This year's US News Rankings?

[pipskicks]

When does this come out?  I am interested to see if some schools that are supposedly "coming up" still go up, and some schools which supposedly should have been T2 come out as T2, it would be great to be able to do this BEFORE deciding where to go though...

[Stephon Devante]

While I certainly understand where you are coming from (as I would also like to see the new rankings)...

Bare in mind that just because a school moves from 55-40 this year...doesn't mean it won't drop to 198 by the time you graduate....

While this is an exaggeration, does it really matter what the rank is of the school when you start going, versus when you graduate and get that first job?

[mto83]

What matters is the continued good reputation of the school among recruiters.

[verbal]

good points but does anyone know the answer to the original question.

[BearGirl]

I *think* in the beginning of April.

[Actual 1L]

What matters is the continued good reputation of the school among recruiters.

Exactly.  And law firms do not look at USNEWS rankings.  They all have their own internal rankings.

[mgd04]

Some lawfirms do look at USNEWS. I had a friend at UMich who did a summer associate gig in Cali last summer. He said the recruiters at his firm really paid attention to the usnews and wouldn't really look at people outside of the T20 except for the top top top student(s). Some firms may do internal, some may not but I think the power of the (evil) USNEWS rankings can't be underestimated. That being said, this only matters for a very very small segment of the legal community. The vast majority of firms don't even use summer clerks to recruit, they have year round clerks or just post at a local law school. At many of these firms it is possible to make just as much $ if not more than at biglaw. Maybe not in starting salary but in the long run.

[orlando jackson]

if i know anything, it's that cooley comes in at #18 this year.  guarenteed.

[Actual 1L]

Some lawfirms do look at USNEWS. I had a friend at UMich who did a summer associate gig in Cali last summer. He said the recruiters at his firm really paid attention to the usnews and wouldn't really look at people outside of the T20 except for the top top top student(s). Some firms may do internal, some may not but I think the power of the (evil) USNEWS rankings can't be underestimated. That being said, this only matters for a very very small segment of the legal community. The vast majority of firms don't even use summer clerks to recruit, they have year round clerks or just post at a local law school. At many of these firms it is possible to make just as much $ if not more than at biglaw. Maybe not in starting salary but in the long run.

I would be absolutely shocked if any firm removed a school from its OCI list b/c it fell from 18 to 22 in USNEWS.  While many schools do tend to only do OCI at the top 20 schools, that is b/c their internal impression of those schools place them at the top of their list to recruit.  And yes, most firms hire clerks that work there during 2L and 3L.  Big law is different in that they use summer programs, which do not represent what work will really be like at the firm.

[mgd04]

Right, I would be very surprised too if a school fell from 18 to 22 and people stopped coming there. However, some firms are very snobbish and what you would see is that maybe the school then drops to 24 then 27 and the firm still comes there but their students really aren't getting the same looks as they used to when the school was ranked #18. Also, for a school to go down another school has to go up, the large firms base their reputation partially of whom they hire and want people from the most prestigious schools. Finally, I think you're right that this may be a result of internal rankings but this would happen more locally... i.e. how chicago firms perceive midwestern law schools. A lawfirm  on the east or west coast may have less familiarity/no real internal ranking for a school like indiana so that school moving up and down in the usnews rankings is their only idea of the quality/prestige of the school.