The Pepperdine University School of Law was recently ranked No. 49 on U.S. News & World Report’s list of the nation’s “Top 100” law schools. The school has moved up five spaces from its No. 54 spot last year.
It is also the third highest ranked law school in Southern California. In addition, the School of Law’s Straus Institute remains ranked No. 1 for its specialty in dispute resolution.
“We are so gratified that the U.S. News and World Report rankings have recognized the outstanding work being done at the Pepperdine Law School,” Dean Reece Tacha said. “By every measure, this law school has achieved remarkable success in the past few years. We continue our commitment to student-centered learning and to educating our students for successful careers in the law and related endeavors.”
Tacha emphasized the role of the faculty due to their dedication to teaching as well as the legacy of alumni. “Our faculty is nationally prominent in their scholarly work and in service to the profession. Our alumni honor us with their accomplishments and leadership in the legal profession. As we adapt to the challenges of a changing legal environment we are reaching very important milestones in our continuing quest for excellence in legal education,” Tacha said.
According to U.S. News, two types of data are considered when calculating these rankings: expert opinions about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research and students. The data comes from surveys conducted during fall 2011 and the beginning of 2012. Twelve measures of quality are considered including an assessment score by lawyers/judges, employment rates for graduates and the bar passage rates. A school is ranked by the number of schools that sit above it. U.S. News’ “Top 100” list is the most popular law school ranking list. These rankings assist prospect students by giving them information to choose the law school that suits them best.
On the other hand, specialty rankings (such as Pepperdine’s specialty in dispute resolution) are based solely on votes by legal educators. These legal educators were chosen from a list in the Association of American Law Schools Directory of Law Teachers 2009-2010.
The recession had initially spurred interest in graduate school programs, such as law school, however, as of January, a Legal Skills Prof report indicates that American Bar Association applicants are down 16.7 percent.
