Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian: Models for Law School Success (or Not) by George Critchlow

7/28/2019 Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian: Models for Law School Success (or Not) by George Critchlow

1/26Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2046339

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Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian: Models for Law School Success (or Not) George Critchlow 1

Mirror, mirror on the wall / Who is the fairest of them all? " The Wicked Queen, Snow White and theSeven Dwarfs 2

Riches and rank are what every man craves; yet if the only way to obtain them goes against his principles, he should desist from such a pursuit. Confucius, The Analects 3

This article offers two narratives about how we might identify and pursue our law school missions. PartI discusses the option of chasing fame. Part II through IV address the question of whether there is roomfor a law school that chooses a different path.

I. Chasing Fame

The phrase "famous for being famous" is practically synonymous with Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian who, as women without discernible talent, but well-endowed with money and looks, became famouscelebrities through shrewd self-promotion and brand marketing. 4 Kim Kardashian, for example,surrounded herself with famous people: her father, attorney Robert Kardashian (who was famous forrepresenting O. J. Simpson), her stepfather, Bruce Jenner (famous Olympic athlete), her husbands(famous music producer Damon Thomas and famous professional basketball player Kris Humphries), andher boyfriends (famous R&B singer Ray J, and famous professional football players Reggie Bush and

1George Critchlow is an Associate Professor, former Dean and former Director of Clinical Programs at GonzagaUniversity School of Law. Professor Critchlow thanks Eamonn Roach (Gonzaga class of 2013) for his researchassistance and Gonzaga law professors Mary Pat Treuthart and Gerry Hess for their helpful comments.

2Grimms Brothers, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

3 Confucious, The Analects

4Abbey Goodman, The Man Who Made Paris Hilton , CNN (Nov. 2, 2011), available at www.cnn.com/2011/11/02/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/jason-moore-on-paris-hilton/index.html; MadisonVanderberg, Kardashian Family: The Backlash of Being Overexposed, Hollyscoop.com (Dec. 23, 2011), available at www.hollyscoop.com/kim-kardashian/kardashian-family-the-backlash-of-being-overexposed.html; Clyde Smith,Vivid Entertainment Spends $1- Million to Acquire Notorious Video Starring Sexy Socialite Kim Kardashian and HipHop Star Ray J, Hip Hop Press (Feb. 7, 2007), available at www.hiphoppress.com/2007/02/vivid_entertain.html;Adam Buckman, Caught on Tape: Kim Kardashian Goes Home to His Family, New York Post (Oct. 14, 2007),available at ww.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/item_sM8H2NBD1xfE6XCTwArn1L;jsessionid=4F32Co2DB4805CC9823ECAE90C; Barbara Walters Tells Kardashian Family: You Have No Talent, Huffington Post (Dec. 15, 2011), available at www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/15/barbara-walters-tells-kardashian-family--you-have-no-talent_n_1151089.html; see generally Dana Rasmussen, Famous for Being Famous: Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton,Snooki, Heidi Montag, Nicole Richie, and More (2011).
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Miles Austin). She has made excellent use of the media (reality television, Playboy magazine, and sextapes) to gain attention and create the impression that she is an important and famous person. 5 ParisHilton blazed the trail for Ms. Kardashian. 6

Surely there is a lesson here for law schools that hope also to become famous. While many legaleducators occupy their time thinking about how to attract students, establish goals and allocateresources based on a mission defined by things such as public service, ethics, professionalism, goodteaching, or preparing students to be practice -ready, it may be that the only mission statementnecessary for less famous law schools is: Our mission is to become famous. 7 Once formulated in thatway, the benefits are immediately apparent and the strategy for implementing the mission becomesclear and concrete. 8

A famous law school is, by definition, one that attracts attention. A law school that attracts attention isone whose name will be known, remembered, and talked about by lawyers, judges, and educators whoare called upon to identify law schools and programs in response to U.S. News & World Report (USN)surveys. 9 Fame is also likely to create a competitive advantage in attracting applicants. 10 Fame will

5Vanderberg, supra note 4.

6Goodman, supra note 4.

7In his discussion on the importance of mission statements, Gordon T. Butler reminds us to begin with the end inmind (quoting Stephen R. Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People 143 (New York 1989)). Gordon T.Butler, The Law School Mission Statement: A Survival Guide for the Twenty-first Century, 50 J. Legal Educ. 240, 242,(2000); see also id. at 248-253; see also Bethany Rubin Henderson, Asking the Lost Question: What Is the Purposeof Law School? , 53 J. Legal Educ. 48, 53 (2003) (A survey of law school deans revealed that the schools' missionstatements do not accurately reflect what deans believe to be their school's internal strengths, public image, orcore values primary elements that schools use in making strategic decisions.).

8Karl Albrecht, The Northbound Train: Finding the Purpose, Setting the Direction, Shaping the Destiny of YourOrganization 149 (New York 1994) (stating that an effective mission statement should address: the customer, thevalue premise, and what makes you special). The beauty in having a mission to become famous is that it simplifiesthe work of the faculty. A faculty might well be able to coalesce around the following: Our customers are studentswho are impressed by fame, our value is that we are committed to being famous, and what makes us special is that we are (or expect to be) famous.

9Robert Morse & Sam Flanigan, Law School Rankings Methodology, U.S. News & World Report (Mar. 14, 2011),www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2011/03/14/law-school-rankings-methodology-2012

(Peer assessment counts 25% of the total score upon which USN rankings are based. Peers are law school deans,deans of academic affairs, chairs of faculty appointments, and the most recently tenured faculty. The assessmentscore by lawyers and judges constitutes 15% of the total USN score the group includes the hiring partners of lawfirms, state attorneys general, and selected federal and state judges.).

10Terry Carter, Rankled by the Rankings, 84 A.B.A. J. 46, 52 (1998); Wendy N. Espeland & Michael Sauder, Rankingsand Diversity, 18 S. Cal. Rev. L. & Soc. Just. 587, 594-596 (2009).


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attract money from donors who revel in being associated with famous institutions. 11 Money will alsocome to famous law schools in the form of increased tuition that students are willing to pay becausethey hope to have a degree from a famous school. 12 Finally, fame will contribute to greater self-esteemamong law school faculty because it will counteract the haunting and pervasive fear at some law schoolsthat faculty are not sufficiently recognized and valued. 13

When the mission is to achieve fame, strategies for implementing the mission will crystallize in such away as to compel agreement by even the most obtuse faculty member. The agenda will be clear:commit a large portion of the law school budget to the distribution of promotional literature. This issometimes referred to as law porn, which may be the functional equivalent in the law school world tothe sex tapes that helped raise the profiles of both Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. 14 The mission will

11Marjorie Shultz & Sheldon Zedeck, Final Report: Identification, Development, and Validation of Predictors forSuccessful Lawyering 84 (Sept. 2008) (unpublished manuscript) (on file with authors) available at http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/LSACREPORTfinal-12.pdf. Higher rankings increase prestige, draw students,loosen alumni and donor wallets, give faculty ego points, and raise leverage within the university. Consequently,no matter where they place on the scale (except for a few iconoclasts like CUNY, New College, or Northeastern),schools want to move up the charts. Each, therefore, emulates those above them, from the bottom to the top of the scales. See also Carte, supra note 10.

12Shultz & Zedeck, supra note 11.

13Id.; see also Richard Bourne, The Coming Crash in Legal Education: How We Got Here, and Where We Go Now, 45Creighton L. Rev. (forthcoming 2012) (The rankings play directly into the psychological needs of students andteachers across the board, because they feed directly into the almost unconscious worship of hierarchy, howeverillegitimate, that afflicts law students, law teachers, and the legal services industry. ); see also David Segal, What They Dont Teach Law Students: Lawyering , N.Y. Times (Nov. 19, 2011),http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/business/after-law-school-associates-learn-to-be-

lawyers.html?pagewanted=all , regarding law schools struggle for status within the larger university:

Law school has a kind of intellectual inferiority complex, and its built into the idea of law school itself,says W. Bradley Wendel of the Cornell University Law School, a professor who has written about landing alaw school teaching job. People who teach at law school are part of a profession and part of a university.So were always worried that other parts of the academy are going to look down on us and say: Youre

just a trade school, like those schools that advertise on late- night TV. You dont write dissertations. Youdont write articles that nobody reads. And the response of law school professors is to say: Thats nottrue. We do all of that. Were scholars, just like you.

14Guy Martin, Downloads Are A Girls Best Friend, The Observer (Jun 19, 2004), available at www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2004/jun/20/features.magazine57?INTCMP=SRC; Robert Pattinson: KimKardashian a Modern Georges Duroy , TheImproper (Feb. 18, 2012),http://www.theimproper.com/film/4163/robert-pattinson-kim-kardashian-modern-georges-duroy-photos-2;Hunter Clarke, How the U.S. News Rankings affect American Legal Education, 91 Judicature 80, 84 (2007) (In adiscussion about law porn, a l aw school is dean is quoted as saying: I could hire a faculty member for the amountof money I spend on [marketing]; I could support 20 students for this price; I could buy a substantial number of books for our library; all of which strikes me as what th is enterprise ought to be aboutI could almost support an
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/LSACREPORTfinal-12.pdfhttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/business/after-law-school-associates-learn-to-be-lawyers.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/business/after-law-school-associates-learn-to-be-lawyers.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/business/after-law-school-associates-learn-to-be-lawyers.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/business/after-law-school-associates-learn-to-be-lawyers.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/business/after-law-school-associates-learn-to-be-lawyers.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/LSACREPORTfinal-12.pdf


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also dictate advancement of the schools brand (famous law school) in the promotional literature, onthe law school website, and in the way administrators and faculty talk about themselves to each otherand to external audiences. 15 The mission will clearly dictate the hiring of famous teachers over unknownteachers. Since fame will replace the conventional mission focus on such things as teaching excellence,ethics, public service, diversity, etc., the need to evaluate what a candidate brings to the law school inthese areas will diminish. 16 The mission will also clarify budget priorities by directing money away fromcostly (and controversial) programs and student support and into the pockets of famous administrators,faculty members, and students who advance the mission.

There are several beneficial by-products of a mission focused on fame. Most important, it eliminatesthe awkward tension between diversity and admissions goals. 17 There is simply no room for

entire legal writing program. I could fund a clinic. I could do any of those things. Instead Im putting out amagazine which goes to people who are not interested.); see also Wendy Nelson Espeland & Michael Sauder,Rankings and Reactivity: How Public Measures Recreate Social Worlds, 113 Am. J. Soc. 1, 26 (2007).

15Butler, supra note 7, at 266 stating [W]ith the U.S. News emphasis on reputation, many law schools have

decided to send out annual bulletins touting the extent of the faculty's scholarship and listing the distinguishedvisiting speakers during the coming academic year. Because of the focus on reputation, law schools increasinglyinclude in their strategic plans the goal of improving t he school's image by publicizing nationally the school'sactivities, honors, and awards.

16Dean of New York Law School, Richard Matazar, recalls what a senior colleague advised him when he beganteaching in 1980:

This job is ostensibly about teaching, scholarship, and service. But, this is how it actually works. You've gotto be a credible teacher. That means you need to teach at least one substantial course, with high studentenrollments. This will allow you to teach other courses more interesting to you--whether they arenecessary for the students or not. You need to do decently well in your teaching evaluations so thatpeople think you are doing a good job. But, do not invest too highly in trying to perfect your classesbecause the marginal payoff is low. If you are competent and the students don't hate you, you can thenconcentrate on what matters--your writing. Write early, write often, and write big thoughts. That is whatwill sell and what will make you famous. As to service, avoid any really heavy assignment except forappointments--because appointments will give you a say in who your colleagues will be. If you follow thisadvice, you will get tenure, you will become famous, the school will value you, your salary will go up, andyou will have the opportunity to move up the hierarchy to a fancier school with better students. 17 J.Contemp. Legal Issues 67, 70-71 (2008).

17The tension exists because many law schools emphasize (at diversity conferences, on web pages, in promotionalliterature, and in multicultural settings) that they care about increasing diversity. At other times (usually at privatefaculty and administrative committee meetings), they sadly conclude that admissions goals with respect to LSATscores and grades cannot be compromised by admitting diversity applicants who, for cultural reasons, sometimesdo not perform well on standardized tests.); see, generally, Shultz & Zedeck, supra note 11; Espeland & Sauder,supra note 10; and John Nussbaumer, Misuse of the Law School Admission Test, Racial Discrimination, and the DeFacto Quota System for Restricting African-American Access to the Legal Profession, 80 St. Johns L. Rev. 167(2006). Research consistently shows that heavy emphasis on LSAT scores in admission decisions substantially


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discrimination or double talk in a school that is truly committed to the goal of being famous. Anapplicant for admission or faculty candidate who is famous will have preference regardless of race,gender, religion, sexual orientation, or cultural background. No longer will law professors have to lowertheir eyes or check their smart phone messages when asked why their school does not reflect thediversity that exists in the larger world. Fame is no respecter of race or privilege. 18 Fame will attract,without the need for questionable affirmative action, diverse faculty candidates and students who areeither already famous or hope to be famous by joining a famous community. 19

Another beneficial effect of making fame the core of the mission statement is that it undercuts potentialcriticism that a law schools actual behavior and spending priorities depart from its mission. It alsocounters the allegation that a law school has no mission. These claims can be awkward especially fordeans and faculties caught between the plain language or meaning of their mission statements and theirdominant operational desire to base all decisions on how they might be perceived by external observerslike USN.20 The truth is that most constituents alumni, faculty, students, administrators, anduniversity board members are uncomfortable about the prospect that their stated mission willobstruct their true mission of becoming nationally known. While becoming famous and becomingnationally known are not identical pursuits, they are close enough to likely satisfy most interestedparties. So why not just eliminate the conflict between mission statement and practice by stating that a

reduces the presence of African-Americans, Native Americans, and Latino students in law school and theprofession, as well as diminishing the prospects of inclusion for those from most non-elite families. The virtue of placing fame at the core of a schools m ission is that students and faculty whose goal is to be famous, or to shine inthe reflected light of the already famous, will be accepted without regard to cultural and historic barriers. Otheradmissions requirements will become irrelevant in the same way that screen tests are irrelevant for Paris Hiltonand Kim Kardashian.

18This is not to suggest that people of color, women, gays, lesbians, the physically challenged, and the poor have aneasier time gaining fame. It is enough to say that if they should gain fame, they would be unlikely to encounter biasin admissions criteria or process by law schools who are serious about becoming famous. An applicants famewould presumably trump even a relatively low LSAT. Of course, a law school seeking fame might be well advisedto seek an ABA waiver of the LSAT requirement for applicants who fall into the famous category. Possibilities forrecruitment might include famous multiracial celebrities. See, Susan Eckert, Famous Multiracial Celebrities: New Perspectives on Race and Identity, Suite 101 (Dec. 6, 2007), available at http://susan-eckert.suite101.com/famous-multiracial-celebrities-a37252 (demonstrating that there is evidence of increasing numbers of famous celebrities of color).

19For a discussion of the constitutionality and policy arguments relating to affirmative action, see Grutter v.

Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003); Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 244 (2003); see also Coalition to Defend AffirmativeAction v. Granholm, 473 F.3d 237 (6th Cir. 2006); Regents of University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978).If the University of Michigan Law School had focused on admitting famous applicants rather than implementingrace-conscious admissions policies, it may have been able to have both a diverse student body and a reputation asa famous law school.

20Butler, supra note 7.


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schools mission is to b ecome famous? This is more honest and streamlined than the pretense andobfuscation sometimes occasioned when mission rhetoric does not comport with action. 21

That educators, students, and alumni prefer fame over other possible mission orientations is abundantlydemonstrated in the world of sports. The sports world validates the proposition that national

recognition and fame are important for educational institutions.22

Certainly that is the case at GonzagaUniversity where the universitys national pro file has gone up in direct proportion to the fame garneredby its basketball program. 23 Applicants who apply to universities with big-time sports programs areoften attracted by the fame achieved by those sports programs as opposed to those schools missi ons. 24 Sports therefore provide a lens through which we can understand the utility of fame as a preferredmission. Sports informs us that an institution can become successful by spawning famous programs thathave nothing to do with bothersome goals like public service, professionalism, diversity, and teachingexcellence. It is surely valid and appropriate for law schools to learn from this and consider jettisoningtraditional mission statements in favor of transparent, simple, and powerful statements that explicitlybring people together around the desire to be famous.

21Id. at 268. Although law schools are quite vocal in rejecting the USN rankings, a movement up in the rankings is acause for celebration at any law school, and some schools openly strive to move up. The University of Alabamalaw schools primary goal of its 1998-2001 strategic plan was to become one of USN's top fifty law schools. Toachieve this, the school compared itself with other public institutions in the top fifty. Alabamas goal wasreputation/institutional advancement. Id. A recent change in USN rankings methods has motivated many lawschools to abandon educational opportunity in favor rankings and fame. USN did not traditionally require lawschools to report the numerical credentials of new part-time students. It now requires schools to report the scoresof all new students. This has caused many schools to reduce or eliminate part-time law school programs designedto provide legal education to applicants with lower scores and to working and non-traditional students who mightnot be able to go to another law school. Karen Sloan, Part-time Law School Losing Allure , National Law Journal(Feb. 6, 2012), www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1

22Steven R. Cox & Dianne M. Roden, Quality Perception and the Championship Effect: Do Collegiate Sports Influence Academic Rankings?, 6 Research in Higher Educ. J. 4 (2010); C.A. Ehrman, The Relationship Between a CollegesSuccess in Sports to Applications, Enrollments and SAT Scores, J. Am. Academy of Bus. 12 (2), 26-31 (2008).

23Ron Lieber, Score! Gonzaga University was Struggling Financially. Then It Started Winning Basketball Games., Wall Street Journal (Mar. 14, 2004), available at www.matr.net/article-10265.html.

24Charles T. Clotfelter, Big-Time Sports in American Universities (2011); Clotfelter, Is Sports in Your MissionStatement? , The Chron. of Higher Educ. (Oct. 24, 2010), http://chronicle.com/article/Is-sports-in-your-mission/125038/:

Is it an understatement to claim that athletics is a core function of these universities? My fellow facultymembers would no doubt shrink from that view, for few of us relish the thought that we work in theentertainment business. Most of us would prefer to believe the words of our universities official missionstatements, which are more likely to mention our law schools, our schools of social work, our agriculturalextension services, or a host of other administrative units, than they are to mention intercollegiateathletics.
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306229&slreturn=1


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Some may view this analysis as unrealistic because it is unlikely (through lack of commitment, vision,leadership, resources, or media saturation) that all law schools can be successful in becoming famous. Itis true that law schools, unlike the children in Garrison Keillors fictional Lake Woebegone, cannot all beabove average, but there is no evidence that any particular school, with dedication, focus, and vision,cannot become famous. 25 In any event, the argument that it is impossible for all schools to be famousmisses the point. Most schools already want to be famous and they act accordingly even though falsemodesty prevents them from publicly acknowledging the fact. They should s imply talk the walk byexplicitly and transparently embracing the mission of becoming famous. Their mission statementsshould proudly trumpet the real mission. This step alone will be liberating, intoxicating, and self-fulfilling.26

Others may agree that becoming famous is important and should be included at least as part of a lawschools mission (at least for less famous schools), but that there is room for more traditional missiongoals. Frankly, this view is more likely to come from those associated with law schools that are alreadyfamous and who therefore have the luxury and wherewithal to contemplate and pursue other goals.These schools should take care not to become too complacent by allowing competing goals to obstructthe primary importance of maintaining their fame. For instance, a law school might want to givetransformational educational opportunities to members of historically marginalized groups whose LSATscores often fall below the normal admissions threshold. While such a move might be motivated bygood will and a desire to improve society, a law school must remain vigilant in its awareness of how thisgoal detracts from efforts to sustain the schools fame and status. For schools that are lower ranked andnot otherwise famous, it is imperative to resist the temptation to benefit individuals or society unless itis clear that such action will lead to national recognition and fame. 27

Consider also the danger that a school faces if it should succumb to the temptation to divert facultyresearch and scholarship money to educational programs that directly affect students. It is very difficultfor a school to become famous for innovative educational programs that work. However, schools dobecome famous by being associated with famous faculty names on articles, books, and blogs. 28 It is notimportant that the content of these publications be useful to students or lawyers; indeed, it is not evenimportant that anyone read these writings. What is necessary is to get attention from external

25A Prairie Home Companion, Post to the Host,http://www.publicradio.org/columns/prairiehome/posthost/2007/11/02/dear_mr_keillor_as_a_1.php (last visitedFeb.19, 2012).

26Success itsel f is not guaranteed. Even Paris Hiltons fame appears to be declining. But at least she was famousfor a while and will undoubtedly be able to squeeze benefits from her one-time celebrity status for years to come.

27Faith based schools founded on a mission of serving the greater good are especially vulnerable to beingdistracted from the pursuit of fame -- there will likely be constituents who will drag the school down by insisting

that good works are more important. These schools must persuade such constituents of the importance of delayed gratification regarding any notion doing good.28See generally Theodore Eisenberg & Martin T. Wells, Ranking and Explaining the Scholarly Impact of Law Schools,27 J. Legal Stud. 373 (1998); James Lindgren & Daniel Seltzer, The Most Prolific Law Professors and Faculties , 71Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 781 (1995-1996).


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audiences that count articles, books, and footnotes. A subsidiary benefit to underwriting facultyresearch and scholarship is that its cost -- the cost of fame -- can be passed on to students in the form of increased tuition. Students will gladly pay higher tuition for a degree from a famous school and are notin a position to question how an invisible but famous faculty member spends his or her time.

Finally, some may believe that the analysis and conclusions set forth herein are intended as mere satire.(Wouldnt it be humorous to suggest that law schools are driven by the values and goals of a Hollywoodpublic relations agency?) Still, the question remains: should law schools revisit their missionstatements with a view toward conforming what the law school says it does to what it actually does? If a law schools real interest is to get attention, to raise its national profile, and to be ranked higher byUSN, and if that interest overrides all else, it would be therapeutic, honest, ethical and more efficient tosimply admit it and get on with whatever is necessary to make it happen.

Conclusion

Law Schools have entered an era of unprecedented challenges. Law students graduate with massivedebt. The job market is bleak. National and global economic conditions have changed the profession.Technology has changed education. Fewer prospective students are taking the LSAT, which results infewer law school applications. Many law schools are poorly positioned to gain recognition and attractnew students in this increasingly complex and competitive environment.

But there is another way. Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton show us that it is possible to gain status andfame by simply seeking status and fame. 29 This can be accomplished without talent or commitment to atraditional discipline such as learning how to act, sing, dance, write, direct, produce, etc. Law schools especially lower ranked law schools whose traditional mission is built around the goal of preparingstudents to be capable, ethical, and public service minded shepherds of justice need to rethink theirmission. Law schools can be successful by committing themselves to the goal of getting attention andincreased recognition. 30 Law schools need to bypass obsolete mission statements that confuse peopleand detract from the real mission. In a word, law schools must commit to becoming famous.

II. But -- Is There Room in Legal Education for Strong Regional Law Schools Whose Missions areNot to Become Famous?

Some legal educators believe that rankings are important and useful because consumers benefit fromand are entitled to this information. 31 They also believe that rankings are beneficial because theymotivate law schools to improve. 32 Many see rankings as odious, hypocritical and destructive -- a forcethat leads to higher costs, homogeneous curricula, methods, and values -- all at the expense of teaching

29Goodman, supra note 4; Vanderberg, supra, note 4; Smith, supra note 4; Buckman, supra note 4; Rasmussen,supra note 4.

30See generally Charles A. Goldman, Susan M. Gates & Dominic J. Brewer, Prestige or Reputation: What Is a Sound Investment ?, 48 Chron. Higher Educ. Vol. 6 at B13 (2001) (On prestige and prestige-seeking in higher education).

31See, e.g. , Mitchell Berger, Why the U.S. News and World Report Law School Rankings are Both Useful and Important, 51 J. Legal Educ. 487, 496 (2001).

32Id . at 497.


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excellence, public interest, diversity, progress, innovation, and efficiency. 33 Other professional schooleducators share this view in the context of rankings of medical schools and business schools. 34

One law professor recently observed that rankings lead to the almost unconscious worship of hierarchy, however illegitimate, that afflicts law students, law teachers, an d the legal services industryand that the mania for prestige drives faculties to become...status seekers who lose sight of theinterests of students and the public they serve. 35

In a 2008 article, Dean Richard Matasar said:

[I] am now even more firmly convinced that legal education is in jeopardy because we havelost sight of the intrinsic purposes of our schools. Our single minded pursuit of prestige, ourallocation of resources biased to producing a good life for employees, our preoccupationwith the views of outsiders are dysfunctional barriers to providing real value to those forwhose benefit we arguably toil. In this regime, we have organized education to be about us,not those who place trust in us. 36

33See, e.g. , Brent E. Newton, The Ninety-five Theses: Systematic Reforms in Legal Education and Licensure, 64 S.C.L.Rev. (forthcoming 2012); David C. Yamada, Same Old, Same Old: Law School Rankings and the Affirmation of Hierarchy , 31 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 249 (1997); John Mixon & Gordon Otto, Symposium: Applying Quality Management Concepts to the Law, Continuous Quality Improvement, Law, and Legal Education , 43 Emory L. J. 393, 442 (1994).Criticism of rankings is not a new phenomenon, as evidenced in this 1994 article about law school quality:

Ranking has little to do with the actual quality of schools, but it has a great deal to do with perceptionswithin the school and without. Within regional law schools, ranking is likely to lead to feelings of inferiority. Everywhere, ranking discriminates against graduates of lower-ranked schools, regardless of agraduate's individual merit. The ranking process itself is demoralizing, both for professors and students.Any ranking of law schools is especially cruel since it marks all but the national schools as inferior. Evenstudents in national law schools are likely to question whether they are as good as they ought to be.Merit ranking is defended as encouraging (forcing) faculty to publish and rewarding them for doing so.Critics note that most of what is written is worth little to the bar, judiciary, or any other reader, andserves only to pad the author's curriculum vitae. Teaching (highly valued by student-customers) isassigned a lower priority by faculty that is intent on getting national attention.

34Andrew J. Policano, What Price , BizEd, Sept./Oct. 2005, at 26 (discussing business school ranking); William C.McGaghie & Jason A. Thompson, Americas Best Medical Schools: A Critique of the U.S. News & World Report Rankings, Acad. Med. 2001;76:985-992 (regarding medical schools); cf. Kai Peters, Business School Rankings:Content and Context , J. Mgmt. Dev. Vol. 26 No. 1 pp. 49-53 (2007) (acknowledging the negative influences of

rankings but arguing that they are here to stay and that schools must learn to live with them).

35Bourne, supra note 13.

36Richard Matasar, The Ethics and Economics of American Legal Education Today, Second Panel, Defining Our Responsibilities: Being an Academic Fiduciary, 17 J. Contemp. Legal Issues 67 (2008); Mark Osler, Leaders, Its Timeto Lead , Law School Innovation Blog, A Member of the Law Professor Blogs Network (Jan. 11, 2012),http://lsi.typepad.com/lsi/2012/week2/index.html, recently stated on his blog:


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Controversy and criticism haves also arisen in connection with the widespread understanding thatrankings influence some schools to engage in dishonesty by gaming the rankings system through themanipulation of data (e.g. job placement, student financial aid, and admission scores). 37 Fifteen lawschools are named as defendants in pending class-action suits alleging the schools committed fraud bypublishing misleading job-placement data. 38 These data count 20% in USN rankings methodology. 39 Other law schools have confessed to false reporting of LSAT scores and undergraduate grade pointaverages in order to achieve higher rankings. 40

Some observers acknowledge that rankings can drive schools to act in unprincipled and distasteful ways,but argue that they cannot be ignored if a school wants to be competitive and keep its importantconstituents happy. 41 Many in legal education point to the ABAs accreditation standards, in addition to

While in Washington last week for the AALS convention, I was able to hear two law school leaders saythese two things: (1) The U.S. News ratings are a false proxy for quality, they stifle innovation anddegrade our service to students, are leading us to financial disaster, and are making us corrupt; and (2) Atmy institution, I am doing everything I can to maintain or increase the US News rank of our school. Inother words, these leaders were both saying that the pursuit of rankings is corrupting and bad, and thatthey are complicit in it. To identify something as wrong, in such a profound way, and continue to servethat wrong ideal is poor leadership, it lacks integrity, and it serves as a terrible example to our studentsand communities. All that we do as educators is a form of teaching, and what this is teaching is theaccommodation of clearly bad principles. If you want to a lead a law school, damn it, then lead . If thatmeans rejecting the tyranny of the rankings, then do so.

37See generally David Segal, Is Law School a Losing Game?, N.Y. Times (Jan. 8, 2011),www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/business/09law.html?pagewanted=all (NY Times reports on gaming in both lawschools and colleges); Law School Rankings, TAXProf blog, A Member of the Law Professor Blogs Network,

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/law_school_rankings/ (reporting on changes, scandals, and other newsin regard to rankings and reporting); Daniel E. Slotnik & Richard Perez-Pena, College Says It Exaggerated SAT Figures for Ratings , N.Y. Times (Jan. 30, 2012), www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/education/claremont-mckenna-college-says-it-exaggerated-sat-figures.html?_r=3&partner=rss&emc=rss.

38Moira Herbst, Fraud Suits Against Law Schools Credit Negative: Moodys, Reuters (Feb. 10, 2012),http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/2012/02_- _February/Fraud_suits_against_law_schools__credit_negative___Moody_s/.

39Morse & Flanigan, supra note 9.

40Karen Sloan, Law Schools Credibility at Issue, Law.com (Sep. 19, 2011), http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1.

41See, e.g., Espeland & Sauder, supra note 14; Alex M. Johnson, Jr ., The Destruction Of The Holistic Approach To Admissions: The Pernicious Effects Of Rankings, 81 Ind. L.J. 309, 349 (2006); in his 2008 annual address, AALSPresident N. William Hines lamented the continued influence of USN rankings: Realistically, it is unlikely the U.S.News rankings will go away any time soon. The legal education establishment has pressed U.S. News for years, thatif they insist on doing these annual rankings, to limit their publication of law school rankings in the same manner as
http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202514708103&slreturn=1


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the pressure of rankings, as a significant hindrance to a law schools ability to innovate, cut cost, andincrease diversity. 42 The ABA Accreditation Committee has been sensitive to these concerns as reflectedin pending proposals to emphasize outcomes rather than inputs, to eliminate the LSAT requirement,and reduce reliance on tenure as the preferred form of job security. 43

*****So where does this leave us? Is there another way to think about the role of law schools in our society?Is there a better way to understand our identities and missions beyond the atavism of self-preservationand competition for a position high up the food chain? A former law school dean who moved on to bePresident of Reed College -- a college that refuses to participate in USN rankings as a matter of principle-- has this to say about getting out of the rankings game:

By far the most important consequence of sitting out the rankings game, however, is thefreedom to pursue our own educational philosophy, not that of some news magazine. Consider,for example, the relative importance of standardized tests. The SAT or ACT scores of enteringfreshmen make up half of the important "student selectivity" score in the US. News formula.Although we at Reed find SAT and ACT scores useful, they receive a good deal less weight in ouradmissions process. We have found that high school performance (which we measure byformula that weighs GPA, class rank, quality and difficulty of courses, quality of the high school,counselor evaluation, and so forth) is a much better predictor of performance at Reed. Likewise,

they do all their other rankings, that is, to publish only a top 25 or top 50 listing instead of purporting to rank everyaccredited law school. Until such a change is made, deans will continue to be fired or retained, faculty will acceptor reject offers, law firms will hire or not hire graduates, and students will enroll or not enroll on the basis of unreliable, if not misleading, information published in the U.S. News rankings. http://www.aals.org/services_newsletter_pres.php

42A discussion about the history, legality, and effects of ABA regulation of law schools is beyond the scope of thisarticle, but there is a plethora of research and writing on the subject. See, e.g ., Mathew Staver & Anita Staver,Lifting the Veil: An Expose on the American Bar Associations Arbitrary and Capr icious Accreditation Process , 49Wayne L. Rev. 1 (2003); Douglas W. Kmiec, Law School Accreditation: Responsible Regulation or Barrier to Entry?, 11 Tex. Rev. L. & Pol. 377 (2007); Denise Rothbardt, ABA Accreditation: Educational Standards and Its Focus onOutput Requirements , 2 J. Gender Race & Just. 461 (1999); George B. Shepherd, No African-American Lawyers

Allowed: The Inefficient Racism of the ABAs Accreditation of Law Schools , 53 J. Legal Educ. 103 (2003); JayConison, The Architecture of Accreditation , 96 Iowa L. Rev. 1515 (2011).

43See generally Jerome Organ, Missing Missions: Further Reflections on Institutional Pluralism (or its Absence) , 60 J.Legal Educ. 157 (2010) (Positing that outcomes measures included in proposed ABA accreditation standa rds willstimulate creativity and overcome influences that push schools to a unitary model of legal education that stiflesinnovation.); Janet W. Fisher, Putting Students at the Center of Legal Education: How an Emphasis on OutcomeMeasures in the ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools Might Transform the Educational Experience of Law Students , 35 S. Ill. U. L.J. 225 (2011); ABA Proposes New Accreditation Standards , Accepted Blog (Apr. 13, 2011),http://blog.accepted.com/2011/04/13/aba-proposes-new-accreditation-standards/.


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we have found that the quality of a student's application essay and other "soft variables," suchas character, involvement, and intellectual curiosity, are just as important as the "hardvariables" that provide the sole basis for the U.S. News rankings. We are free to admit thestudents we think will thrive at Reed and contribute to its intellectual atmosphere, rather than

those we think will elevate our standing on US. News's list.44

Consider the possibility that a law school might intentionally decide not to become famous, but toprovide a path and vehicle for a diverse group of solid, public-service minded students to becomeskilled, ethical lawyers who want to improve society. Consider further that this diverse group willinclude non-traditional students, low-income students, single parents, students from historicallymarginalized groups, and others who could not gain entry into a top tier law school. 45 Such a school islikely to be a regional school and will want to avoid modeling itself after a national school. 46 It will not

44

Colin Diver, Is There Life After Rankings? , Atlantic Monthly, Nov. 2005,http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/11/is_there_life_after_rankings/4308/; see also Lani Guinier, Admissions Rituals as Political Acts: Guardians at the Gates of Our Democratic Ideals , 117 Harv. L. Rev. 113 (2003).

45Brian Dickson, Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, Speech on Legal Education (1985), in 64Can. Bar Rev. 374. In 1985, Mr. Justice Dickson, stated:

I want to say a few words about the gatekeepers of legal education, namely those involved in theadmissions process .... Ultimately the ethos of the profession is determined by the selection process atlaw school. In order to ensure that our legal system continues to fulfill its important role in Canadiansociety it is important that the best candidates be chosen .... [Best] includes more than ... the most

academically qualified .... Law schools must ensure equality of admissions .... to insure that all peoplehad equal access to a legal career and that the legal system would benefit from the addition of ideas,values and concerns from groups who had previously been excluded from legal education and the legalprofession.

46Randolph N. Jonakait, Two Hemispheres of Legal Education and the Rise and Fall of Local Law Schools, 51 N.Y.L.Sch. L. Rev. 863, 901 (2006- 2007) (Since local law schools train their students for a different sphere of theprofession, local law schools are unlikely to adopt the reforms needed to serve their students better if the localschools simply follow the lead or adopt the values of the elite institutions. This will be difficult since faculties at alllevels of law schools are dominated by products of elite and prestigious schools.); John Mixon & Go rdon Otto,Symposium: Applying Quality Management Concepts to the Law, Continuous Quality Improvement, Law, and Legal Education , 43 Emory L. J. 393, 438 (1994), in an article about the value of variation in marketing and businessmodels as applied to legal education the authors state:

National law school behavior model does not fit regional needs. Accordingly, what passes as qualityeducation for a national law school student may not meet the quality definition for a regional or localschool. [C]ompanie s ineffectively search for examples to find a ready -made recipe they can followinstead of mapping their own route to quality. When regional law schools model their entire programsafter a national law school benchmark, they ignore the differing needs of their regional customers. Their


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easily achieve fame (at least via higher rankings) for a variety of reasons, including: 1) it will beadmitting applicants with lower LSATs and grades; 47 2) it will need to commit primarily to teachingrather than research and scholarship; 48 3) it will have a difficult time attracting famous professors; 4) itwill not have extra money to produce law porn; 5) its graduates may gravitate toward jobs in

government, small firms, public service, and business rather than higher paying jobs with big firms; 6) it

students may, for example, require a curriculum that provides some professional skills training andgreater attention to class attendance and teaching competence.

Regional law schools face a potential crisis of uncertain duration and severity. After unprecedentedgrowth, the bottom appears ready to fall out of law graduate employment. If national law schools beginto accept students who previously would have enrolled at regional schools and the legal employmentmarket continues to shrink, regional and local law schools will experience even more difficulty placingtheir students. The only rational response is for these schools to improve their quality by delighting theircustomers (primarily applicants and students) so they succeed as grandly as Lexus did in the Mercedesmarket. Can regional and local law schools manage the crisis? This question essentially asks how (orwhether) a law school can change. Substantial obstacles must be overcome.

47Preparation for the Study of Law: Summary, Indiana University Bloomington, http://hpplc.indiana.edu/law/law-prep8.shtm l (last visited Feb. 13, 2012) (The prelaw center at Indiana in Bloomington tells undergraduates that:[Law schools] are looking for interesting and varied raw material to work with: well -rounded, thoughtful,involved, reflective, ethical, hard-working, passionate, intellectually curious, experienced, mature, motivated,focused, and interesting people who have done interesting things with their lives. ) This is a nice description of qualities a law school might seek out as an alternative to primary reliance on LSAT and GPA thresholds.

48Henderson, supra note 7, at 65 (There is a good deal of criticism of law schools perceived neglect of teaching infavor faculty scholarship, noting that, Law schools generally fail to meet expectations about teaching. Theyneither offer incentives for good teaching nor even define it . The only consistent feedback on their teaching thatlaw teachers receive comes from end-of-term student evaluations. Furthermore, law schools offer little, if any,teaching support to their faculty. Instead they encourage faculty to focus primarily on scholarship researching,writing, and publishing and they create, through the tenure process, a very real disincentive for faculty to expendmore than minimal energy on teaching. In decisions on hiring, promotion, tenure, and salary, scholarship is theweightiest factor; significant publications more than make up for barely passable teaching.); Newton, supra note

33 (Arguing : The typical law school significantly values scholarship over teaching which likely explains whyadjunct law professors (who are hired only to teach) are typically paid only between $3,000-$5,000 per three-credit semester course. Using that metric of value for law school teaching, it is reasonable to conclude that only atiny fraction of a typical full- time doctrinal professors annual salary is allocated to teaching duties. The bulk of alaw professors salary is for writing law review articles rather for his teaching duties and his service duties.). Thecriticism is apt to be overstated given the many schools and professors who clearly value teaching over otherprofessional activities. Overemphasis on scholarship is not especially problematic at my own school, GonzagaUniversity School of Law, which highlights teaching through the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning and in theretention, promotion, and tenure review process (Institute of Law Teaching and Learning,http://lawteaching.org/curriculum/ (last visited Feb. 18, 2012)). Nonetheless, even the most passionate andaccomplished teacher cannot afford to disregard the importance of traditional scholarship.
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may have less resources than competing schools by virtue of holding down tuition in order to counterrising student debt; 7) some graduates may have to take the bar exam more than once; 8) and theschool will not be much talked about by judges, lawyers, and professors across the nation whoparticipate in ranking surveys.

Can such a school survive in an environment where its competitors are doing everything they can to getmore recognition and higher rankings? Is it okay to be a lower tier law school? Not surprisingly, theanswer to the question is complicated and uncertain in a changing economy and legal culture. But thefollowing factors are relevant: 49 What is a schools raison detre ? What is the schools geographiclocation and regional demographics? 50 What is the schools history? Does the school have a missionthat has been taken seriously and is known and respected by the desired applicant pool? What are therelationships between the law school and the larger university (if any), its alumni, the local and state barassociations, regional law firms and courts? What are the regional prospects for graduate employment?Does the faculty have any tolerance for some flexibility with regard to job security and governance? Isthere willingness on the part of faculty and staff to accept the challenge of admitting students who havethe capacity to succeed but who may lack the conventional credentials to attend higher ranked schools?

Is there a willingness to acknowledge that the LSAT is not the only measure of who can succeed in lawschool or in the practice of law? 51 Are the faculty and administration confident and secure enough totruly commit to the goal of student-centered transformational education without worrying about rank?What is the degree of dependence on alumni largess and will alumni stop giving if they sense the lawschool is not committed to the goal of being a ranked, national law school?

Simply put, regardless of ranking, can a schools history, location, mission, faculty, relationships andproduct create a steady stream of desired applicants who can succeed as lawyers and who can help paythe bills that are appropriate for carrying out the schools specific mission? If the answer is no, the

49These considerations are not dissimilar to those that come into play when deciding to seek and sustain a new lawschool. See generally Donald E. Lively, The Provisional Approval Experience: Lessons for Legal Education inDarwinian Times, 52 J. Legal Educ. 397 (2002).

50Stewart E. Sterk, Information Production and Rent-Seeking in Law School Administration: Rules and Discretion, 83B.U. L. Rev. 1141, 1145 (2003) (For many applicants, it is association with the brand name, rather than theeducation the student expects to receive or the cost associated with that education, that makes a schoolattractive... Geography is a second factor that confers on most law schools some degree of monopoly power. Formany law school applicants, the choice of law schools is limited by geographical factors often dictated by costconcerns or family commitments. Geography is especially important beyond the top twenty or so law schoolswhere applicants may perceive that the lasting advantages of prestige will outweigh other issues. Many areas are

served by only one law school or by one school in a particular tier in the law school hierarchy.) .51Shultz & Zedeck, supra note 11, at 11 (In their article on finding alternatives to the LSAT to support law schooladmissions, the authors argue that that it is important for law schools to address the following questions: Howshould they define merit and qualification? What is fair allocation of scarce educational resources? Howimportant is achieving racially and ethnically diverse classes, and how do we define diversity? Should deprivationof economic and educational opportunity be considered?).


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school may have to do whatever is necessary to attract students even if that effort leads the schoolaway from a preferred identity.

The following are somewhat randomly chosen examples of lower tier law schools that appear to besuccessful and intentional in offering mission-based programs that are not geared toward achieving ahigher rank. While these schools may make a virtue of necessity, and would no doubt appreciatenational recognition for their efforts, it is clear that they have chosen their own path as strong regionalschools.

The University of District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law (UDC-DCSL) is the latest incarnationof a public law school in the nations capital that retained the essential mission of its predecessor, theAntioch School of Law. In present form, that mission is to:

[R]ecruit and enroll students from groups under-represented at the bar, provide a well-roundedtheoretical and practical legal education that will enable students to be effective and ethicaladvocates, and represent the legal needs of low-income District of Columbia residents through

the school's legal clinics.52

UDC-DCSL seems to meet the requirements for succeeding at its mission without becoming tooconfused by a need to establish a national reputation or top tier ranking. 53 Its location and historywithin the District of Columbia give it demographic support to meet its diversity goals and itsrelationships with District government offices, courts, and non-profits provide ample opportunity tocarry out its community service mission. Tuition is low -- $8850/year for DC residents. Communityrelationships and faculty commitment to the schools goals allow for hands -on legal education forstudents who might not otherwise have a chance to be lawyers. 54 While the school's web page trumpetsrankings achievements, those achievements are clearly in line with its stated mission: strong clinicalprograms and minority admissions. 55

52Facts About the School of Law , The University of the District of Columbia, http://www.law.udc.edu/?page=Facts(last visited Feb. 20, 2012).

53See generally Derek Alphran, Tanya Washington & Vincent Eagan, Yes We Can, Pass the Bar. University of theDistrict of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law Bar Passage Initiatives and Bar Pass Rates - From the Titanic tothe Queen Mary!, 14 U. D.C. L. Rev. 9 (2011).

54Facts About the School of Law , supra note 52.

55Id. Other similarly missioned atypical public law schools opened their doors in the 2002-2003 academic year; Seegenerally Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University , www.law.famu.edu (last visited Feb. 18,2012) FloridaAgricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) reintroduced its black law school years after it was closed in 1968as a result of the Florida legislature's vote to close the school and open one at Florida State University, apredominantly white institution. The school has a civil rights n iche and black law students make up the majority of its student population.; See generally Florida International University, www.law.fiu.edu (last visited Feb. 18, 2012)Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, focuses on international law and enrolled mostly Hispanic students.The expectations for these schools are not just to increase the number of black and Hispanic attorneys, but also toincrease the number of attorneys who will advocate and represent the interests of the black and Hispanic
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An example of a lower ranked law school in the less populated and less diverse American midlands is theUniversity of South Dakota. As the only law school in the state, in a location that might not drawstudents from throughout the country, USD's explicit mission starts:

The mission of the University of South Dakota School of Law is to prepare the lawyers and judges who will administer the Federal, state, and American Indian Tribal Justice systems inSouth Dakota and to provide a legal education to South Dakota residents... 56

The law school offers a low-cost legal education and appears not to worry too much about being a toptier school. Nonetheless, its graduates populate the state's Supreme Court and trial benches and theschool has produced top trial lawyers and experts in Indian Law for many years. 57 Nor has a lowerranking prevented USD from inaugurating a very innovative summer program for the study of comparative law in China. 58

Southwestern School of Law in Los Angeles is an example of a successful, private mission-oriented, albeit

lower-ranked, law school on the West coast. While its explicit mission is fairly generic, it is clear that theschool prides itself on a history that has opened the law school's doors to minorities, innovated instructuring different J.D. programs, including an accelerated program, and taken advantage of the localentertainment industry in terms of focusing curriculum and relationships. 59

Florida Coastal Law School, a newer private low-cost, fourth tier law school in Jacksonville, is built partlyaround a mission that demands faculty, staff, and administration to commit to collaboration,congeniality, and humility. The school has deliberately focused on creating a culture of personal andteam values that impacts students in a positive way. According to the schools web site, faculty andstaff must commit to: Vulnerability-based Trust; Healthy Conflict; Clear Commitments; andAccountability. 60 Florida Coastals former dean has said: No motive was more central to FCLSs

communities.; Sara Osborne, These are Not Our Rules: A Public Interest and Women Oriented Law School toImprove the Lives of Women Both Within and Outside the Legal Profession , 46 Howard L.J. 549 (2003) The two newFlorida schools are mentioned as models for creation of a public interest law school devoted to teaching aboutwomens issues.

56 About Us , The University of South Dakota, www.usd.edu/law/aboutus.cfm (last visited Feb. 20, 2012).

57South Dakota Supreme Court, www.sdjudicial.com/sc/Default.aspx (last visited Feb. 20, 2012); see generally ,South Dakota Tribal Court Handbook, available at www.sdjudicial.com/uploads/downloads/IBook/IndianLaw%20Handbook.pdf (last visited Feb. 20, 2012); AmericanIndian Law Program information, www.usd.edu/law/ail.cfm (last visited Feb. 20, 2012).

58George Critchlow, Critchlow Surveys Study Abroad Programs ,http://www.law.gonzaga.edu/Faculty/faculty_watch/critchlow_china.asp (last visited Feb. 20, 2012).

59 About Southwestern , Southwestern Law School, http://www.swlaw.edu/a bout (last visited Feb. 20, 2012).

60Team Values, Coastal Law, www.fcsl.edu/coastalcareers/values/team (last visited Feb. 20, 2012).
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founding than the aim of creating an academic community free of rancor, professional jealousies,predatory interaction, and petty-mindedness that have become entrenched norms for many establishedfaculties. 61 While these characteristics are not incompatible with a higher ranking, a commitment toachieve and maintain such a culture could very well get in the way of achieving status and rankingsmeasured by different values.

St. Marys School of Law in San Antonio, Texas is the oldest Catholic Law School in the AmericanSouthwest. 62 It admits a large number of minority students, especially Hispanics. 63 Although a fourthtier school, it boasts a faith-based mission, an emphasis on global education and practical skills, and arange of modern interdisciplinary study and joint degree programs. 64 The law school manages to keep itstuition relatively low while admitting lower LSAT students who perform very well on the Texas barexam. 65

Finally, CUNY School of Law in Flushing, New York is widely recognized for its success at delivering lowcost leg al education based on a very clear mission: ... [T]o graduate outstanding public interestattorneys and to enhance the diversity of the legal profession. 66 CUNYs web page emphasizes that the

school trains lawyers to serve the underprivileged and disempowered and to make a difference in theircommunities. The school boasts a very diverse student body that includes many non -traditionalstudents. The faculty is also very diverse. CUNY is not highly ranked by USN, but it has strong clinicalprograms and great success at placing students in public interest and public service jobs followinggraduation. 67

III. Ten strategies to escape the tyranny of rankings

Assuming a law school makes a decision to de-emphasize rankings in favor of more authentic, student-centered and public interest minded missions, the following ten strategies should be considered tooptimize success:

61Lively, supra note 49, at 421.

62 At A Glance , St. Marys Univ ersity School of Law, www.stmarytx.edu/about/ (last visited Feb. 20, 2012); St.Marys University School of Law, www.top -law-schools.com/st-marys-school-of-law.html (last visited Feb. 18,2012).

63Why St. Marys , St. Marys University School of Law, www.st marytx.edu/law/index.php?site=whyStMarysLaw(last visited Feb. 18, 2012).

64Points of Pride , St. Marys University School of Law, www.stmarytx.edu/law/index.php?site=pointsOfPrideLaw(last visited Feb. 20, 2012).

65Melissa Ludwig, St. Marys Sees 97% Pass Ba r, Dean Credits New Program for Highest Rate in 25 years , SanAntonio Express-News, May 7, 2011, http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/Near-perfect-bar-exam-passage-rate-at-St-Mary-s-1369033.php.

66CUNY School of Law, http://www.law.cuny.edu/index.html (last visited Feb. 18, 2012).67 About , CUNY School of Law, http://www.law.cuny.edu/about.html (last visited Feb. 18, 2012).
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1. Draft and embrace a mission statement that is honest and realistic, consistent with the law schoolshistory, location and purpose, and that appeals to the desired applicant pool. This obviously requiresdiscipline, focus, and effort on the part of deans and faculty. It requires law schools to resist thetemptation to produce vanilla flavored mission statements that are generic, self-promoting, andredolent with national law school rhetoric. ABA accreditation requires law schools to undertakeperiodic self-studies as part of sabbatical reviews. 68 Schools might use these opportunities to articulatemissions that are geared toward context-specific, value-driven goals for professional education. If nothing else, such a discussion about mission should produce explicit and honest statements about theimportance of rankings and image, and what a law school is willing to do and not do to move up theladder. For law schools attached to universities, the larger university should be aware of and supportiveof the specific mission as there may be times when the university is called upon to give the law schoolfinancial and moral reinforcement.

2. Use alternative admissions protocols. 69 Former Oregon law school dean Rennard Strickland hasargued why and how law schools might reconsider their admissions approach:

68ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools 12 (2011-2012): Standard 202. SE LF STUDY: Before each siteevaluation visit the dean and faculty of a law school shall develop a written self study, which shall include a missionstatement. The self study shall describe the program of legal education, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the program in light of the schools mission, set goals to improve the program, and identify the means toaccomplish the law schools unrealized goals.http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_edu

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