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Law school rankings: misleading ?


Professor William Henderson of Indiana University and his allies. But he contends that law schools -- which, let's not forget, require students to take courses on disclosure and ethics -- have a special moral obligation to tell the truth about themselves. It's an obligation that persists, he says, even if students would sign on the dotted line no matter what.


Certain definitions in the surveys seem open to abuse. A person is employed after nine months, for instance, if he or she is working on Feb. 15. This is the most competitive category -- it counts for about one-seventh of the U.S. News ranking -- and in the upper echelons, it's not unusual to see claims of 99 percent and, in a handful of cases, 100 percent employment rates at nine months.

A number of law schools hire their own graduates, some in hourly temp jobs that, as it turns out, coincide with the magical date. Last year, for instance, Georgetown Law sent an e-mail to alums who were "still seeking employment." It announced three newly created jobs in admissions, paying $20 an hour. The jobs just happened to start on Feb. 1 and lasted six weeks.

BUSINESS DAY
Is Law School a Losing Game?
By DAVID SEGAL
Published: January 8, 2011
Law schools' rosy statistics say most graduates are working. The problem is, many aren't working as lawyers, or making enough to pay back their student loans.

Michael Wallerstein, who has a law degree, has $250,000 in loans and only the occasional job as a legal temp.

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