Today Lawyerist posted a great article about law school rankings. It’s written by a graduate of a tier 4 school and tries to show the less publicized version of the ranking story. I have to admit, I really like the author’s attitude. US News and World Report has no real authority. Yet we view them as the end-all be-all of collegiate rankings. To me, I think it’s helpful to rank schools, but only if we’re considering a few critical things. Job prospects (in the legal field), debt, starting salary, and where the legal jobs found are located all seem like salient issues that could be used to judge a school as better or worse than another. How many books are in the law library? Seems a bit arbitrary, especially after talking to many law students who say the only books they open are their individual case books. They use LexisNexis or WestLaw for everything else. It is the 21st Century after all…

What does everyone else think? Ranking schools based on what they do for graduates instead of random factors like square-footage of classrooms?