed the University of Michigan Law School to No. 10, down from No. 7 last year.
 
The format of this year's list was the same as during 2011: 145 schools received numerical rankings and another 49 were ranked alphabetically in what U.S. News has dubbed the second tier. This format debuted last year, when the publication expanded its numerical rankings and eliminated the bottom two tiers of unranked schools.
 
Changes were relatively small among the top 20 schools, but the middle and bottom of the numerical rankings saw some dramatic changes. 
 
The biggest jump was by the University of Missouri School of Law -- a 28-position climb from No. 107 in 2011 to No. 79. The U.S. News ranking had been a source of handwringing at the Columbia, Mo., school, which had fallen from No. 65 since 2009.
 
Arizona State University Sandra Day O' Connor College of Law picked up 14 spots, to land at No. 26, while the University of Washington School of Law gained 10 spots, to crack into the top 20. 
 
The largest drop was by the University of Mississippi School of Law, which went from No. 107 last year to No. 135. The University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law dropped by 22 spots to No. 135, while Pace Law School fell by 25 spots, to No. 142.
 
It was not a good year for two law schools caught up in admissions scandals. For the second year in a row, Villanova University School of Law plummeted 17 spots, to rank No. 101. The University of Illinois College of Law went from No. 23 last year to No. 35. Both schools admitted that they'd inflated the median Law School Admission Test scores and undergraduate grade-point averages of incoming students.
 
The rankings are based on selectivity, including LSAT scores and undergraduate GPAs, peer reviews of quality, placement success and faculty resources. 
 
Several law schools climbed out of the unranked second tier and received numerical rankings this year, including the University of Toledo College of Law, Suffolk University Law School and the University of North Dakota School of Law. 
 
Conversely, a number of schools numerically ranked last year fell into the unranked second tier, including Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law and the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Several law schools newly accredited by the American Bar Association landed in the unranked second tier.
 
The Drexel University Earle Mack School of Law was the only newly accredited school to receive a numerical rank--No. 119.