The LSAT, US News & World Report, and Minority Admissions Special Challenges and Special Opportunities for Law School Deans
St. John's Law Review. Vol. 80, p. 257, 2006
University of Louisville School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series No. 2007-10
33 Pages Posted: 22 Jun 2007 Last revised: 9 Dec 2012
Abstract
The advent of US News & World Report ranking of law schools has brought a great deal of judging to the world of legal education. Prospective students, employers, and many others have come to judge law schools based on this ranking number. Unfortunately, this judging is not based on an understanding of what the ranking information may or may not mean, and the ranking number itself, is certainly not knowledge about a law school's quality. The US News purported measure of quality leaves out the important value of diversity as well as other important values.
The under representation of African-Americans in legal education and the legal profession has been recognized as a significant concern. Efforts from many sectors are underway to address that under representation. One of the major challenges to increasing diversity, however, is the tension between improving or monitoring national law school rankings as a goal and increasing diversity as a goal. These challenges are especially difficult for law school deans. This article explores this issue.
The article provides an overview of the ranking system and the weight of LSAT scores in that system and explains the disparate impact this weight has on minority applicants. It describes the special situation with respect to this issue in light of the diverse constituencies that law school deans work with and report to and what makes law school deans different than deans in other academic units. These constituencies include faculty members; central administration (president/provost/boards of trustees); alums; donors, supporters, and development officers; students; applicants; admissions staff; accreditation and membership organizations; university counsel; and the media.
The article suggests the special opportunity that a law school dean has in educating constituencies about the limitations of ranking, so that these constituencies would have a better understanding that overemphasis of rankings can have on diversity. It provides some specific suggestions for audiences and means for this educational process. The dean's leadership role provides an opportunity to recognize the unique role of legal education as gatekeeper to the leadership of America. Deans who recognize that opportunity and use their positions to meet the challenge will play an important role in our nation's economic and social development.
Keywords: rank, minorities, legal education, US News & World Report
JEL Classification: K00
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation