Will The Next U.S. News Law School Rankings Be ‘Review Bombed’ Because Of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?

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It has been a month since Israel was invaded by Hamas-led Palestinian soldiers. Since then, some law students and law professors have publicly stated their support for each side. In light of the large number of protests and various isolated incidents connected to the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly at prestigious universities, some have questioned the type and quality of education their students are receiving.

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Some law students have paid a heavy price for their beliefs. At least two major law firms have rescinded employment offers to students who expressed support for Palestine and were perceived to be antisemitic. More than 40 large law firms sent a joint letter to law school deans informing them that antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, etc., is not tolerated, which seems to suggest that law students exhibiting this behavior should not expect a job offer at their firms.

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In the near future, a select group of people in legal academia as well as practicing lawyers and judges will submit a survey that rates the quality of every law school to U.S. News and World Report. Their responses will help determine the publication’s annual law school rankings as they represent 25% of a law school’s score.

But could the students’ responses result in respondents “review bombing” a law school’s ranking due to the recent conflict? Review bombing is generally defined as a large number of people leaving negative reviews about a business or product in response to a certain incident or multiple incidents. Sometimes they are coordinated.

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U.S. News recently changed its law school rankings methodology to give more credit for post-graduate employment outcomes and less credit for a school’s reputation. As a result, its peer assessment score (determined by certain members of law school administrators and faculty) has been reduced to 12.5% from 25%. Similarly, its lawyers’ and judges’ assessment scores have been reduced slightly, to 12.5% from 15%. No one outside of U.S. News really knows how and which lawyers and judges are selected for this survey.

Those who receive the U.S. News survey are required to rank a school’s overall quality by either giving a score between one (marginal) and five (outstanding) or indicating that they do not know. There is no public information on guidelines or recommendations on what factors to consider when determining the score.

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Despite the reduced impact, the combined 25% reputational score is still significant enough to cause a law school’s rank to rise or drop significantly if enough respondents give a higher or lower score than they did in previous years.

Some survey respondents will have strong views on the conflict, either because they or someone they care about is either Israeli or Palestinian, or their personal values and anecdotal lived experiences will gravitate them toward a particular side.

But the respondents for the most part are highly intelligent, rational people, unlike typical internet trolls. They should understand that law school administrators can only do so much to control their students’ actions. They must ensure that students are able to learn in an environment free of harassment. On the other hand, they also have to make sure that everyone is able to speak freely on controversial issues, even though someone may be offended and think it is a form of hate speech.

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In light of the above, respondents will be hesitant to change a school’s quality score. But if a school is to be “punished,” most respondents are unlikely to do anything drastic such as giving a “one” score to a school that typically gets a “five.” Most will give it a score of “four” or possibly a “three.” As an alternative, they may give a “five” score to another up-and-coming law school while declining to give a score to a prestigious school.

But let’s suppose U.S. News thinks the most recent rankings have been tainted due to review bombing. It can respond in several ways.

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One way is to report its rankings as they normally would despite the changes, say nothing, and let the chips fall where they may. Another is to report the rankings but include a disclaimer that the reputational scores could be an anomaly triggered by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and related events. Or they can change the rules by reducing the impact of the reputational scores from its current 25%.

Despite the criticism some universities have been receiving due to their students’ actions in response to the recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the U.S. News law school rankings probably won’t change much because of it. Their small group of respondents understand the matter is complicated and will likely think long and hard before issuing their scores. It is hard to predict what U.S News will do in a situation like this. But one open secret is that they like to maintain stability in their rankings.

Steven Chung is a tax attorney in Los Angeles, California. He helps people with basic tax planning and resolve tax disputes. He is also sympathetic to people with large student loans. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. Or you can connect with him on Twitter (@stevenchung) and connect with him on LinkedIn.

Topics

Biglaw, Law Schools, Steven Chung, U.S. News Law School Rankings