Ranking and Explaining the Scholarly Impact of Law Schools

Theodore Eisenberg and Martin T Wells

The Journal of Legal Studies, 1998, vol. 27, issue 2, 373-413

Abstract: This article measures thirty-two law schools' academic reputations by citations to their faculties' works. Yale, Chicago, Harvard, and Stanford rank alone at the top. Seven or eight schools compose the next group. We also explore the relation between scholarly impact and entry-level or lateral hire status, gender, minority status, subjects taught, and years in teaching. Lateral hires systematically outperform entry-level hires. We find no substantial evidence of male-female differences. We find some evidence of lower citations for minority females, but this difference is largely attributable to those in teaching fewer than eight years. For faculty members in teaching more than seven years, we find no significant minority effects but find marginal evidence that minority professors are more likely to be in the bottom quartile of citations. Controlling for different numbers of years in teaching is necessary to meaningfully compare groups. Copyright 1998 by the University of Chicago.

Date: 1998
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ucp:jlstud:v:27:y:1998:i:2:p:373-413

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