By: Laura Rothstein
Abstract by: Christopher P. Hoffman
The U.S. News and World Report ranking of law schools has been
increasingly relied upon by prospective law students, employers,
and professors when evaluating a school’s quality. While many will
judge a law school based on this ranking, few truly understand what
the ranking system incorporates into its analysis. Even more
disconcerting are the flaws in the analysis itself. Most notably,
the U.S. News’s supposed measure of quality omits the important
value of diversity. By ignoring diversity in its ranking system,
U.S. News fails to consider a significant concern in legal
education and the legal profession. Historically, there has
been a commitment to ensuring and promoting diversity within law
schools.
Law school deans play an essential role in promoting and
maintaining diversity within higher education. Moreover, law
schools serve as the “training ground for a large number of our
Nation’s leaders. Thus, law school deans can impact the country’s
social and economic development. Leaders in legal education have an
opportunity to question and change admissions practices that have
an adverse effect on furthering diversity in the legal profession.
The U.S. News ranking system and its misplaced dependence on Law
School Admissions Test (“LSAT”) scores is one practice that stifles
diversity.
This Article calls on deans to effect change in ranking
practices and urge those who are affected by the rankings to resist
the pressure to make decisions based upon them. Deans can implement
a number of strategies, such as creating committee appointments,
designating resources, and crafting faculty agendas, as a means of
fostering a diverse legal profession. Law school deans head the
training ground for our country’s leaders and thus, must strive to
guarantee that tomorrow’s leadership reflects the diversity of
American society. Those deans that recognize legal education as a
gateway to the leadership of America can play a significant role in
the development of this nation.