The Law School Rankings Czar Speaks Out

Bob Morse, the creator of the U.S. News & World Report’s Annual Law School Rankings, spoke out in defense of the rankings today during a one-hour live chat session at ABAJournal.com.

In response to Brian Leiter’s open letter to Morse calling for radical changes to the ranking system, Morse commented that the publication was going to “meet or respond to” the suggestions made by Leiter. While he noted that Leiter called for significant changes in the ranking system and data collection methods, Morse did not say if, and to what extent, changes would be made.

Defending the current ranking model, Morse noted that members of academia were best suited to judge the academic quality of the law schools and explained that was why the rankings by deans and faculty members were weighted at 25% of the total score, while the opinions of lawyers and judges made up only 15% of the final score.

Morse also commented that the best way for students and alumni to improve the rankings was to “understand how the rankings are done,” and then decide if the school should target the U.S. News variables for improvement.

Other highlights:

“Gaming the rankings” by spending money, in Morse’s opinion, is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if the schools are getting better quality professors and improving career opportunities for students by spending the extra money.
There are no immediate plans for evaluating part-time programs.
The salary figures reported in U.S. News are two years behind the current market. However salaries are not included in rankings.
Duke’s drop in the rankings was not a “big fall” according to Morse, even though it took the school out of the Top 10.
U. C. Berkley’s jump in the rankings was due to small improvements across the board that, in turn, boosted the school’s peer evaluations
Pepperdine’s meteoric rise from a Tier 3 school to a school in the 50s in less than 5 years was due to improvements in employment.
Noting the emergence of new programs like the Law and Science Program at Texas Tech, which was identified as one of the top programs of its kind in the nation, Morse said U.S. News was open to the idea of adding more specialty areas to the rankings to reflect these types of programs.
U.S. News would consider a regional approach to the rankings. Currently, respondents get lists of all 190 plus schools and are asked to rate each one of a 5 point scale. However, a regional approach would only be considered if the law schools made a collective request for that type of a ranking system.
Finally, law school deans have an open invitation to meet with Morse and U.S. News to discuss their rankings and the ranking system.