NEWARK -- Two years ago, Rutgers University merged its two law schools to create one of the largest law schools in the nation.

At the time, Rutgers officials said they were unsure if a merger of the Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden's law schools would help or hurt the school's national rankings.

The merger turned out to be a smart move, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2018 law school rankings released Tuesday.

Rutgers Law School jumped from No. 92 to No. 62 in the country, according to the ranking.

The 30-spot leap is the biggest jump among law schools this year and one of the largest ever on the U.S. News law school list, Rutgers officials said.

"We are delighted to see Rutgers Law make such a significant rise in the U.S. News rankings, and I believe we have tremendous potential to continue on that trajectory in the years ahead," Rutgers President Robert Barchi said in a statement.

Rutgers did not rise high enough in the U.S. News ranking to overtake New Jersey's other law school, Seton Hall School of Law in Newark.

Seton Hall Law rose from No. 65 on the list to No. 57 in the nation, according to the ranking. The private school has risen 20 places on the list since 2010, school officials said.

"Seton Hall Law continues to thrive as evidenced by our rank of 57 in this year's U.S. News & World Report rankings. I became dean with an aspiration that Seton Hall Law will become a top 50 law school - that dream, for which we have worked so hard, is within reach," said Kathleen Boozang, dean of Seton Hall Law.

Yale University's law school continues to be ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to the U.S. News list.

The other law schools in the top 10 are: Stanford University (2nd in the nation); Harvard University (3rd); University of Chicago (4th); Columbia University (5th); New York University (6th); University of Pennsylvania (7th); University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and University of Virginia (tied for 8th); and Duke University (10th).

The law school rankings were released as law schools across the nation are struggling with declining numbers of people who want to be lawyers. The downturn in the economy and a lack of legal jobs have contributed to a nearly 40 percent decline in law school applications across the country over the last decade.

In 2015, Rutgers announced it would bring together its two law schools into one large law school with more than 1,000 students and 100 faculty members. The merged school was considered unusual because it has two campuses on opposite sides of the state run by two deans.

The university uses video links so students in Newark and Camden can take the classes together.

The Newark and Camden law schools had previously been unified, but split up in 1967 so they could have their own accreditation, faculty and curricula.

Before the 2015 merger, Rutgers-Newark was ranked 87 on the U.S. News list and Rutgers-Camden was ranked 102. Last year, the merged law school debuted on the list at No. 92, though Rutgers officials said the full impact of the merger was not reflected in the data collected by U.S. News at the time.

U.S. News ranks laws schools based partly on admissions data, how many graduates get jobs and how many graduates pass the bar exam.

"We do not live or die by rankings, nor do we let them define us. But if news such as this helps us promote our core values, so much the better," said Ronald Chen, co-dean of Rutgers Law School.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook.