MORGANTOWN – West Virginia University College of Law’s repeat ranking as a U.S. News & World Report top 100 law school “is a reflection of the hard work that we do,” WVU Law Dean Gregory Bowman told The West Virginia Record.
However, Bowman said rankings like those put out by U.S. News & World Report are a by-product of the college’s strong program, rather than a goal.
“We are an excellent school and we find the rankings usually take care of themselves,” Bowman said. “We try to focus on providing a high-quality, affordable education.”
Specifically, Bowman said the college offers students a solid grounding in the law, legal clinics and strong job opportunities.
In addition, Bowman said WVU Law is expanding the work of its clinics across the state “to serve the entire state of West Virginia.” The college is also assisting in flood recovery, is building a presence in a new Beckley campus and is expanding its Tuition Loyalty Program.
“The law is a service profession,” Bowman said. “We are very serious about training the next generation of leaders.”
According to a WVU Law news release, U.S. News & World Report placed WVU Law at 96th out of 196 accredited law schools as part of its 2018 Best Graduate Schools ranking.
“The U.S. News top 100 is a highly competitive group of law schools,” Bowman said in the news release. “The fact that we consistently maintain our position among the best law schools in the country is a testimony to the innovative programs, high-quality legal education and career-building opportunities we offer our students.”
Bowman also attributed the college’s success to “a dedicated faculty and staff and the support of alumni, friends, the legal community and WVU leadership.”
The U.S. News & World Report rankings took into account 2015 and 2016 statistics in areas including peer assessment, LSAT scores, employment rate and bar passage rate to determine its most-recent rankings.