What do the rankings mean?
A top tiered law school typically is a national law school meaning that it is trying to attract students from all over the country and turn out lawyers for all over the country. Competition to get into these top law schools is most intense and the competitive atmosphere continues throughout the three years of law school. These law schools attract the most law firms recruiting students and most lawyers who clerked for judges have gone to these top law schools. A mid-tier law school is more focused on a state’s or region’s needs. They train people for specific geographic areas of the country. A school in the bottom tier might be a newly accredited law school or one that has experienced some financial trouble or one that has as its mission to train people who might not otherwise be eligible for law school because of low test scores or GPAs.
