Did US News accidentally leak its law school rankings?
Yale University’s Sterling Law Building. Image from Shutterstock.
Updated: A portion of an article announcing new law school rankings by U.S. News & World Report appeared briefly online on Tuesday before it was quickly removed.
The mystery article may have been posted as a result of a mix-up by magazine staffers, suggests Above the Law, which published a screen shot. The official law school rankings aren’t supposed to be published until March 16.
Robert Morse, chief data strategist for U.S. News, said in an email statement to the ABA Journal that U.S. News “cannot vouch for the accuracy of any data or information that appear about the rankings” before their release on March 16.
If the article is the real thing, there is only one change in the top 10 from last year. The University of Michigan jumped from No. 11 to No. 8 (where it tied with two other schools). Duke University, tied for eighth place last year, is now ranked No. 11.
According to Above the Law, the top 10 law schools listed in the article are:
1) Yale University
2) Harvard University and Stanford University (tied)
4) Columbia University and University of Chicago (tied)
6) New York University
7) University of Pennsylvania
8) University of Michigan, University of California-Berkeley and University of Virginia (Michigan was ranked 11th last year)
Above the Law published a longer, unconfirmed list here.
Updated at 10:05 a.m. with statement from U.S. News spokesperson.
