www.lawschool.com

[nubova]

Another rankings thread. They are trying to rival USnews by providing more information about bar passage rates and law school news.

[S.J.]

Sucks.

[carabinero]

there are only 16 different rankings for the tier one schools.... why not just have everyone tied for first and have everyone feel good like ayso or t-ball. rankings dont seem all that outrageous though

[SkullTatt]

All those tied scores suggest the site is ranking the schools on very few criteria. But I like the articles -- even if the site is ugly as sin. It doesn't even look professionally designed, which makes me wonder if it's being done out of someone's dorm room.

[Runner-up]

As I've said earlier: there should only be one undisputed authority on the ranking of law schools. If you have more than one authority on this subject, eventually rankings will devolve in their quality and credibility and be regarded the same way as polling results- sorely questionable and highly varied depending on their source.

[SkullTatt]

I think you could have 2 or 3 authorities, but only if they ranked the schools similarly. If their rankings were highly divergent, the result would be chaos.

[S.J.]

As I've said earlier: there should only be one undisputed authority on the ranking of law schools. If you have more than one authority on this subject, eventually rankings will devolve in their quality and credibility and be regarded the same way as polling results- sorely questionable and highly varied depending on their source.

I would argue that competition usually improves quality, not the reverse.

Also, while it may in fact lower credibility, this will only be the case if alternative rankings expose weaknesses in the system.

Everyone knows what really matters, I think.  The main problem with USNews is that they don't do a good enough job measuring reputation and placement, which are the two things that really matter to most law students.  An alternative ranking by, say, the American Lawyer, would probably be a helpful addition to the process.

(Such a ranking could do a more scientific survey of biglaw hiring partners, along with regional breakdowns of hiring preference.  Actual placement could also be scrutinized more carefully, looking at what types of jobs are involved, etc.)