An Access and Equity Ranking of Public Law Schools

• In Event: A Seat at the Table? Cultivating Legal Education for Marginalized and Minoritized Law Students Within and Beyond Racial Capitalism

Abstract

Over the past several decades, several comprehensive ranking systems, including the influential U.S. News & World Report “Best Law Schools Rankings,” have emerged to provide useful information to prospective law students seeking to enroll in law school (Sauder & Lancaster, 2006). These rankings systems have defined what is measured as “quality” and what outcomes law schools focus on to gain a better position in the ranking (Pollak, 2009). However, these rankings fail to measure what many law schools claim to be one of their long standing goals: diversity, access, and equity (Ford & Patterson, 2019). Rankings that do not include measures of diversity, access, and equity often leave communities of color and their interests in the margins (Iverson, 2007).

Therefore, this article seeks to center the needs of Black and Latinx prospective law students through a new ranking system. Given that public law schools claim to aim to increase racial/ethnic diversity- that is, the number of racial/ ethnic minoritized students- because of their institutional missions, the article provides the first ranking of public law schools on Access and Equity measures. Using racial capitalism as an analytical base, the artil.ce describes ranking law schools based on measurable outcomes related to diversity, access, and equity.

This ranking uses twelve access and equity measures that are significant to Black and Latinx law student success. This “Access and Equity Ranking” is the only ranking to date that will help Black and Latinx students identify which public law schools center their needs to succeed.

Author

• Christopher L. Mathis, University of Maryland