Yale and Harvard Law Schools Will No Longer Participate in the U.S. News Law School Rankings

Yale Law School announced yesterday that it would no longer participate in the U.S. News ranking of law schools. Harvard followed, withdrawing from participation a few hours later. The two schools routinely topped the rankings with Yale holding the number one spot since 1990 and Harvard, most recently, taking the fourth rank. 

In making the announcement, Yale Law Dean, Heather Gerken, called the rankings “profoundly flawed” and criticized the methodology. “Its approach not only fails to advance the legal profession, but stands squarely in the way of progress,” she said. She specifically criticized the methodology’s treatment of students who receive school-funded fellowships to pursue public-interest work, or go on to pursue further graduate-level education. US News classifies them as unemployed. She also noted that the rankings reward schools that provide financial aid to students with high LSAT scores rather than demonstrated financial need, and that the ranking methodology does not incorporate schools’ loan-forgiveness programs, which can help ease the burden of debt.

Harvard Law’s announcement, made by Dean John Manning, noted many of the same methodological concerns as Dean Gerken. He also communicated that the ranking’s inclusion of the student-debt metric may reward not only schools that offer significant financial aid, but also schools that opt to admit wealthier students who do not need to take out loans.  

“Dean Gerken has made some very salient points, and like many, we have long been concerned about the U.S. News law school rankings methodology and will be giving this careful thought,” Stephanie Ashe, Stanford Law’s Director of Media Strategy, told the Wall Street Journal. 

The University of Chicago (ranked third) and Columbia University (tied for fourth rank with Harvard) declined to provide a comment to the WSJ.

Update 11/18/2022: The UC Berkeley School of Law has also announced plans to withdraw from the U.S. News ranking. As have the law schools at Georgetown and Columbia.

Update 11/28/2022: Ten law schools, total, have joined the boycott of the U.S. News Ranking. These include Berkeley, Columbia, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Michigan, Northwestern, Stanford, UCLA, and Yale.

Considering Public Interest Law? Look for these Attributes During the School Selection Process.

Many undergraduate students considering law school do so with an eye towards public service, but only about one-third of law school graduates actually accept public interest positions. This is likely due to the significantly lower median salaries for public service roles and the high student debt many law school graduates accrue, as well as the less traditional recruiting process for public interest roles. 

Law schools, however, are becoming increasingly proactive about creating pathways for students to access meaningful, public interest careers. During the school selection process, as a prospective public interest law student, you should consider more than just the academic curriculum, broadening your perspective to include the following:

• Student Network 

Review and ask about the number of current students and alumni who are entering or have entered into public service. If you already know the fields that you’re interested in—international, government, advocacy, public interest firm, etc.—determine if there are alumni networks in these areas that will be available to you as a student. Recruiting and employment in these fields will be more dependent on proactive networking so ensure that your chosen schools will bolster the development of your public interest legal network.

• Activities and Programs in Public Interest 

Students can and should show their dedication to public service by participating in volunteer activities, taking part in public interest student organizations, and getting involved in pro bono or clinic-based projects sponsored by the school. Ask schools that you’re considering what programs are in place for current students.

• Summer Internships and Programs

Summer Fellowships / Sponsored Internships: Working directly with a non-profit, government, NGO, IGO, or private public interest organization can provide meaningful legal training and experience, as well as insight into the environment in which you most want to work. Many top law schools including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and NYU provide generous funding for students who wish to pursue unpaid, or minimally paid, public interest work in the summer. Review the summer funding options at schools you are considering.

Summer splits: A summer split is sponsored by a law firm. The summer associate spends half the summer working at the firm and the other half working at an approved public sector organization. While some firms will pay the student a summer associate salary for the entire summer, others will offer a salary for the time spent at the firm combined with a stipend for the associate’s public service work. This provides diverse work experience for students who are not yet sure of their future goals. Find a list of firms that sponsor summer splits here. And ask schools if any current students or alumni have participated in this type of summer internship, or if they have relationships with any of the sponsoring firms. 

Post-Graduate Fellowships: While these can take a variety of formats, fellowships provide funding for graduates to work at an approved public service organization for a specified time period. Earlier this week, Columbia Law School announced the Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP (BLB&G) Fellowship Program, which will sponsor one graduate of Columbia Law School for two years to take on a litigation role for a public interest organization prior to joining BLB&G’s shareholder rights litigation practice as a third-year associate. The Fellow will attend firm meetings and take part in a mentorship program while working for a qualifying public organization. Do some digging on the number of fellowships available for graduating students.

• Law School-Funded Debt Repayment / Reduction programs

While there are federal programs that encourage students to go into public service, consider also any law school-sponsored debt reduction or loan forgiveness programs. Yale and NYU, among others, run programs to support graduates who choose lower paying public interest work by relieving them of some of the monetary burden of their student debt. 

Pursuing public interest law may not be the easiest or most traditional path, but law schools have never been more supportive of students wishing to make a positive impact. 

“Some of the most consequential legal work happens in the public interest sector. Lawyers can be powerful advocates for marginalized groups, using the courts to help create better, more equitable outcomes,” BLB&G executive committee member, Jerry Silk said, upon announcing the fellowship with Columbia Law.

Considering Public Interest Law? Lucrative Fellowships and Loan Assistance Programs Available

Public interest law can provide incredible fulfillment and satisfaction, but the cost of law school is significant and the salaries for public interest lawyers are lower than those going into private practice.

U.S News and World Report recently published average entry-level salary data for all ranked law schools.  Law graduates in 2016 who entered the private sector averaged just under $85,000, while those from a top 15 ranked institution averaged $180,000. Those entering the public sector, however, collected a much lower average of $53,500. Graduates from the top 15 ranked schools who accepted public sector positions averaged slightly more, at $65,000.  

Luckily, there are a plethora of scholarships, fellowships, and loan repayment assistance programs, which may be available to you. So, when evaluating specific law schools, don’t forget to fully evaluate the following: 

• Tuition and Scholarship Opportunities: While it is advantageous to attend a top-tier school, you may want to expand your list to include those programs more likely to offer scholarships to students interested in public interest law. That is, if you feel ready to commit to that career path.
• School Fellowships: Many top-tier law programs grant fellowships, which pay for summer and post-graduate public interest employment, to those interested in pursuing public interest law.
• Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP) or Low Income Protection Plans (LIPP): The LRAP is more common and is generally limited to those working in public interest law, while the LIPP works more like scholarship money that is received after graduation. Over 100 law schools have an LRAP in place, and the American Bar Association has compiled a list of programs. When considering a school’s LRAP, consider if an LRAP is funded through a specific endowment or designated fund and how many applicants typically receive LRAP funding. Most schools are not able to provide funding to all applicants.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): The PSLF provides debt forgiveness to those who work for a qualifying government, non-profit, or public interest organization, and who make 120 qualifying student loan repayments while working for that organization. There is some uncertainty regarding the future of this program, however. It has been slated for elimination in two of the President’s proposed budgets.
• Other Federal Repayment Adjustment programs: There are other existing repayment programs based on income, such as the Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Income-Based Repayment (IBR). These adjust monthly payments based on your income.

While public interest law may require some additional planning in terms of selecting and paying for law school, there are many resources available for prospective law students who feel passionate about pursuing this career path. Some additional research during the school selection and application period can go a long way towards making your dream come true.

More Pre-Law Students Striving to Work for Public Interest

The “Trump Bump” theory is real. Earlier this year, Kaplan Test Prep released the results of a survey of over 500 pre-law students and found that 30 percent of respondents said the 2016 election impacted their decision to apply to law school. “We’ve seen significant jumps in both LSAT takers and law school applications over the past admissions cycle, which has fueled speculation about how much impact, if any, the 2016 election and subsequent political climate has had on this year’s law school admissions landscape. We now have an answer: It’s significant,” said Jeff Thomas, executive director of pre-law programs at Kaplan.

Survey data released by BARBRI Law Preview, which includes responses from 500 pre-law students expected to matriculate into the Class of 2021, demonstrate a similar finding. When asked to provide a primary reason for attending law school, the top two most selected options “I have always wanted to be a lawyer” and “I want to advocate for change of social policies in the United States” garnered almost identical responses at 38.2 percent and 37.6 percent, respectively. The survey also found that almost 98 percent of respondents plan to practice law after graduation, with the plurality of respondents selecting public interest (13.5 percent) as the type of law which they want to practice. The next most selected choices were business (corporate) law (12.2 percent) and criminal law (12.0 percent). Furthermore, when asked where they would like to practice law, over half of the respondents reported that they would want to practice law as an attorney working for the government (33.9 percent) or for a non-profit/non-governmental organization (22.5 percent). 39.8 percent reported wanting to work for a private firm.

Lynn Page, a pre-law advisor at Northwestern University provides anecdotal evidence supporting the BARBRI survey findings when describing the students who she advises and their goals in a recent Chicago Tribune article. “If it’s not immigration (law), it’s an interest in public interest law. Most students are interested in civic engagement (and) social justice” she said.