Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law rose 9 places in the U.S. News and World Report Law School 2019 rankings, jumping to number 56 out of 144 ranked schools. The U.S. News and World Report rankings for the 2019 Best Graduate Schools, including law schools, were announced on March 20th. The school has been on a steep upward trend in these rankings in the past three years, seeing it rise a total of 19 places since 2015.
Cardozo reports what has led it to merit this increase in status, beginning with Dean Melanie Leslie’s “aggressive five-year strategy for growth” which was implemented just two and a half years ago. The school cites the plan’s many accomplishments, including a “top-to-bottom rebuilding of our career services office, with outstanding results.”
As a result of this remodeling, Cardozo was named one of the top 40 law schools in the country for placing graduates in so-called “gold standard” jobs in 2017. Additionally, 80% of the class of 2017 landed full-time jobs that require a JD or bar passage. The school’s improvements in the area of placing students post-graduation is significant, as it has become harder in recent years for law students to obtain jobs immediately after graduation. The school’s successes in this area also include being ranked 37th in the nation for placing graduates in full-time jobs at law firms with over 100 attorneys, and is also ranked 11th in the country for placing students in public interest jobs as public defenders, prosecutors and government jobs. The wide range of career opportunities available to and obtained by Cardozo graduates is a clear indication of the success of the program’s rebuilding of the career services office.
In addition to this, the school has also began developing and improving other crucial areas. For example, Cardozo expanded curricular offerings in legal-market growth areas, including STEM industries; media, arts, entertainment, sports and fashion; and commercial real estate. The depth and breadth of this additional curriculum gives students the opportunity to find more opportunities post-graduation, as well as giving the school stronger qualifications for a well-rounded and quality law school education. To supplement the new curriculum, Cardozo has also hired “brilliant new professors who combine scholarly accomplishments and practical experience.” The school also focused on expanding their “already extensive” real-world experience opportunities for students, including 12 in-house clinics taught by full-time faculty members and numerous field clinics overseen by practicing attorneys. All of these additions have given the school a boost in the quality of its education and resources, and are responsible for the school’s drastic bump in the Law School rankings in recent years.
As Cardozo’s five-year strategy is only halfway to completion, there are sure to be many more positive results to be announced, hopefully leading to a continuing upward growth in rankings.