You Want Rankings? We'll Give You Rankings

 Hey everyone! Rankings!  We know you love them and here at N&B we are all about the things that you love.

Top Party Place: Kip's
Top Trial Team Organization: BOA (They are knocking everyone's sox off)
Top Party Dean: Dean Edley - He knows you were nervous when Boalt slipped last year.  He took care of business.
Top Whiners:  The Big H.  Number 3?  That's not why your father paid for prep school.
Top Way to Complain: Barrister's was sweet, shut up already.
Top Law School: Boalt Hall, 2012.  Screw the official numbers.  We know we fucking rock.

So, that's the wrap up.

Fall 2010 Courses

Someone asks:

Can we have a thread to complain about the newly released Fall 2010 class schedule?

Yup. Here it is.

This is also an appropriate place to discuss the new ranking policy, which you can find here (scroll to section 3.07, about halfway down the page).

Bad News on the Rankings Front

A lot of people already know that, in the new US News rankings, Boalt has remained in the sixth spot.

But the bigger news is this: for the first time in seventeen years, Berkeley is no longer the top-ranking school for intellectual property. For 2010, that spot is held by Stanford.

I'm sad to say that I'm not terribly surprised. All the staff and faculty at BCLT and the Samuelson Clinic do great work. But I don't see any evidence that the administration has considered it a top priority to build on that reputation. Instead, there's been a kind of benign neglect, predicated on the assumption that Berkeley will always lead in this field. That's not enough.

I hope this serves as an opportunity for Berkeley to consider making a stronger commitment to one of its core strengths.

What? No Boalt?

"PreLaw Magazine" (HT: Matt) attempts to rate the top 75 public interest law schools. What's interesting, is that they somehow missed ours. That, or they confused us with Stanford.

Lieter's New Rankings Are Crap

Brian Lieter released a new ranking of law schools today, entitled "The Top 15 Schools From Which the Most "Prestigious" Law Firms Hire New Lawyers, 2008."

Where does he get his data? Here's a direct quote:

We started with the most recent Vault list of the most prestigious law firms in the U.S. We had to go to #24 on that list to identify fifteen super elite law firms that had the right kinds of search engines to permit efficient identification of where associates at these law firms went to law school. The firms studied were: Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Sullivan & Cromwell; Skadden Arps; Davis Polk & Wardwell; Simpson Thacher; Clearly [sic] Gottlieb; Kirkland & Ellis; Covington & Burling; Paul, Weiss; Williams & Connolly; Sidley Austin; Arnold & Porter; Jones Day; and Morrison & Foerster.

So, essentially, if you go to Latham, Weil, Debevoise, Gibson, WilmerHale, White & Case, Shearman, O'Melveny, or Clifford Chance, you're not counted.

1/3 of the omitted firms are west coast firms. If you're looking to be "elite" in California, you're likely at one of those firms. Further, 2/5 of the included firms don't operate west coast offices.

It's no wonder why Stanfurd and Berkeley score so low, and Columbia and NYU magically rise to the top.

Given his glaring bias/omissions, what's the point of releasing these rankings in the first place?

Building a Better Legal Profession

Like the author of the post below this one I also share a letter, this time from Building a Better Legal Profession.  BBLP is an organization that was created last fall by Stanford students (referenced here on N&B) and is itching to grow.  The letter is self-explanatory, and I think you'll find its message germane to the looming OCIP season.

Or, germane at least to a discussion about methods by which to choose a law firm, aside from the good old fashioned NALP-sheet-salary-troll.

----------------

Dear Students, Colleagues, Friends of Boalt:

Another season of on-campus interviews is fast approaching, and law students across the country will soon be scratching their heads, wondering how to differentiate between law firms. Building a Better Legal Profession was launched by two law students last fall in an effort to create greater transparency in the profession and to change the way students approach interview season. The more students talk about choices and balance, the more firms respond. We're hoping that this year, you'll join in the call for reform by starting a chapter at your school. With a new website set to launch, a fall OCI campus tour in the works, and a new round of rankings, we're poised to up the ante this year--but we need your help. (You can check out some of the press BBLP got this year here: The Lawyers Weekly, Law.com, Daily News, The Shark, The Chicago Tribune, JD Bliss, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, [and *cough* Nuts & Boalts].)

The race to $160K means cash on hand for young lawyers, but what's the catch? We can probably expect more billable hours, less balance, fewer opportunities for pro bono work, and greater dissatisfaction. The resulting mass exodus from firms is not just bad for recent law grads, it's bad for the profession. By starting a BBLP chapter at your school, you can bring real choices to your colleagues. For every friend and colleage at your school who chooses job satisfaction over the highest salary, firms will have another reason to shift their focus.

Law students are in high demand, and we can afford to be more selective in our career choices. Building a Better Legal Profession seeks to harness the market power of law students to encourage reform at large private law firms. As a national grassroots organization, BBLP is only as strong as its student network.

This is where you come in.

We hope you'll join with us by starting a BBLP chapter at your school this fall. With your help, your colleagues can walk into interviews with a better understanding of their market power. Instead of being auctioned off to the highest bidder, they can join a generation of associates who are swapping dollars for time, balance, and community. Empower your friends by shedding some light on the import of their career choices, and they will thank you.

Spearhead a BBLP chapter, and we'll send you all the materials you need to spread the word. Please let us know if you would like to get involved as a chapter director. Or if there's someone who you think might be interested, we'd appreciate your passing this message along.

I look forward to connecting with you soon!

Best Regards,
[The Folks at Better Legal Profession]

www.betterlegalprofession.org
BBLP on Facebook

Ready, Set, Teach

I don't want to detract from the OCIP or grades discussions below, so I wanted to pass along some information for those interested in teaching below the fold.

Thou Shalt Count to Three, and Three Only

I guess current students got an e-mail about this, but alumni should know that there is an official memo on the name of our school. First, to all the law firms out there, please, please, update your associates' profiles. An example of the more egregious violations include:

"University of Berkeley School of Law" (for undergrad and law).
"Boalt Hall School of Law"

Second, at the risk of being petty, I'd like to point to commenter MikeM (scroll down), "Our official name is the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law." *Cough.*

US News: Great Rankings or Greatest Rankings?

[HT to The Shark and CF] Boalt is now 6th in USN&WR rankings, ahead of Chicago (which lost Sunstein AND the internet in the classroom) and UPenn, which as I've said before, does not belong in the top 10. Kudos Boalties, now on to the difficult task of not turning into DBs.

[Update: PDF of 20008. Cf., the 2006 rankings].

Speaking of daunting and impossible tasks of improving Boalt, Michael Bazeley is in charge of improving your school's humble website. Please offer your feedback's to him at this blog that he has created.

Live Blogging D.E.'s Town Hall

There is no reason for me to be the only person doing this, especially if anyone else was thinking of doing something similar. But how to make it easy for others to play along from home, or the office, or the other side of Booth Auditorium? Here is what I came up with:

I'll transcribe the questions and answers in the comments section, in real time. That way the forum will be wide open for anyone to contribute. And this (60 minuets early) shout out will serve as a heads up. That way anyone can tune in (or tune out) as they see fit.

Does that work? Hope so.

See you at 12:45.

20% of Hastings Students Get A's, 80% "Unhappy With Grading System"

A commentator below argues bar stats suggest Boalties are soft. Yet meanwhile, a recent survey suggests our friends across the bay wish they could be more like us!*

Okay, that was a bit overstated.

But the survey does reveal that Hastings students wish their grading system was more like ours: about 80% of UC Hastings believe their 20/60/20 grading curve puts them at a disadvantage on the job market against Boalt and UCLA grads.

According to the Hastings 3L who authored the survey, "Those are the schools that our students see themselves as competing with, and they want to appear on paper as close to these students as possible." Orrick's West Coast hiring partner disagrees: " . . . before going on campus to interview, we remind the on-campus interviewers what the specific grading system at that school is so we're comparing apples and apples," he said. "We don't use the Stanford grading criteria to evaluate a Hastings student or vice versa," he added."

It was a second argument for a grading system change that struck me. Buried halfway down the page, the Academic Dean at Hastings remarks: "The curve should be relaxed because it's the right thing to do and because the students become stressed about grades."

Is it the "right thing to do"? And will it relax students about their grades? Are there any Hastings transfer students here who are in a position to answer that question?



*For the record -- I'll bet at least 80% of Boalties have at least a bit of Hastings-envy, too. I know *I* would rather live in the city . . .

Better to know (when for the hell of it)?

Dean O has announced that class rankings (for the Class of 2009) are available per request. From her email:

Please remember that disclosure of your class rank is permitted
exclusively for applications for judicial clerkships for after
graduation. You may also disclose it if you are applying for a law
teaching job. Any other use of the ranking information is a violation
of the Academic Honor Code.

Boalt has been known to lag in the number of students who pursue a career in either of the two above exceptions. Yet, even Dean O "expect[s] to be innundated with requests" from students seeking their class rank. This indicates to me that there's a high number of requests from students that just want to know for the hell of it.

So I ask: is it better to know?

Quick Notes From Dean Edley 3L Town Hall

- Edley and Shelanski were unwilling to talk about the drop in bar passage rates, claiming it is due to "very unfortunate circumstances," and that they will tell the student body when they find out the reasons.

- Edley & Shelanski: Class registration times are NOT based on your student ID number despite anecdotal evidence to the opposite.

- Ortiz and BarBri have been passing the buck back and forth over morning BarBri classes at Boalt. Stay tuned.

- Shelanski: Professors have absolute discretion over whether or not they post their teaching evaluations. Take home message: if someone doesn't have his or her evals posted, assume that professor sucks and received terrible evaluations.

---
Please add your observations and thoughts in the comments.

Bar Passage Rates

I don't have too much time to say anything substantive, but the complete bar pass results came out. I will add that someone from USF forwarded me the results gloating about their higher pass rate (85) compared to Boalt's (82). My reaction: Enjoy OCI with the downturn in the market.

Grades Post-1L at Berkeley Law

Today, David Lat over at Above the Law hit the gold mine of "comment cluster F*#ks" (his term, not mine) when he opened a thread entitled "Do Law School Grades Matter?"

I'm not one for throwing gasoline on the fire, especially given the fact I've seen what appear to be record numbers of you in the library studying diligently for finals. However, due to the number of people who mentioned the ATL thread to me today, I figured there'll likely be a number of you who may want to talk in an open thread about how our post-1L grades relate to our future success when we're "Berkeley School of Law" alums.

Obviously topics for conversation may range from the elitist perspective of "heh, we go to Berkeley" to how our unorthodox grading system may be our future savior (or demise).

Again, if you're not a fan of the topic, feel free to skip the discussion. For the rest of you, unload any anecdotes or reactions you may have, and we'll see if the topic generates a similar response here on N&B.

Making the Grade

When a classmate sent me this article with the comment, "Stanford students are grading their employers," I shot off a hasty reply: "Someone should tell Stanford that is so last semester. Boalt students have been databasing employer information with the CDO office for some time, and by all indications Berkeley Law students will continue the tradition."

A couple hours later I had time to read the article and I found that the Stanford students are most decidedly not up to the same thing as Boalties. 

Although I am sympathetic with many of their concerned observations (yes, even in 2007 it might not be an accident if you can't find a single black partner at a large law firm, and an absence of female partners at the same firm may indeed be telling, too), the project also makes me feel weird and uncomfortable.

First, there is the implied conception of "diversity" as something to be measured, ranked, and advertised.

Second, why have these mysterious anonymous students who would otherwise be at BigLaw chosen this moment to make their stand for social justice?

Third, there is the precociousness of statements like this: "'Firms that want the best students will be forced to respond to the market pressures that we’re creating,' said . . . a law student . . ."

Realistically, however, I have had a tad too much coffee and I am edgy and cranky with Online Citation Exercises and just itching for something defenseless to nitpick.

Weirdly pensive as I feel about the project, I give it a vote of support. Come to think of it, it might have happened here at Berkeley, if we had thought of it first.

Call Me Ishmael

A commenter writes below:

A little bird at the law school who works in admin says: the name Boalt Hall is being phased out. Berkeley Law will now be used instead. The student body/alumni will be informed of this decision in the near future.

For real.

No more Boalties.

Like I said, this is a good move. But of course we need something to replace Boalties, and Berkeley Lawties sounds too much like my drink of choice. There's always the acronym/abbreviation approach followed by grad (e.g., GULC grad, HLS grad for eight generations, or GUCL grad/jerk at bar exam). But then we'd be BLS or UCBLS. Blehs to that. Calaw? Isn't that a salad with cabbage?

Most importantly, Nuts & Berkeley Law just doesn't have the same ring to it. Nevermind, I'm changing my vote. Bring back Boalt.

UPDATE: I'm moving this up because law.com has picked up on the story (and gee, I wonder what tipped them off to it?). Leiter, in citing to the law.com article suggests a few of his own names. That's funny, I've been working on a few suggestions of my own for UT. Hideous Burnt Orange School of Law? University of Nominally a State School of Law? Where all 3 Liberals in Texas Hang Out School of Law? We're not SMU School of Law? Come Study Legal Philosophy in Texas School of Law?

2007 OCIP Callbacks

Sorry all, I've been busy moving. Alright, leave callback offers and rejections here. I will delete the comments that just list the call back info. Be sure to check out the format from the OCIP threads from prior years on the sidebar. Just in case you're too lazy: Firm Name, Office, + or -.

A few notes. I am not participating in my firm's recruitment process this year in any way (at least I'm not aware that I am) so that's why I am doing this. And I'm too much of an egomaniac to give admin access to someone else (for now). Also, I personally hate doing this, but some find it useful. If you don't, please do not read it. If you freak out easily, don't read it.

Lastly, if you are comfortable with e-mailing me (I promise not to reveal your id in any way, shape, or form) please do so at armenaut-at-gmail. This will make things infinitely easier for me in the next few weeks as I juggle unpacking, starting work, and fantasy football/baseball overlap.

Good luck.

Update: Ok, I'm moving it up, but I'm a bit busy so I may not update the listing today.

***

Akin Gump, DC +, LA +, NY -, SF +/-, SV +
Alameda DA +
Allen Matkins, LA +, OC +, SF +/-
Arnold & Porter, DC +, LA -
Baker Botts, DC +
Baker McKenzie, DC -, SD -, SF +, SV +
Beyer Weaver, Oak+
Bingham, W.LA +, SF +, SV +, WC +
Boies Schiller, DC +, NY +
Bryan Cave, W.LA +, OC +
Chadbourne, NY +
Chapman Cutler, SF -
Cleary, DC +/-, NY +/-
Cooley, SD -, SF+/-, SV +/-
Covington & Burling, DC +/-, SF +/-
Cox Castle, LA +
Crowell & Moring, DC +
Cravath, NY +
Curtis, NY +
Davis Polk, NY +/-, SV +/-
Davis Wright, LA -, SF -
DCPD, +
Debevoise, NY +/-
Dechert, Bos +, DC +/-, NB +, NY +, SF +/-, SV +
Dewey, LA +, SV +
Dickinson Peatman Fogarty, Napa +
DLA Piper, Chi +/-, LA +, NY +, SD +/-, SF +/-, SV +/-
Dow Lohnes, DC -
Drinker Biddle, SF -
Faegre & Benson, MN +
Farella, SF +/-
Fenwick, SV +
Fish & Richardson, Bos +, NY -, SD +/-, SV +
Foley Lardner, LA +, SF +
Folger, SF -
Freshfields, Lon +/-, NY +
Fried Frank, DC +/-, NY +/-
Fulbright, LA +/-, NY +
Gibson Dunn, DC -, LA +, NY +, OC +/-, SF +/-, SV +/-
Gibson Robb & Lindh +
Goodwin Proctor, Bos +, DC -, LA +, NY +, SF -, SV +
Gordon Rees, DC -
Greenburg Traurig, DC -, LA +/-, NY -, SV +/-
Greene Rodovsky, SF +
Gunderson, SV +/-
Hanson Bridgett +/-
Heller, LA +, NY +/-, SD +, SF +/-, SV +
Hogan & Hartson, DC +/-, LA +, NY +
Holland & Knight, DC -, LA +, SF -
Holme Roberts & Owen, SF +/-
Howard Rice, SF +/-
Hughes Hubbard, NY +/-, LA +
Hunton and Williams, DC -, NY +
Irell, LA +/-, NB +/-
Jeffer Mangels, LA +
Jenner & Block, Chi +/-
Jones Day, DC +/-, LA +, NY +, SF +/-, SV +
Kaye Scholer, LA +
Keker, SF -
Kenyons, SV +
King & Spalding, NY +
Kirkland, DC +/-, LA +/-, NY -, SF +/-
Kirkpatrick Lockhart, LA -
Kramer Levin, NY +
Latham, Chi -, DC +, HK -, LA +, NY +/-, SD +, SF +/-, SV +/-
LeBoeuf, DC +, NY +, SF +
Lewis Feinberg Lee +
Lief Cabreser, -
Loebs, LA -
Luce Forward, SD +/-
Manatt, LA -, NY +, SV -
Mayer Brown, Chi +, DC +, LA +, SV +
McDermott, Chi +, DC +, LA +/-, OC +
Milbank Tweed, LA +/-, NY +
Mitchell Silberberg, LA -
Morgan Lewis, DC +, LA +/-, SF +/-, SV +/-
MoFo, LA +, NY +, OC +, SD +/-, SF +/-, SV +/-, Tok +
Munger, LA -
Nichols Castor, SF +
Nixon, SF +/-, NY +
Norton Rose, Lon +
Office of Leg. Counsel, DC -
O'Melveny, CC +/-, DC +, LA +, NY +/-, OC +, SF +, SV +
Orrick, LA +/-, NY +, SF +/-, Sea -, SV +/-
Patterson, NY +/-
Paul Hastings, Chi +, DC +, LA +, NY +, SF +, SV +
Paul Weiss, NY +/-
Perkins Coie, Sea -, SF +, SV +/-
Pillsbury, DC +, LA +, NY +, SF +, SV +
Pircher, LA +
Proskauer Rose, LA +, NY +/-
Quinn, LA -, SF +/-
Reed Smith, LA +, Oak +, SF +
Ropes & Gray, Bos +, DC -, NY +, SF +/-, SV +
Rutan, OC +
Schiff Hardin, Chi -, SF +/-
Sedgwick, -
Shartsis Friese +
Shearman & Sterling, NY +, SF +/-, SV -
Sheppard Mullin, LA +, OC +, SD +, SF +/-
Shook, Hardy & Bacon, SF +
Shulte Roth, NY +
Sidley, Chi +, DC +, LA +, NY +, SF +
Simpson, LA +/-, NY +/-, SV +/-
Skadden, HK +, LA +/-, NY +/-, SF +, SV +
Sonnenscheim, SF -, SV +
Squire, SF/SV +
Steefel, SF +/-
Steptoe & Johnson, DC +
Sullivan & Cromwell, DC -, LA +, NY +, SV -
Thelen, NY +, SF +/-, SV +
Townsend^2, SD -, SV +
Wachtell, + (rumors)/-
Weil, NY +, SV +
White & Case, LA +/-, SV +/-
Williams & Connelly +/-
Willkie Farr, NY +/-
Wilmer Hale, Bos +, DC +/-, PA +, NY +/-, SV -
Wilson Sonsini, SV +
Winston, Chi +, DC +/-, LA +/-, SF +/-

Erwinning is Losing

I'm sure people have already read about the fiasco at UCI Law School. Stuart Benjamin speculates what may have happened here. Considering that the dean's job is to raise money and recruit faculty, the school is tanked all because the named donor (their equivalent of Boalt) balked.

On the flip side, there are apparently some Boalt alumni who are reluctant to donate to Boalt and Edley because they feel his vision is too liberal. In a weird way, the whole legal education and profession are a bit of a wag the dog dilemma. I seem to remember Wings and Vodka posting about how UT is using every square inch for corporate donor sponsorships, but I just can't find it. (My personal favorite from W&V: Outlines). The only other substantive thing I could add is that Chemerinsky has done a great deal for the Los Angeles community (LA Charter Commission, LAPD Commission, commentator during the OJ Trial, etc.) and I was terribly sad to see him leave U$C for Duke. Now I'm even sadder to see UCI act like a bunch of grade A morons.

ID2

Bush commutes Libby's sentence.

No time in federal prison for perjury by a high official. Today is not a good day for the rule of law.

Thoughts?