Law school rank
stays second-tier
Despite the methodology used,
a University official says the rank
doesn’t reflect schools quality
By Jan Montry
Oregon Daily Emerald
The School of Law has been
ranked in the second tier of
U.S.News & World Report’s annual
law school rankings, putting the
University above the third and
fourth tier schools. The ranking has
remained relatively unchanged
since 1995, when the law school
placed in the top tier at No. 40.
U.S. News bases their ranking of
law schools on a variety of factors, in
cluding median Law School Admis
sion Test scores, employment rates
for graduates at different periods of
time, average per-student spending
for the past two years, total number of
volumes and titles in the school’s li
brary and student-teacher ratio.
Law school faculty, as well as
lawyers and judges, also have a role
in the rankings. The dean and three
faculty members at each law school
were asked to judge schools in two
surveys on a scale from “marginal”
to “outstanding.” Likewise, lawyers
and judges from around the country
vote on schools using this method.
Despite the wide rating method
ology, some law school officials be
lieve the ranking system is not com
pletely accurate.
Law school Career Services Direc
tor Merv Loya said employers usual
ly only pay attention to the rankings
when they haven’t already re
searched the law school in question.
“The only time rating makes a
difference is when (employers)
r
2003 rankings
1. Vale University
2. Stanford University
3. Harvard University
4. Columbia University
5. New York University
6. University of Chicago
7. (tie) University of Virginia
University of California, Berkeley
U n Iversity of Michigan, Ann Arbo r
University of Pennsylvania
University of Virginia
Tier 2 Includes:
• University of Oregon
• Lewis & Clark Law School
{First-place in environmental law)
Tier 3 includes:
• Willamette University College of Law
SOURCE; U.S.News & World Report
don’t have contact with the law
school,” he said.
Loya, who is also an assistant dean,
added that most people who use the
rankings aren’t aware that lawyers
and judges usually give the law
school a high rating, but the lack of
large financial contributions puts the
law school at a lower overall ranking.
“What tends to be missing is
quality,” he said, “but how do you
measure quality? It’s easy to meas
ure dollars and cents.”
This year, the law school has at
tracted some of the brightest minds
in the nation.
A recent statistic shows the me
dian LSAT score for the incoming
class is eight points higher than the
national average of 151.
Contact the reporter
at janmontry@dailyemerald.com.
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2002 Oregon Football
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Release Dates
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Students enrolled for Fall 2002 classes can pick up one ticket for each game at the ticket offices located in the EMU
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Game Date
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use
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For more information, students should contact the Duck Ticket Office at (541) 346-4461 or the ASUO at (541) 346-3724.