THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602130446
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
Many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
- Matthew 19:30
Regent University Law School, rated among the worst law schools in America last year by U.S. News & World Report, is now ranked among the best by a former chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.
The survey rates Regent among the top third of American law schools - 59th out of 179 - and ahead of every other law school in the state except the University of Virginia.
The rankings, released last week, were compiled by Thomas E. Brennan, founder and president of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich. They are based on 50 categories, with heavy emphasis on library and faculty size.
``All I have done is calculate what appear to be significant ratios and rank schools accordingly, with no favorites and no assumptions. Just the plain, unvarnished facts,'' Brennan wrote in his 400-page report.
For Regent Law, which has been rejected for full accreditation by the American Bar Association since 1989, it was a welcome bit of news.
``We celebrate this honored recognition of our maturing law school,'' Regent President Terry Lindvall said in a press release.
Other colleges were more dubious. ``That doesn't correspond with any rankings I've seen in the last few years,'' said William and Mary President Timothy Sullivan, a former law dean, whose school was ranked 69th.
How did it happen?
Last year, U.S. News & World Report ranked Regent in the bottom fifth of American law schools in its annual college report. The magazine rated Regent last in reputation by academics and near-last in reputation by lawyers and judges.
Regent officials have always been skeptical of that ranking.
``I personally don't believe in listings,'' said J. Nelson Happy, Regent's law dean. ``I don't believe anyone can tell the difference between law schools in the middle or wherever.''
Anyway, Happy said, the U.S. News rankings are based, in part, on subjective reputation, not hard-and-fast numbers, which is deadly for little-known law schools like Regent.
``I don't think anyone's ever heard of Regent outside of a few Christian groups and people in Tidewater,'' Happy said. ``It just hasn't had time to develop a national reputation.''
Brennan agreed.
``Where does U.S. News & World Report get its information?'' he wrote. ``They ask the same people who read and believe their magazine. They ask law teachers, lawyers and judges to tell them what they think, believe and feel. It is totally subjective and without substance.''
Brennan based his own rankings on stats from the American Bar Association in 50 categories, including enrollment, faculty and library holdings. He did not consider such factors as job placements and bar-exam pass rates. Regent graduates have the lowest bar-exam passage rate among Virginia's six law schools.
That methodology discouraged Sullivan. ``To do an evaluation mostly done on inputs rather than outputs doesn't give me any confidence,'' he said.
Regent officials were more satisfied. ``The results of this study . . . validate in some measure the tremendous investment of time and money which we have dedicated to building Regent University School of Law,'' founder Pat Robertson said in a written statement.
Incidentally, Brennan's own law school fared well in his new survey: 79th out of 179. U.S. News ranked it in the bottom fifth. MEMO: Staff writer Phil Walzer contributed to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
BRENNAN'S RANKINGS
Here is how Thomas E. Brennan, former chief justice of the
Michigan Supreme TOP TEN
1. Columbia
2. Harvard
3. New York University
4. Minnesota
5. California-Berkeley
6. Yale
7. Northwestern
8. Iowa
9. Michigan
10. Ohio State
VIRGINIA SCHOOLS
12. Virginia
59. Regent
69. William and Mary
70. Washington & Lee
81. George Mason
141. Richmond
KEYWORDS: LAW SCHOOLS RATINGS by CNB