LLM GUIDE - Master of Laws (LL.M.) Programs Worldwide

LLM Discussion Board

LL.M. Discussion Board > USA > 2009 Law School Ranking RSS Feed

2009 Law School Ranking

Author Message
Sloan

Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Posts: 25
2009 Law School Ranking
Wed Mar 26, 2008 10:22 PM
Even though the official release date of the 2009 law school rankings is due on Friday March 28th 2008, the new rankings are already published on the internet (in particular on amlaw and theshark).

According to such websites (where you can find a pdf version which lists all top 100) the purported new top 10 is as follows:
1/ Yale University
2/ Harvard University, Stanford University
4/ Columbia University
5/ New York University
6/ University of California – Berkeley
7/ University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania
9/ Northwestern University, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, University of Virginia

So, apparently, this year big winners are Columbia, Berkeley and Northwestern....

PS. I have just found this out by typing "u.s. news law school rankings 2009" on google
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
Pitch

Joined: 25 Mar 2008
Posts: 22
2009 Law School Ranking
Wed Mar 26, 2008 10:46 PM
I found the same rankings on abovethelaw:
1. Yale Law School (100)
2. (tie) Harvard Law School, Stanford Law School (91)
4. Columbia Law School (88)
5. New York University School of Law (85)
6. University of California – Berkeley (formerly Boalt Hall) (81)
7. University of Chicago Law School / University of Pennsylvania Law School (80)
9. Northwestern University School of Law / University of Michigan Law School (Ann Arbor) / University of Virginia School of Law (79).

So, YLS is still in a league of its own, HLS, SLS and CLS are running behind with - more or less - 10 points difference, NYU is in middle earth and all the others are tied in two points (81-80-79).

Will Berkeley celebrate the 6th place?

[Edited 26 Mar 2008 by Pitch]
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
Sloan

Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Posts: 25
2009 Law School Ranking
Wed Mar 26, 2008 11:32 PM
Compared to last year rankings:
CLS gained 1 place, up to #4 (and five points increase!);
Berkeley went straight from 8 to 6;
Uchicago and UPenn lost one spot and so do UMichigan;
while UVA gained 1 and NW gained 3.

Comments?
I checked on abovethelaw: American students are discussing a lot over the new rankings and it is quite interesting to actually see how rankings are important in the US

[Edited 26 Mar 2008 by Sloan]
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
poyentsn

Joined: 26 Mar 2008
Posts: 10
2009 Law School Ranking
Thu Mar 27, 2008 03:19 AM
Could you provide us with the link? I simply don't see it. Thanks.
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
MannyRamirez

Joined: 21 Feb 2008
Posts: 14
2009 Law School Ranking
Thu Mar 27, 2008 07:05 AM
You may google "2009 Law School Ranking" and get it...

[Edited 27 Mar 2008 by MannyRamirez]
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
Sloan

Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Posts: 25
2009 Law School Ranking
Thu Mar 27, 2008 07:11 AM
This is the link to the pdf
pdfserver.amlaw.com/ca/USNews.pdf
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
dynamo

Joined: 02 Jun 2007
Posts: 34
2009 Law School Ranking
Thu Mar 27, 2008 08:57 AM
This is the link to the pdf
pdfserver.amlaw.com/ca/USNews.pdf


the pdf (in the link) is hard to read. any chance someone can get a better version?
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
Pitch

Joined: 25 Mar 2008
Posts: 22
2009 Law School Ranking
Thu Mar 27, 2008 09:12 AM
You can find the new (leaked and unofficial) 2009 U.S. News & World Report Law School Rankings on:
www.abovethelaw.com/2008/03/us_news_rankings_1.php…
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
poyentsn

Joined: 26 Mar 2008
Posts: 10
2009 Law School Ranking
Thu Mar 27, 2008 09:29 AM
I've got it. Thanks!
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
Einszweidrei

Joined: 07 Mar 2006
Posts: 6
2009 Law School Ranking
Thu Mar 27, 2008 09:40 AM
If you plan to look for a job afterwards, you might want to consider the novel law school ranking by Vault. www.vault.com/lawschool/top25/

Since Vault is a very respected institution in matters of law firms and legal careers, this ranking might become quite influential in the near future.
best regards

123

[Edited 27 Mar 2008 by Einszweidrei]
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
mauricel

Joined: 05 Jun 2007
Posts: 39
2009 Law School Ranking
Thu Mar 27, 2008 09:57 AM
Hey all

I found the column "employed 8 months after graduation" really interesting [and mportant], do anybody here have this information for LLM graduates?

I guess the pdf stats apply to JD only.

Thanks
maurice
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
Pitch

Joined: 25 Mar 2008
Posts: 22
2009 Law School Ranking
Thu Mar 27, 2008 01:45 PM
The rankings apply only to J.D.
I don't think there are any stats concerning LLM graduates...but anyhow, and with all due precautions, the J.D. rankings can be used also by foreign graduates applying to U.S. Law schools

[Edited 27 Mar 2008 by Pitch]
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
LuvNYU

Joined: 26 Mar 2008
Posts: 2
2009 Law School Ranking
Thu Mar 27, 2008 04:03 PM
So sad to see NYU down one spot to 5th place again...maybe we will come back next year!
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
Sloan

Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Posts: 25
2009 Law School Ranking
Thu Mar 27, 2008 06:43 PM
Last year the thread relevant to the new rankings was very active, apparently this year a lot of people read the thread but do not provide any comments...strange, because rankings are cited almost everywhere on this internet website.
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
Bender


Joined: 17 Jan 2008
Posts: 83
2009 Law School Ranking
Thu Mar 27, 2008 07:07 PM
I'd like to take that as a good sign; these sorts of rankings are not only significantly flawed at the J.D. level, but for an LL.M. in particular I hope they would only play a tiny part in the decision-making process.

Obviously a degree from Harvard will move your career along faster than one from the Alabama Institute of Technology, but otherwise these "rankings" shouldn't affect a choice between Harvard and Yale, or between Stanford and NYU.





Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
Sloan

Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Posts: 25
2009 Law School Ranking
Thu Mar 27, 2008 11:04 PM
I agree with you Bender...if you have time on your hands have a look at the blog on abovethelaw.com; american students are crazy about rankings: people from UChicago are feeling miserable because of the drop while Berkely students are celebrating! It sounds incredible but that's the way it is

[Edited 27 Mar 2008 by Sloan]
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
dynamo

Joined: 02 Jun 2007
Posts: 34
2009 Law School Ranking
Fri Mar 28, 2008 02:08 PM
The official ranking is out:


grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/la…
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
Sloan

Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Posts: 25
2009 Law School Ranking
Fri Mar 28, 2008 02:34 PM
Thank you dynamo!
So the leaked version was correct.
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
mnementh

Joined: 27 May 2007
Posts: 100
2009 Law School Ranking
Fri Mar 28, 2008 02:40 PM
Does anyone have the new specialized rankings? IP for example..
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
sfinx

Joined: 02 Mar 2008
Posts: 5
2009 Law School Ranking
Fri Mar 28, 2008 03:49 PM
It's nice to see "my" university ranked #11 (vault ranking) and #15 (us news ranking).


Taken into account the exclusive size of the llm program, the academic excellence of the director of the program (who is also prof. in corporate law), and the unbelievable efforts from really everyone at the law school to make every student feel welcome, vanderbilt has definitely one of the best llm programs in the US.
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
pra608

Joined: 02 Aug 2005
Posts: 157
2009 Law School Ranking
Fri Mar 28, 2008 04:15 PM
How come Berkeley jumped from 13th to 6th within less than 4 years!!??
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
go_bears

Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Posts: 4
2009 Law School Ranking
Fri Mar 28, 2008 06:11 PM
Dean Edley can be a reasonable explanation...
GO BEARS!!!
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
Goring

Joined: 18 Mar 2008
Posts: 12
2009 Law School Ranking
Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:14 AM
Hey guys, what has happened to the U o Chicago? I´m disappointed. Do you have any details what has precisely changed, according to US News? Is it safety, quality of life, academic quality...? Would be great to hear from you! Goring
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
lawadd08

Joined: 22 Dec 2007
Posts: 44
2009 Law School Ranking
Sun Mar 30, 2008 04:45 PM
I'm really glad to know that CLS is back at 4! lets hope it keeps climbing.....
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote
noname

Joined: 17 Mar 2008
Posts: 15
2009 Law School Ranking
Sun Mar 30, 2008 08:35 PM
Here are rankings from 1998-2009 (for top 20 plus some universities that usually involved with top 20 for the past few years)

1998-2003

School 98 99 00 01 02 03
Yale 1 1 1 1 1 1
Harvard 2 2 2 3 3 3
Stanford 4 2 2 2 2 2
Columbia 5 4 5 5 4 4
NYU 6 6 4 4 5 5
Berkeley 8 7 10 8 9 7
Chicago 3 4 6 6 6 6
Penn 11 8 12 12 10 7
Northwestern 13 12 12 12 13 11
Michigan 7 8 8 7 7 7
Virginia 9 8 7 8 7 7
Cornell 12 12 10 10 12 13
Duke 10 8 8 10 10 12
Georgetown 14 12 14 14 14 14
Vanderbilt 17 16 16 18 17 17
UCLA 16 17 16 16 16 16
Texas 18 29 15 15 15 15
USC 15 15 18 17 18 18
Wash U 37 29 32 29 27 25
GWU 24 20 25 23 23 25
BU 31 29 32 32 27 25
Minnesota 23 18 18 19 18 18


2004-2009

School 04 05 06 07 08 09
Yale 1 1 1 1 1 1
Harvard 3 2 2 3 2 2
Stanford 2 3 3 2 2 2
Columbia 4 4 4 4 5 4
NYU 5 5 5 4 4 5
Berkeley 10 13 11 8 8 6
Chicago 6 6 6 6 6 7
Penn 7 7 7 7 6 7
Northwestern 12 10 10 12 12 9
Michigan 7 7 7 8 8 9
Virginia 9 9 8 8 10 9
Cornell 10 12 11 13 13 12
Duke 12 10 11 11 10 12
Georgetown 14 14 14 14 14 14
Vanderbilt 17 17 17 17 16 15
UCLA 16 16 15 15 15 16
Texas 15 15 15 16 18 16
USC 18 18 18 17 16 18
Wash U 25 20 24 19 19 19
GWU 22 20 20 19 22 20
BU 28 23 20 22 20 21
Minnesota 19 19 19 19 20 22

Hope it will be useful.

[Edited 31 Mar 2008 by noname]
Show ProfileProfile P.M. Quote