King Hall Ranked Among Top Public Interest Law Schools

In a welcome recognition of UC Davis School of Law's status as one of nation's top public interest law schools, King Hall placed No. 16 in preLaw magazine's recent ranking of "Best Law Schools for Public Interest."

A total of 96 law schools were recognized in the rankings for their commitment to public service.  In order to qualify, law schools needed to have at least one public interest clinic, at least one faculty committee/administrator to oversee public interest, and a loan repayment assistance program.  UC Davis School of Law more than meets these criteria, with four active clinics, four faculty members-Dean Kevin R. Johnson, Associate Dean Vikram Amar, and Professors Margaret Johns and Leticia Saucedo-working to supervise public interest programs, and the recently expanded King Hall Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which was the first such program of its kind at a California law school.

Schools that met these criteria were rated according to three categories: curriculum (including courses and clinical opportunities), cost (tuition, debt, and loan repayment options), and placement (the percent of graduates working in public service).  UC Davis placed sixteenth, behind only Stanford and UC Berkeley among California law schools.

UC Davis School of Law has fared well in recent rankings of top law schools.  King Hall placed at No. 28 in the nation in the 2011 edition of the U.S. News & World Report rankings of "America's Best Graduate Schools," the best-known, if sometimes criticized, rating of American law schools.  University of Chicago law professor Brian Leiter's influential ranking of law faculty scholarly influence ranked UC Davis at 23. 

Dean Kevin R. Johnson stated that while it is important not to attach too much significance to rankings, the preLaw article was a welcome recognition of King Hall's excellence in public interest law and the Law School's continuing upward trajectory.