I've been aggregating data from a handful of law school data sets, and I thought it might be useful to provide some "microrankings" derived from that data. The first: elite public interest employment.

Public interest employment is perhaps the most underdiscussed aspect of law school employment outcomes. It may be because it doesn't pay well, like elite law firms. Or it may be a skepticism from many that anyone "chooses" public interest work given debt loads.

But there are thousands who enter the legal work force each year in public interest work, and many of them who don't choose it as a "fallback" position but who are genuinely interested in such work. (In a prestige-obsessed legal culture, it can be hard for some to accept.) One way to measure that, I thought, would be through a measurement of "elite" public interest work--which, I guess, is a concession to a prestige-obsessed legal culture.

The Skadden Fellowship Foundation awards one of the most prestigious and coveted public interest-related positions one can obtain--so prestigious, David Lat meticulously tracks the placement each year alongside the placement of Bristow Fellows or Supreme Court clerks.

Another set of coveted fellowships come from Equal Justice Works, which helps place students in Equal Justice Works Fellowships and as AmeriCorps Legal Fellows.

Fortunately, each site maintains comprehensive records of recent placement. I looked at each school's placement for these fellowships over the last three years (Skadden, 2012-2014; EJW, 2011-2013).

Part of this microranking is a "score," which scores the school on a 20-80 scale based upon its relative performance. The top school, on a percentage basis, will score an 80; the schools who placed none will score a 20; and others will fall on a spectrum based upon their relative performance. Like many rankings, this will illustrate that there is a "pyramid" of placement: the farther down the ranking one goes, the more compressed the schools are among the scores.

I thought a three-year average for two sets of fellowships (nearly 400 in all) would be a useful metric. Admittedly, these are not many positions, but they are not few, either. Certainly, one may quibble as to whether these, and these only, are "elite" public interest positions. These and other usual caveats apply.

The "placement" is the three-year total placement; the "percentage" is the three-year placement divided by the three-year graduating class total. I thought I'd call this a "microranking," as it is a ranking of a single, narrow metric. Thoughts posted below the table.

 
 
 
 
 
  Three-Year Average Elite Public Interest Graduate Placement
  

    from excessofdemocracy.com
 

  Score
  School
  Placement
  Percentage
 

  80
  YALE UNIVERSITY
  15
  2.4%
 

  65*
  CALIFORNIA-IRVINE, UNIVERSITY OF
  1
  1.8%
 

  63
  HARVARD UNIVERSITY
  30
  1.7%
 

  62
  STANFORD UNIVERSITY
  9
  1.6%
 

  59
  CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY, UNIVERSITY OF
  14
  1.5%
 

  NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
  9
  1.5%
 

  55
  CALIFORNIA-LOS ANGELES, UNIVERSITY OF
  14
  1.4%
 

  54
  CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
  5
  1.3%
 

  50
  ILLINOIS, UNIVERSITY OF
  7
  1.2%
 

  NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
  17
  1.2%
 

  48
  WASHINGTON, UNIVERSITY OF
  6
  1.1%
 

  46
  CALIFORNIA-DAVIS, UNIVERSITY OF
  6
  1.0%
 

  SOUTH DAKOTA, UNIVERSITY
  OF
  2
  1.0%
 

  44
  COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
  13
  1.0%
 

  MICHIGAN, UNIVERSITY OF
  11
  1.0%
 

  40
  CINCINNATI, UNIVERSITY OF
  3
  0.8%
 

  DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
  2
  0.8%
 

  39
  PENNSYLVANIA, UNIVERSITY OF
  6
  0.7%
 

  38
  TOLEDO, UNIVERSITY OF
  3
  0.7%
 

  37
  CHICAGO, UNIVERSITY OF
  4
  0.7%
 

  GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
  13
  0.7%
 

  36
  NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY
  3
  0.6%
 

  34
  BUFFALO-SUNY, UNIVERSITY OF 
  4
  0.6%
 

  33
  BOSTON COLLEGE
  4
  0.5%
 

  IOWA, UNIVERSITY OF
  3
  0.5%
 

  LOYOLA UNIVERSITY-CHICAGO
  4
  0.5%
 

  SEATTLE UNIVERSITY
  5
  0.5%
 

  SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
  3
  0.5%
 

  TEXAS AT AUSTIN,
  UNIVERSITY OF
  6
  0.5%
 

  VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
  3
  0.5%
 

  WASHINGTON AND LEE
  UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.5%
 

  WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.5%
 

  32
  OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
  3
  0.5%
 

  SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA,
  UNIVERSITY OF
  3
  0.5%
 

  30
  CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.4%
 

  DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
  4
  0.4%
 

  MIAMI, UNIVERSITY OF
  5
  0.4%
 

  MINNESOTA, UNIVERSITY OF
  3
  0.4%
 

  WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.4%
 

  WISCONSIN, UNIVERSITY OF
  3
  0.4%
 

  29
  AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
  5
  0.4%
 

  APPALACHIAN SCHOOL OF LAW
  1
  0.3%
 

  BOSTON UNIVERSITY
  3
  0.4%
 

  CASE WESTERN RESERVE
  UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.3%
 

  GOLDEN GATE UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.4%
 

  NORTHERN ILLINOIS
  UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.3%
 

  28
  CALIFORNIA-HASTINGS, UNIVERSITY OF
  4
  0.3%
 

  INDIANA UNIVERSITY -
  BLOOMINGTON
  2
  0.3%
 

  27
  ARIZONA SUMMIT LAW SCHOOL
  1
  0.3%
 

  AVE MARIA SCHOOL OF LAW
  1
  0.3%
 

  CARDOZO SCHOOL OF LAW
  3
  0.3%
 

  EMORY UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.3%
 

  ST. MARY'S UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.3%
 

  TULANE UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.3%
 

  VIRGINIA, UNIVERSITY OF
  3
  0.3%
 

  26
  CALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW
  2
  0.2%
 

  CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.2%
 

  DREXEL UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.3%
 

  HOWARD UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.2%
 

  LOUISVILLE, UNIVERSITY OF
  1
  0.2%
 

  LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
  UNIVERSITY-LOS ANGELES
  3
  0.2%
 

  MARYLAND, UNIVERSITY OF
  2
  0.2%
 

  SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.2%
 

  ST. THOMAS, UNIVERSITY OF
  (MINNESOTA)
  1
  0.2%
 

  TEMPLE UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.2%
 

  WHITTIER LAW SCHOOL
  1
  0.2%
 

  25
  BALTIMORE, UNIVERSITY OF
  2
  0.2%
 

  FORDHAM UNIVERSITY
  3
  0.2%
 

  KANSAS, UNIVERSITY OF
  1
  0.2%
 

  MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.2%
 

  NOTRE DAME, UNIVERSITY OF
  1
  0.2%
 

  NOVA SOUTHEASTERN
  UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.2%
 

  OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.2%
 

  OKLAHOMA, UNIVERSITY OF
  1
  0.2%
 

  ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.2%
 

  SOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOL
  2
  0.2%
 

  STETSON UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.2%
 

  24
  ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.2%
 

  BROOKLYN LAW SCHOOL
  2
  0.1%
 

  CORNELL UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.2%
 

  DETROIT MERCY, UNIVERSITY
  OF
  1
  0.2%
 

  DUKE UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.2%
 

  GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.2%
 

  HAMLINE UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.2%
 

  JOHN MARSHALL LAW SCHOOL
  2
  0.2%
 

  LEWIS AND CLARK COLLEGE
  1
  0.2%
 

  PACE UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.1%
 

  PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.2%
 

  SAN FRANCISCO, UNIVERSITY
  OF
  1
  0.2%
 

  SOUTH TEXAS COLLEGE OF
  LAW
  2
  0.2%
 

  THOMAS JEFFERSON SCHOOL
  OF LAW
  1
  0.1%
 

  WILLIAM AND MARY LAW
  SCHOOL
  1
  0.2%
 

  23
  CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
  1
  0.1%
 

  CHICAGO-KENT COLLEGE OF
  LAW-IIT
  1
  0.1%
 

  DENVER, UNIVERSITY OF
  1
  0.1%
 

  GEORGE WASHINGTON
  UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.1%
 

  HOUSTON, UNIVERSITY OF
  1
  0.1%
 

  INDIANA UNIVERSITY -
  INDIANAPOLIS
  1
  0.1%
 

  LOYOLA UNIVERSITY-NEW
  ORLEANS
  1
  0.1%
 

  MCGEORGE SCHOOL OF LAW
  1
  0.1%
 

  NEW ENGLAND LAW | BOSTON
  1
  0.1%
 

  NORTH CAROLINA,
  UNIVERSITY OF
  1
  0.1%
 

  RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-CAMDEN
  1
  0.1%
 

  SAN DIEGO, UNIVERSITY OF
  1
  0.1%
 

  SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.1%
 

  SETON HALL UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.1%
 

  SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY
  2
  0.1%
 

  VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.1%
 

  WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
  1
  0.1%
 

  WIDENER
  UNIVERSITY-DELAWARE
  1
  0.1%
 

  22
  FLORIDA COASTAL SCHOOL OF LAW
  1
  0.1%
 

  FLORIDA, UNIVERSITY OF
  1
  0.1%
 

  NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL
  1
  0.1%
 

  21
  THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL
  1
  0.0%
 

  20
  (remainder)
  0
  0.0%
 

  
  *denotes only one year's data
  
  
 

  
  
  
  
 

Note: due to rounding, some schools may appear to have similar percentages but have different ranks, or vice versa.

A few thoughts.

First, the top public interest schools are, perhaps unsurprisingly, the top "overall" schools.

Second, UC-Irvine's rank as #2 overall is awfully deceptive, given that it placed one student from an extremely small graduating class of 56. But I thought it would be unfair to exclude the school entirely.

Third, Northeastern's placement is notable. It not only has one of the highest public interest placement rates in the country, but its novel first-year curriculum orients students toward public interest. Its placement is high even among "elite" public interest opportunities.

Law school microranking: elite public interest employment

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