For the second year in a row, the University of Nebraska College of Law is the No. 1 best-value law school in the nation.
The National Jurist, which along with its sister publication preLaw magazine is the leading news source in legal education, released its best-value rankings this week. The publication again tapped Nebraska with its top ranking – this year, Nebraska Law led a list of 58 “best-value” law schools.
The university also was tops in the nation last year. It was No. 2 in 2014.
“This ranking takes into consideration the factors that should be given the most weight by prospective students: bar passage rates, employment rates and the cost of receiving the education,” said Richard Moberly, Nebraska’s interim law dean. “At Nebraska Law, we provide an educational experience that focuses on developing the skills necessary to pursue a professional legal career in today’s world.”
Those skills range from the more traditional ones associated with legal training – analytical thinking, research and writing – as well as what some consider “soft” skills like empathy, negotiation, listening and networking, Moberly said.
“We believe this holistic approach sets Nebraska Law apart and better prepares our students for a wide range of career paths that they are free to pursue because they leave with a manageable debt load,” he said.
The methodology behind the ranking takes into account bar passage rate, true tuition costs, post-graduation employment rate, cost of living and average indebtedness. The employment rate is weighted heaviest in the calculation.
In March, U.S. News & World Report also ranked Nebraska Law No. 57 of 149 law schools. In four years, the college has climbed 32 spots in those annual rankings.
