The Rankings
THE RANKINGS,
DECONSTRUCTED
and EXAMINED
How student selectivity criteria operate in the admissions world
is affecting who becomes the legal profession of the future.
1
What Frims Want
BY RICHARD D. GEIGER
Law school alumni
are often the most
vocal constituency
when it comes to
In legal education, we have
reached the point where the
ranking of law schools, particularly by U.S. News & World Report, is an accepted
fact of life. A few schools have openly embraced the
annual rite, while many more publically decry it, even
fluctuations in their
RICHARD D. GEIGER, associate dean, enrollment and
communications, at Cornell Law School, is a former chair of the
Law School Admission Council.
though they are privately
working feverishly to
climb above their peers.
Rarely, a few voices are
still raised to protest the
corrupting effect the rankings have on academic
decision-making. However, regardless of where
a school stands publically
or what it does behind the
scenes, no one can credibly dispute the fact that
the rankings are now fully
ingrained as a part of law
school operations and
culture.
The practicing bar
generally applauds this
fact. Law school protests
about the consequences
for legal education are met
with responses like “Stop
the whining and deal with
it, like we do,” or “Why
shouldn’t law schools be
schools’ rankings.
held accountable to the
public and the profession?” Indeed, law school
alumni are often the most
vocal constituency when
it comes to fluctuations in
their schools’ rankings.
A rigorous ranking
scheme resonates with
the broader sense that
special standards should
apply to law schools and
their graduates. Be-
