Every year, after Above the Law releases our Top 50 Law Schools Ranking, it falls upon one of us to throw some cold water on the event and draft a post explaining everything wrong with our own rankings. Not that we don’t believe in our job outcome-centered approach as a counter to the (increasingly ignored) U.S. News & World Report prestige rankings, but there are always a couple decisions buried in the methodology that don’t sit quite right with the editorial team here.
But… we don’t really have any complaints this year. Because, for the first time, our rankings come with an added feature: prospective students can fiddle with weighting the data to match their own interests.
Last year, the Black Guide to Law School decided to forego a single formal ranking and instead present the raw data organized to allow prospective students to “choose their own adventure.” Interested in Biglaw? Here are numbers for you. Public interest? Then check this out. It was a great idea. At that point, I mentioned to our research team that it would be really cool if, in addition to our tried-and-true rankings, we could offer an opportunity for users to put their own thumbs on the scale.
For years, we’ve complained that the “Supreme Court clerkship” figure has outsized relevance to the rankings given how few students even care. So… you can just take it out! BIPOC representation matters more to you? Turn it up another, oh, 50% and see what happens.
OK, if we have any complaint about the new rankings, it’s that the interface is a little janky on some browsers — so be patient — just click where you want it to be on the semi-circle and wait. But the concept is dead on.
I’m interested in a school that gives me full-time, Biglaw job, I don’t really care about clerking, and I did pretty decently on the LSAT but not perfect… looks like I should consider UVA.
Now, in fairness, UVA tops the default Above the Law rankings this year anyway, but Michigan jumping up from 4 and Washington climbing up from 12 is useful for an applicant who might not have realized those schools fit their needs so well. Obviously there will always be more data points we’d love to see added, but as a proof of concept, this is what law school rankings needed.
Every student has different goals for their legal career. Now they can adjust rankings to reflect that.
Earlier: The 2024 ATL Top 50 Law School Rankings Are Here!
The Black Guide To Law School Rankings Are Out… With A Twist
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
