2011 US News Law School Rankings Officially Published

Leaked two days ago, the 2011 US News Law School Rankings are now officially published. Law prof office hours officially canceled for the rest of the week.

Meanwhile Northwestern Dean David Van Zandt, one of the most well-known proponents of law school rankings, offered the following about the US News rankings in an Above the Law post, Rankings Are Valuable (And Here to Stay); So Let’s Focus on Making Them Better:

We need to keep in mind that our applicants are sophisticated and have the ability to give the rankings the appropriate weight in their decisions. For many prospective students, the rankings offer a starting point to begin the extensive process of researching undergraduate or graduate/professional programs. But serious applicants are not going to rely solely on rankings as a basis for their decision. They likely will use the rankings information in tandem with information gained through campus visits and individual research.

But, is the US News ranking methodology too simple? (WSJ Law Blog post on Dan Solove questioning the peer assessment ranking method at How to Fill Out the US News Law School Rankings Form.See also Solove's follow-up post, Robert Morse’s Response on the US News Law School Rankings.)

Dean Van Zandt, by the way, was ranked one of the three most influential legal educators of the decade by the National Law Journal recently. [JH]