Loyola Law School Ranked 54th in Nation in 2012 U.S. News Law School Rankings

Placed in Top 10 in Key Categories: 5th for Trial Advocacy, 9th for Diversity, 10th for Tax Law

LOS ANGELES, March 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Loyola Law School, Los Angeles was ranked No. 54 out of 190 law schools in U.S. News & World Report's 2012 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools," rising two spots from its 2011 rank of No. 56 and achieving its highest mark since a 2003 change in ranking format. Over the last two years, Loyola has improved 17 spots in this national ranking. Loyola also ranked among the best in the nation in specialty areas: fifth for trial advocacy and 10th for tax law. Additionally, Loyola ranked ninth in the nation for the diversity of its student body.

"This year's U.S. News rankings underscore Loyola's core commitment to providing students an excellent legal education grounded in practical training in a diverse academic environment," said Dean Victor Gold.

The only California law school ranked in U.S. News' top 10 for trial advocacy, Loyola has long fostered advocacy clinics and award-winning moot court teams. To leverage its advocacy strengths, Loyola recently launched the Advocacy Institute. The institute will include enhanced practical-skills offerings, such as a practitioner-in-residence, a capital habeas litigation clinic and advanced trial advocacy instruction.

Ranked 10th in the nation, Loyola's tax law program is tied with the tax law programs at Columbia University, Stanford University and the University of Texas. Students in Loyola's program benefit from a prestigious full-time tax faculty augmented by top tax-law practitioners drawn from the best firms in Los Angeles.

Among other U.S. News rankings, Loyola's Evening Division ranked No. 30 out of 80 part-time law school programs surveyed. Loyola's Evening Division roots date to the school's founding in 1920.

About the U.S. News rankings

The rankings include 190 American Bar Association-accredited law schools. U.S. News ranked the schools based on data collected in the fall of 2010 and early 2011. The rankings are based on a weighted average of a series of quality measures, including peer assessment score, assessment score by lawyers/judges, median LSAT scores, median undergrad GPA, acceptance rate, employment rates for graduates, bar passages rate, expenditures per student, student/faculty ratio and library resources.

The part-time rankings are based on a weighted average of four areas: quality assessment, selectivity, part-time focus and overall rank. Rankings of tax and trial advocacy programs are based on evaluations from professors in the field. U.S. News calculated the diversity ranking using data on student body collected by U.S. News from each law school. More information about the rankings is available at www.usnews.com.

About Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

Located in downtown Los Angeles—a legal, financial and media capital—Loyola Law School is home to prominent faculty, dedicated students and cutting-edge programs. Committed to legal ethics and the public interest, it has produced top attorneys for 90 years. The Princeton Review ranked Loyola third for "Best Classroom Experience." Loyola was ranked 29th on the 2010 Super Lawyers U.S. Law School Rankings. National Jurist magazine ranks it eighth on its list of "Best Law Schools for Public Interest Law." For more information, please see www.lls.edu or contact Brian Costello, deputy director of communications, at [email protected], 213-736-1444 (d) or 310-902-9560 (c).  

SOURCE Loyola Law School, Los Angeles