New LAW SCHOOL RANKINGS & RATINGS by CanadianWolf

[CanadianWolf]

I combined the USNews 2011 Law School ratings with the National Law Journal's Feb. 22, 2010 law placement results for the top 250 largest law firms to determine which law schools were the best overall investment.
The National Law Journal released a ranking of the top 50 USlaw schools for job placement into the top 250 largest law firms for 2009 law graduates. Awarding 50 points for the top placing law school (Northwestern) decreasing by one point per NLJ survey result position so that the second best law school for placement was awarded 49 points, and the 50th best law school received one (1) point. These points were then added to each law schools' USNews 2011 overall score to determine a new rating that would decide each law schools' rank.Thus, the number one USNews law school, Yale, received USNews' top overall score of 100 points, but as Yale Law School was only 17th in large law firm placement received 33 NLJ points for a new total of 133 points.
Because USNews' top point total was 100 points & the National Law Journal's highest score was 50 points based on my formula, the weighting equals two-thirds USNews & one-third NLJ.
The top 48 US law schools in terms of overall investment value upon graduation are:
1) Stanford 141
2) Columbia 140
3) Harvard 137
4) Chicago 135
5) Yale 133
6) Northwestern 132
7) NYU 130
Michigan 129
Penn 129
Virginia 129
11) Berkeley 127
12) Duke 123

13) Cornell 115
13) Georgetown 115
15) Vanderbilt 114
16) Texas 111
17) UCLA 110
18) USC 107

19) GWU 99
20) Boston Univ. 98
21) WashUStL 97
22) Boston College 95
22) Notre Dame 95
24) Illinois 94
25) Emory 92
26) Fordham 91
27) Wisconsin 87
28) Iowa 85
28) Wm.& Mary 85
30) Minnesota 83
31) Wake Forest 80
31) Univ. Washington 80
33) SMU 78
34) Wash.& Lee 77
35) BYU 76
36) UC-Davis 75
37) Yeshiva (Cardozo) 74
38) Ohio State 72
39) Georgia 70
40) UC-Hastings 68
41) UNC 66
42) Houston 64
42) Arizona 64
44) American 61
45) Villanova 59
46) Maryland 57
47) Temple 55
48) Loyola-Chicago 50

[CanadianWolf]

The top eighteen (18) law schools are the same top 18 law schools for USNews but the order has changed.

[CanadianWolf]

This rating & ranking method was used to minimize the influence of the USNews "peer assessment" scores which are based upon arbitrary and, possibly, capricious opinion yet count for forty (40%) per cent of the USNews formula.
The National Law Journal results were included intact, as were the USNews results, since most law students are concerned with obtaining gainful legal employment in their graduation year to be able to repay large law school loans.

[the white rabbit]

Two points:

1. These rankings are meaningless near the top.  The 50% (or whatever it is) of Yale's graduating class that goes on to clerk immediately after law school seriously distorts the placement rankings.  Pretty much every one of those people could have gone to one of the national firms if they had so chosen.  Just because a certain percentage of the class places in certain jobs doesn't mean that only that percentage had the opportunity.  This also doesn't take into account the varying percentages of graduating classes that opt for public interest jobs over the private sector.

2. The fact that peer assessments are subjective does not mean that they are meaningless.  Other people's opinions matter in this industry, to some degree at the very least.  It's better to accept that fact and move on than to spend your energy fighting it.

[CanadianWolf]

First, neither individual survey nor the combined ratings & resulting rankings are fighting anything. You seem to be fighting the fact that Yale is not number one.
Second, I am well aware that a significant number of Yale, Stanford, Harvard & Chicago graduates obtain clerkships or public interest type work. This did not hurt Stanford, Chicago, or Harvard. Furthermore, the clerkship placements greatly enhanced Yale's peer assessment scores which are included in this rating & ranking system.
You just seem to be upset that Yale is not number one. For that I apologize, but I wanted a rating & ranking system that relied less on opinion input than does the USNews system. You should just stop fighting the fact that Yale isn't ranked number one in every survey for every purpose. Regarding prestige, Harvard & Yale are almost certainly number one, but prestige doesn't pay student loans or put food on the table.

[the white rabbit]

This did not hurt Stanford, Chicago, or Harvard.

That's because the percentages of their classes going to clerkships immediately after graduating doesn't come close to the percentage of the graduating class at Yale.  The higher peer assessment doesn't come close to compensating for this gap.

And for the record, I'm not a Yalie and I don't have any particular interest in making sure they're at number one.  I just don't like obvious distortions getting by without comment.

[CanadianWolf]

How do you know?

[CanadianWolf]

Actually I should have asked how could you know. The problem with the peer assessment scores utilized by USNews is that we simply do not know who comprises the mere 20% that return their surveys & on what basis they rated law schools as there are no discernable standards whatsoever yet this is by far the largest single component--40%--on which USNews bases their ratings & subsequent law school rankings.

[cooleylawstudent]

"peer assesment"-Never been there but they tell me its nice....

This rating & ranking method was used to minimize the influence of the USNews "peer assessment" scores which are based upon arbitrary and, possibly, capricious opinion yet count for forty (40%) per cent of the USNews formula.
The National Law Journal results were included intact, as were the USNews results, since most law students are concerned with obtaining gainful legal employment in their graduation year to be able to repay large law school loans.

[the white rabbit]

How do you know?

Well for one thing, there isn't a whole lot of room above Harvard's peer assessment score, is there?  Not enough to compensate for the massive hit that Yale's taking in terms of the NLJ250 rankings due to its clerkship placement rate.

More to the point, I'm not the one trying to establish the validity of a particular rankings scheme.  Find a way to control for percentage of the class going to public interest and clerkships rather than the private sector if you want to get something that accurately reflects job opportunities.