Hamline law school gets a bump in rankings list

U.S. News & World Report's rankings moved the St. Paul school up into same tier as the University of St. Thomas.

By JEFF SHELMAN, Star Tribune

Last update: March 28, 2008 - 12:10 AM

Hamline University law school dean Jon Garon acknowledges he doesn't agree with how U.S. News & World Report ranks law schools.

That said, he knows the role that rankings play both in the ability of graduates to get jobs and in students' school selection process.

Because of that, Garon is pleased that Hamline moved from the fourth tier of law schools nationally to the third tier in the rankings that were released today. Hamline's dispute resolution program also ranks fourth nationally.

"The overall validity of U.S. News is so poor that you have to take it with a huge grain of salt," Garon said. "But it's nice to not be in the fourth tier.

"If it didn't affect the lives of our students, I would be able to totally ignore it. But it does. ... At the end of the day, my job is to make our students as successful as possible and this helps me do it."

The rankings of Minnesota's other three law schools remained stable. The University of Minnesota dropped two spots from No. 20 to No. 22 among the nation's 185 fully accredited law schools. The University of St. Thomas remains in the third tier (schools ranking from 105 to 141) and the William Mitchell College of Law remains in the fourth tier (schools ranking from 142 to 185).

The importance of law school rankings is subjective, but the school name on a law degree can help or hinder where a recent graduate lands that first job.

"You can't be completely unaware of the ranking of the school, but the individual is much more important," said Brian Melendez, president of the Minnesota State Bar Association and a partner at Minneapolis law firm Faegre & Benson. "We've got employees from all four Minnesota law schools. What matters more is how you did in your class and in your studies. You need to do well wherever you went."

Garon said the new ranking should help the St. Paul school attract students. "Applicants put far too great an emphasis on the rankings. That means applicants pay attention to [schools] moving up," he said.

"The fact that we got recognition from U.S. News is terrific, I won't put it down for a second," he added. "But it simply reaffirms what we always knew, that there are four good law schools in the Twin Cities." Jeff Shelman • 612-673-7478

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