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How to Deal With a Plunge in Your Law School's 'U.S. News' Ranking

By Bruce Carton

The new law school rankings from U.S. News & World Report are out, and The Conglomerate blog has some step-by-step instructions on the "strict protocol" that must be observed by law professors who are roped into discussing these rankings at springtime cocktail parties, happy hours and receptions: Step 1: State: "Of course the rankings don't mean anything." (Pause and nod sagely). Step 2(a): IF your school has fallen in the rankings: repeat above, elaborating generally on poor methodology, including well-known instances of schools gaming the system by employing recent graduates as hall monitors, including every copy of the local bar association's newsletter in their count of total number of volumes in the law library, etc. Repeat Step 1. Step 2(b): IF your school has risen in the rankings: observe that a higher rank will mean better quality students, more publicity and increased opportunities for development. Smile at one another in congratulatory fashion. Repeat Step 1. Sure, that's easy enough for law professors, but what about law school deans who are confronted by packs of panicked law students when their school plunges nearly 30 spots in the rankings? Missouri University Law School had the misfortune of falling from 65th in 2009...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on April 19, 2010 (boomark / email).