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Princeton Review ratings reveal Drake law strengths Drake University Law School’s experiential learning opportunities, faculty accessibility, hands-on approach to teaching legal theory and preparation for the job market drew praise from students surveyed for the Princeton Review’s latest rankings of the nation’s best law schools.
The rankings were released in Princeton Review’s 2011 edition of “The Best 172 Law Schools.”
“We are extremely gratified by the Princeton study,” said Drake Law School Dean Allan Vestal, “because it confirms our commitment to experiential legal education and attention to students in an environment that values both teaching and scholarship.”
To generate the rankings, The Princeton Review surveyed 18,000 students attending the 172 law schools profiled in the book. Conducted during the 2009-10, 2008-09, and 2007-08 academic years, the student surveys were primarily completed online.
The book quotes a third-year law student as saying, “By the time I finished my (first year of law school) I had argued an appellate case in front of the Iowa Court of Appeals, eaten breakfast with the Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, witnessed a criminal trial from jury selection to final verdict in the law school’s legal clinic, and landed a summer clerkship with one of the largest firms in the state.”
The publication also features the following comments from students:
• Academically speaking, the “greatest strengths” of Drake Law are “the opportunities for practical experience” (practicum classes, clinics, clerkships, externships, internships, research assistant positions, teaching assistant positions), and “the accessibility of the faculty.”
• Drake emphasizes a “hands-on approach” to teach “legal theory.”
• Many students feel that they have “an edge on the competition in the legal job market” since they’re prepared not just for the “legal analysis required to be an attorney,” but also for “the ethical, technical, and [skills-based] parts of the job.”
• “The attention to detail the professors provide the students with is unparalleled.”
• The administration is “committed to scholarship, committed to the profession, and committed to its students.”
• “The Best 172 Law Schools: 2011 Edition” also has advice on applying to law schools and funding the degree.