William S. Richardson School of Law top ranked

Best Environment for Minority Students, High for Diverse Faculty and Value

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Cynthia D Quinn, (808) 956-6545
Dir, Comm & External Rel, William S Richardson School of Law
Posted: Oct 16, 2009

UH Mānoa's William S. Richardson School of Law took the top ranking among all law schools in the United States for offering the Best Environment for Minority Students in a recently published Princeton Review book. The Law School also placed second as the school most chosen by older students and fifth for the most diverse faculty. 
 
The Law School also recently ranked in the top 25 Best Value Law Schools in a survey compiled by the National PreLaw Magazine, based on tuition, bar passage, and employment rates. 
 
The Law School has an 83 percent bar passage rate, while the state average is 77 percent, and an employment rate of 91 percent of all students within six months of their graduation. The National PreLaw Magazine compiled its 2009 guide to Best Value Law Schools by surveying all 202 ABA-accredited law schools. “Best Value” included tuition under $25,000 per year for public and under $30,000 for private schools; an employment rate of at least 85 percent within six months of graduation; and a first-time bar passage rate higher than the respective state average. All data came from the 2009 Law School Admissions Council’s “Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools.”  
 
“It is great to be acknowledged in these national rankings for our friendly and caring environment, particularly because our students, staff, faculty, and alumni already know that we are unique within legal education for our diversity and our supportive culture,” said Dean Avi Soifer.
 
Associate Dean Laurie Tochiki added, “Our record number of applications and very high yield this year suggests that people are starting to realize what an excellent value we are compared to other law schools if you want to get an absolutely first-rate legal education without the usual pain and suffering.”
 
The Princeton Review is an education services company known for its college rankings based on how students rate their schools.  The Princeton Review compiled these rankings based on surveys of 18,000 students attending 172 law schools and on school-reported data during the last three academic years. 

For more information, visit: http://law.hawaii.edu