In 2014, Law Street Media set out to redefine law school specialty rankings. We wanted to provide a mix of qualitative and quantitive information to prospective law school students who are interested in pursuing a particular specialty program while in law school, and we’re pretty happy to say we succeeded with our first cycle. We covered a number of different specialties–from the hugely popular and common criminal and tax programs, to smaller and more specialized fields like entertainment and real estate law. As our first three-year cycle of specialty rankings comes to a close, we wanted to take a few minutes to recognize the schools that consistently ranked at the top of our lists. Click on the schools below to see their highlights:

Columbia Law School, Harvard Law School, New York University School of Law,Georgetown University Law Center, University of Virginia School of Law , Fordham University School of Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, University of Pennsylvania School of Law, University of California – Los Angeles School of Law, and Honorable Mentions.

Columbia Law School

Harvard Law School

New York University School of Law

Georgetown University Law Center

University of Virginia School of Law

Fordham University School of Law

Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law

University of Pennsylvania Law School

University of California – Los Angeles School of Law

Honorable Mentions

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post 2016 Law School Specialty Rankings: Who Came Out on Top? appeared first on Law Street.

Research and analysis done by Law Street’s Law School Rankings team: Alexis Evans, Anneliese Mahoney, Julia Bryant, Sean Simon, Alex Simone, Inez Nicholson, Ashlee Smith, and Sam Reilly.

Click here for detailed ranking information for each of the Top 10 Law Schools for Tax Law.

Click here to see all the 2016 specialty rankings.

Click here for information on rankings methodology.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Top 10 Law Schools for Tax Law: #5 Columbia Law School appeared first on Law Street.

Research and analysis done by Law Street’s Law School Rankings team: Alexis Evans, Anneliese Mahoney, Julia Bryant, Sean Simon, Alex Simone, Inez Nicholson, Ashlee Smith, Sam Reilly.

Click here for detailed ranking information for each of the Top 10 Law Schools for Real Estate Law.

Click here to see all the 2016 specialty rankings.

Click here for information on rankings methodology.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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ColumbiaInfographic

Research and analysis done by Law Street’s Law School Rankings team: Alexis Evans, Anneliese Mahoney, Julia Bryant, Sean Simon, Alex Simone, Inez Nicholson, Ashlee Smith, Sam Reilly.

Click here for detailed ranking information for each of the Top 10 Law Schools for Immigration Law.

Click here to see all the 2016 specialty rankings.

Click here for information on rankings methodology.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Top 10 Law Schools for Immigration Law: #2 Columbia Law School appeared first on Law Street.

Research and analysis done by Law Street’s Law School Rankings team: Alexis Evans, Hyunjae Ham, Symon Rowlands and Toni Keddell.

Click here to read more coverage on Law Street’s Law School Specialty Rankings 2015.

Click here for information on rankings methodology.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Top 10 Schools for J.D./M.B.A. Programs: #5 Columbia Law School appeared first on Law Street.

Research and analysis done by Law Street’s Law School Rankings team: Alexis Evans, Hyunjae Ham, Symon Rowlands and Toni Keddell.

Click here to read more coverage on Law Street’s Law School Specialty Rankings 2015.

Click here for information on rankings methodology.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Top 10 Law Schools For Civil Rights Law: #2 Columbia Law School appeared first on Law Street.

Research and analysis done by Law Street’s Law School Rankings team: Alexis Evans, Hyunjae Ham, Symon Rowlands and Toni Keddell.

Click here to read more coverage on Law Street’s Law School Specialty Rankings 2015.

Click here for information on rankings methodology.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Top 10 Law Schools for Criminal Law: #2 Columbia Law School appeared first on Law Street.

Research and analysis done by Law Street’s Law School Rankings team: Alexis Evans, Hyunjae Ham, Toni Keddell, and Symon Rowlands.

Click here to read more coverage on Law Street’s Law School Specialty Rankings 2015.

Click here for information on rankings methodology.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Top 10 Law Schools for International Law: #2 Columbia Law School appeared first on Law Street.

One of my favorite parts of my job here at Law Street is that I get to work with incredibly intelligent individuals with whom I occasionally disagree. Blogger Allison Dawson is one of those people. Today, she wrote a piece entitled “Columbia Law Students Can Postpone Exams in Light of Grand Jury Decisions.” It’s a great take–but I think there are a couple important points missing.

For some context, here’s the background: in light of the incredibly controversial and nation-sweeping announcements that grand juries in Missouri and New York failed to indict the cops who killed Michael Brown and Eric Garner, respectively, Columbia University Law School made an announcement. It regarded the reactions that some of the students may be having to those verdicts, and offered counseling, opportunities to talk to professors regarding the indictment, and this:

The law school has a policy and set of procedures for students who experience trauma during exam period. In accordance with these procedures and policy, students who feel that their performance on examinations will be sufficiently impaired due to the effects of these recent events may petition Dean Alice Rigas to have an examination rescheduled.

There’s a crucial part there that I want to make sure we’re all very cognizant of, and that’s that a Columbia Law student can’t just walk into Dean Rigas’ office and say “hey, I’m feeling weird about these indictments, can I take those exams later?”

The Academic Procedures outlined by Columbia make it pretty clear that petitioning to not take an exam isn’t really an easy practice. It certainly seems that a petition is by no means a guarantee to skip an exam, and that Columbia takes petitions pretty seriously. Columbia’s policy states:

Some petitions can be decided on within two to seven business days; others may require a meeting of the Rules Committee or the faculty and will take longer. It is advisable to make your petition as early as possible and not to assume the results of a petition.

A follow-up letter makes it seem like they really would only allow someone to postpone an exam under rather dire circumstances. The Vice Dean for Curriculum, Avery Katz wrote:

Accordingly, students who wish to request a rescheduled exam, or other similar accommodation, should either write to the office of Registration Services with an individual explanation of the basis of the request, or speak in person with an academic counselor in the Office of Student Services.  Unless time pressure is severe, meeting with an academic counselor is the preferred alternative, in case our student services staff can offer support or other resources that may be helpful.

I truly hope that if anyone uses this to try to get out of taking an exam, that Columbia would catch it with its policies. To anyone trying that, here’s a message to you: you’re a shitty person, and you are making it harder for those who actually do need to postpone an exam. Honestly, I highly doubt that many people will end up asking to postpone their exams because of these grand juries, or that Columbia will honor those requests.

All that being said, the fact that Columbia Law is recognizing that the grand jury announcements could have been triggering for a student is excellent. I agree with Allison that our future lawyers need to be able to accept and learn from the outcomes of our legal system, but I think that’s oversimplifying what those failures to indict really mean. The grand jury decisions were symptoms of significantly larger issues in our justice system, like racial inequality, police brutality, and a culture of violence. The protests that have continued all around the nation show that these conversations didn’t stop when those grand juries made their decisions.

No one gets to dictate what could cause someone to have emotional or mental difficulties and need help. Columbia Law has policies in place that allow students to make their case if they are suffering from anything that would impede performance on exams. The letter that went out yesterday just clarified that. There will of course always be people who try to take advantage of the policy, and I truly hope Columbia Law is able to identify those people. But the fact that Columbia is taking such a progressive view on mental health and triggers is truly refreshing. It’s the thought that counts, and for Columbia Law, this truly was a good thought.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Columbia Law Takes Progressive Stance on Mental Health appeared first on Law Street.

Hey y’all!

There are some things that I have a hard time understanding and this is one of those instances. Columbia Law School has announced that it will allow its students to postpone their exams.

Why, you ask? Well my lovelies “the law school has a policy and set of procedures for students who experience trauma during exam period,” reads interim dean Robert Scott’s message to students this weekend. “In accordance with these procedures and policy, students who feel that their performance on examinations will be sufficiently impaired due to the effects of these recent events may petition Dean Alice Rigas to have an examination rescheduled,” Scott continued. Scott is referencing the recent non-indictment decisions in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases.

I understand that there are some differences of opinion in both cases over the grand juries’ decisions, but for a law school to concede to the notion that its own law students have been traumatized by them is just baffling. These students are literally spending entire months learning about the law but somehow may not be able to handle the outcomes of our justice system? Where is the logic in that? Columbia Law School just basically said that its law students do not understand the very thing they are learning.

Should a student have his own opinion and perspective on a subject? Absolutely! But should he be allowed to take advantage of the situation and get away with postponing his exams? Absolutely NOT!

If students cannot handle the decision of a grand jury, and fully understand that process, then they should drop out of school and find a new profession. Not everyone is indicted. Not everyone wins their case This should be the perfect time to teach students about the process, not coddle them. Plus, let’s be realistic: some of these students will take full advantage of a situation to buy themselves a little more time to study or do things they otherwise would not be able to do if they actually took their finals on the dates already scheduled.

Interim Dean Scott also states that “for some law students, particularly, though not only, students of color, this chain of events is all the more profound as it threatens to undermine a sense that the law is a fundamental pillar of society designed to protect fairness, due process and equality.” So, what it seems that he’s saying is that law students could very well have lost their respect and passion for the law because the grand jury’s made a decision based off of facts and testimony? I’m more miffed by the fact that this man thinks that law students will lose respect for the law because the grand jury did its job!

Laws are not perfect, people are not perfect and things don’t always go the way that you want, but to not be able to handle that reality is concerning.

I can appreciate that Columbia Law School is trying to take care of its students but this is not the way to go. Embrace the controversy and make this a learning moment for all.

Allison Dawson

Allison Dawson was born in Germany and raised in Mississippi and Texas. A graduate of Texas Tech University and Arizona State University, she’s currently dedicating her life to studying for the LSAT. Twitter junkie. Conservative. Get in touch with Allison at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Columbia Law is taking big steps toward strengthening its Program in the Law and Economics of Capital Markets, and it’s doing so with the help of a very good friend. On June 4, the school received a three-year grant from the NASDAQ OMX Educational Foundation, which will fund the advancement of the program by supporting the production of a seminal treatise on capital markets regulation and the development a more comprehensive website.

So what’s the big deal? The average tuition for one year of law school is $41,985, according to lawschooltransparency.com. This inflated tuition has contributed to a downward trend in law school enrollment nationwide. But if innovative cross-disciplinary programs like Columbia’s capital markets regulation course are introduced, students might be compelled to pay more now to earn more in the future.

My colleague Matt DeWilde wrote about the University of Arizona’s tuition decrease and how the cut incentivizes students to attend three-year programs at cheaper tuition rates; however, three years with a smaller price tag still costs more than two. But there’s more that law schools could do than just slash prices. If law schools across the nation were to lower tuition and continue offering versatile courses like Columbia Law is doing, we could end up with better educated lawyers. The most valuable aspect of programs like this one is a student body that actually cares about the subject. Legal grads could become more proficient legal advocates with the help of partnerships like Columbia Business and Law and NASDAQ.

The Program in the Law and Economics of Capital Markets is jointly based in the Columbia Law School and the Columbia Business School. The first of its kind, it focuses on three main goals:

1. To further develop the Capital Markets Regulation course and its materials in order to allow other institutions to take advantage of them.
2. To draft a seminal treatise on capital markets regulation.
3. To unite professionals through the Fellow Workshops to promote discussion of legal regulation of capital markets and economic forces that drive regulation.

The grant allows Columbia Law to continue providing courses in the up-and-coming field where business and law collide, without augmenting tuition. The program is directed by three seasoned scholars, Professors Merritt B. Fox, Lawrence R. Glosten, and Edward F. Greene. In my interview with Professor Fox, he said that anywhere from 50 to 80 students enroll in the main course. By 2016 he and Professor Glosten hope to complete the seminal treatise, which will be the first text on capital markets to be used as a professional reference and teaching material for legal practitioners, market participants, and scholars.

Publishing the seminal treatise means facilitating the course at other institutions, which is just what this nation needs. Fox said the University of South Carolina School of Law will implement a capital markets regulation course in the upcoming school year, and that readily available materials of a hard text would stimulate other universities to adopt courses in the subject.

Another resource the grant will support is the NASDAQ OMX Fellow Workshops program. The workshops connect students with “experts from the legal and business academy, government, industry and legal practice for high-level discussions to the legal regulation of capital markets and the economic forces that shape markets and the regulatory environment.”

Most of the workshops are recorded and published on the program’s website. Students can use the workshops to network with the professionals in the field. “If someone became interested we would be able to connect them with one of the speakers in the program,” Fox said. Networking is a key aspect for aspiring lawyers in a time when the legal job market is rocky.

Due to low employment rates for legal post-grads, Columbia Law’s capital markets program will give participating students a new edge. And who doesn’t love being a little ahead? The combination of easily accessible materials and networking opportunities provide students with the upper hand in the post-graduation job hunt. With the support from NASDAQ, the program is sure to continue breaking ground in the blossoming field.

Congratulations, Columbia Law! Your capital markets program is sure to kick butt in a new era of legal studies.

—

Natasha Paulmeno (@natashapaulmeno)

Featured image courtesy of [Luis Villa del Campo via Flickr]

Natasha Paulmeno

Natasha Paulmeno is an aspiring PR professional studying at the University of Maryland. She is learning to speak Spanish fluently through travel, music, and school. In her spare time she enjoys Bachata music, playing with her dog, and exploring social media trends. Contact Natasha at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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