December 5, 2011—The National Jurist announced today that it is recognizing 61 law schools in five different categories that best prepare students for public service. Although the complete lists of schools will not be published until January, the magazine provided an advance list for two of those categories, Top schools for government jobs and Top schools for prosecutor/public defender jobs. The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law was among only 15 schools nationally included in the latter category.
According to a press release, the magazine looked at employment data, curricula and standard of living to make its determinations. Standard of living is a calculation that includes debt, loan forgiveness options, salary and regional cost of living.
“Our goal was to identify the law schools that have a proven track record of producing graduates for the different segments of public service,” Jack Crittenden, Editor in Chief of National Jurist, said in the press release. “Other rankings may focus on prestige. This study focuses on results.”
Hiram Chodosh, dean of the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, said, “The National Jurist recognition reflects our commitment to public service, our low debt, generous scholarship program, expansive clinical opportunities (330 placements last year for only 400 total students), including prosecution, defense, and innocence, and our commitment to training in criminal justice.” The College of Law at the U is soon to open a new national center for the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) in Salt Lake City for the dedicated training of state and local prosecutors.
Scott Burns, Executive Director of NDAA, said, “One of the main reasons we chose to work with the S.J. Quinney College of Law was the school’s reputation for providing excellent applied training. This recognition from National Jurist reaffirms that the U’s commitment to formal public service learning is leading to enhanced opportunities for its well-prepared graduates.”
The complete list of rankings that includes all five categories will be published in the January issue of National Jurist magazine. To read the partial advance list and the release, click here.