That is the conclusion reached by two sociology professors who interviewed more than 200 law school administrators, faculty members and prospective law students and combed through other statistical data. Their report, “Fear of Falling: The Effect of U.S. News & World Report Rankings on U.S. Law Schools,” has been released by the Law School Admission Council, which partially funded the research.
“One of the things that surprised us most is what a big impact the rankings have,” said Northwestern University associate professor Wendy Espeland, who co-authored the report with University of Iowa assistant professor Michael Sauder. “They affect so many aspects of legal education.”
