Something's Rank at U.S. News

My law school roomate and I used to have epic battles over whether the U.S. News and World Report Law School rankings meant anything. My view was the rankings were basically meaningless pseudoscience. His view was, if they mean something to employers, they mean something. With the benefit of a few years, I think we were both right. Well, mostly me (sorry, Tim).

I don't need to add to the pseudoscience debate. Law schools game their numbers to raise rankings, alumni vote their schools highly, putting numbers on subjective criteria is a fallacy, etc. I'd rather hit Tim's point head on. I'm now in the position of interviewing prospective lawyers, considering their credentials and helping to decide whether they rate a job offer. Neither me, nor anyone I know pays any attention to the U.S. News rankings and here's why.

With a few vaunted exceptions (schools like Harvard) law school reputations are largely regional. In its current list, U.S. News categorizes Washington & Lee as a "top tier" school, no. 25. I'm sure Washington & Lee is a fine school, but I don't know a thing about it. My own experience gives me a feel for lots of schools, most of them in the Chicago neighborhood. So, a candidate from Loyola University Chicago, University of Illinois or Iowa, is going to have an advantage with me even though all are ranked "lower" by U.S. News. I know something about these schools and when you're taking a chance on a legal hire, you go with the devil you know.

Which brings me to the real purpose of the U.S. News rankings, law school recruiting. These rankings are wildly important to one group of people: prospective law students. I admit it, I poured over the 1995 edition myself. But here's a tip for those of you running endless U.S. News comparisons, two actually. First, the most important law school "rank" you will ever have is your class rank. A top 10% student at a "lower tier" school will have more job options (if local options) than a middle of the road student from School No. 25. Second, Law school costs a lot of money. Do the math and and amortize that cost out 10-15 years to get a sense for your real salary after graduation. A "lower tier" state school with much lower tuition may be your best bet in the long run. They often have strong local alumni networks and you might just be able to afford that Hyundai in 10 or 15 years.