National Jurist - November 2008 - (Page 24) Who’s ahead of the game? Northeastern University School of Law took the top spot with their guaranteed clinical opportunity and public service graduation rate, among others. Dean Emily Spieler said the core difference between her school and others is that they believe every student who enters law school should learn about law and society. “Our approach has more to do with core values,” she said. “I think it’s extremely attractive to students interested in law school. And it’s incredibly supportive for students deciding that’s what they want to do post-graduate.” Approximately 88.7 percent of Northeastern’s 2006 graduating class completed at least one field placement, compared to most law schools, who are in the 30 to 60 percent range. And though Northeastern’s law school tuition is comparably higher than others, approximately 78 percent of students received scholarships and grants. “What we’re very proud of is everyone graduates understanding what is going on,” Spieler said. To compile the rankings of Best Law Schools for Public Interest Law, The National Jurist used a scoring system based on a 100-point scale to assign point values to law schools in three equally weighted categories — student involvement, curriculum and financial factors. The categories reflected the same areas that Equal Justice Works recommends students consider when investigating law schools. The National Jurist listing was compiled independently by staff editors and did not reflect the views of Equal Justice Works. Those in our Top 10 excel in many areas, including the strength of the clinical programs and loan assistance programs, pro bono requirements and the percentage of graduates entering the field. The student involvement category assigned points for student activity and percentage of graduates of the Class of 2006 who entered jobs in the public interest field (defined as jobs in legal services, nonprofit organizations and public defender offices, but not including government jobs or judicial clerkships generally). The curriculum category assigned points for the existence of a public interest coordinator, strength of clinical programs, and existence of a voluntary or mandatory pro bono graduation requirement. The financial factors category assigned points for cost of tuition, availability of Best law schools for Public Interest Law To compile the rankings of Best Law Schools for Public Interest Law, The National Jurist used a scoring system based on a 100-point scale to assign point values to law schools in three equally weighted categories — student involvement, curriculum and financial factors. The categories reflected the same areas that Equal Northeastern University School of Law Loyola Law School in Los Angeles Lewis and Clark College of Law American University Washington College of Law 5 Stanford Law School 6 Mercer University School of Law 7 University of Maryland School of Law 8 University of Washington School of Law 9 University of North Carolina School of Law 10 City University of New York School of Law 11 Hofstra University School of Law 12 William Mitchell College of Law 13 University of Iowa College of Law 14 University of Baltimore School of Law 15 New York Law School 16 Seattle University School of Law 17 Temple University Law School 18 Albany Law School 19 Georgetown University Law School 20 Villanova University School of Law 21 William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV 22 Gonzaga University School of Law 23 Loyola University-Chicago School of Law 24 University of Arizona College of Law 25 Roger Williams University School of Law 26 Seton Hall University School of Law 27 Whittier Law School 28 University of Colorado Law School 29 University of California Davis School of Law 30 Rutgers University-Newark School of Law 1 2 3 4 Justice Works recommends that students consider when investigating law schools. Information gathered from The E-Guide to Public Service at America's Law Schools: 2007-2008 Edition. The National Jurist listing was compiled independently by staff editors and did not reflect the views of Equal Justice Works. 31 Indiana University-Bloomington School of Law 32 University of Oregon School of Law 33 Brigham Young Unversity J. Reuban Clark Law School 34 UCLA School of Law 35 University of California-Hastings College of Law 36 Hamline University Law School 37 Quinnipiac University School of Law 38 University of Idaho College of Law 39 Golden Gate University School of Law 40 University of Denver College of Law 41 West Virginia University College of Law 42 University of Akron School of Law 43 Arizona State University College of Law 44 University of Houston Law Center 45 Chicago-Kent College of Law 46 Drake University Law School 47 Syracuse University Law School 48 University of New Mexico School of Law 49 Cleveland-Marshall College of Law 50 Fordham University School of Law 51 Santa Clara University School of Law 52 University of Pennsylvania Law School 53 Southern Illinois University School of Law 54 Suffolk University Law School 55 Loyola University-New Orleans College of Law 56 Pepperdine University School of Law 57 Tulane University Law School 58 Emory University School of Law 59 Vanderbilt University Law School 60 University of Kansas School of Law Here is how we assigned points: •The student involvement category assigned points for student activity and percentage of graduates of the Class of 2006 who entered jobs in the public interest field (defined as jobs in legal services, nonprofit organizations and public defender offices, but not including government jobs or judicial clerkships generally.) •The curriculum category assigned points for the existence of a public interest coordinator, strength of clinical programs, and existence of a voluntary or mandatory pro bono graduation requirement. •The financial factors category assigned points for cost of tuition, availability of grants and scholarships and strength of loan repayment or loan assistance programs. 24 THE NATIONAL JURIST November 2008
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