Here's the interview Bloomberg Law did with Bob Morse about the new US News law school rankings. The whole thing is pretty sad, and Bob comes across basically like a restaurant owner on Kitchen Nightmares. Not one of the really aggressive ones that yells at Gordon Ramsay, but one of the dopey ones who just assumes everything is awesome despite the impending collapse of the whole thing. Here, take a watch:

Here's what we learned:

Bob doesn't think rankings influence law school behavior, despite pretty much every law school admitting that their entire business model is designed around increasing their US News ranking. Hello merit-based scholarships!

The T14 is pretty much the same.

Bob thinks that jobs that require bar passage are just as desirable as jobs where a JD is only a helping hand on the application, despite schools with higher JDA job placement also having a higher percentage of students looking for a job other than the one they already have.

Bob won't say how other jobs are weighed. You'll just have to take his word for it that the methodology is sound, despite, like, you know, everyone saying that it's completely bogus without even knowing what's behind the curtain.

Finally, we learned that Bob is just this kid plus 60 years:

The new US News law school rankings are out, and like we saw last year, LSAT and GPA numbers are generally down. LSAT numbers are getting the worst of it, as is to be expected since the numbers are scaled and compare only prospective law students.

Data for All Schools

#1-50 Data

#51-100 Data

#101-144 Data

Ranks Not Published Data

Synopses follow. Check back throughout the day as we post data for the remaining schools.

Overall Synopsis

Number of schools with a gain in both LSAT 25 and 75: 14

Schools with a loss in both LSAT 25 and 75: 78

Number of schools with a gain in both GPA 25 and 75: 43

Schools with a loss in both GPA 25 and 75: 68

Average LSAT 25 change: -0.81

Average LSAT 75 change: -0.43

Average GPA 25 change: -0.023

Average GPA 75 change: -0.011

This is the second year in a row that all four numbers have dropped (and only our second year checking, so who knows when it started).

18 schools had no loss in any of the four statistics. 4 schools posted gains in each of the four (Stanford, Tulsa, St. Louis, and Chapman). 2 schools had no loss but also no gain (Barry, and Florida A&M).

By comparison, 32 schools posted a loss in each of the LSAT 25 and 75 and GPA 25 and 75.

Last year, only 1 school had an LSAT 25th percentile of 143. Now 5 do, and one, Phoenix, has an LSAT 25 of 142, the 18th percentile of LSAT test takers.

Synopsis of Schools Ranked 1-48 (52 schools, because of a 5-way tie at 48)

LSAT 25th and 75th Percentile Changes

Number of schools with a gain in both LSAT 25 and 75: 3

Number of schools with a gain in 1 of LSAT 25 and 75: 5

Number of schools with a gain in one and a loss in the other: 6

Number of schools with a loss of 1 of LSAT 25 and 75: 13

Number of schools with a loss of both LSAT 25 and 75: 18

Number of schools with no change: 7

Average 25th Percentile Move: -0.77

Average 75th Percentile Move: -0.037

GPA 25th and 75th Percentile Changes

Number of schools with a gain in both GPA 25 and 75: 14

Number of schools with a gain in 1 of GPA 25 and 75: 2

Number of schools with a gain in one and a loss in the other: 19

Number of schools with a loss of 1 of GPA 25 and 75: 2

Number of schools with a loss of both GPA 25 and 75: 13

Number of schools with no change: 2

Average 25th Percentile Move: -0.010

Average 75th Percentile Move: +0.002

The biggest loser among the top 50 was the University of Georgia, which dropped -4/-1 for its LSAT 25/75. It's LSAT 25 dropped from 162 to 158, and remember that since the LSAT is on a bell curve, the further you go, the more significant a single point change is. That change represents a drop from the 86th percentile to the 75th. Georgia at least compensated for this loss by shoring up its GPA stats, with a 0.03/0.06 gain.

The school posting biggest across the board losses was BYU. It had a loss of -2/-2 for LSAT scores, and -0.11/-0.06 for GPAs.

The biggest GPA loss was at George Washington, with a -0.13/-0.12, and with its LSATs remaining the same.

Synopsis of Schools Ranked 53-98 (49 schools, because of a 4-way tie at 98)

LSAT 25th and 75th Percentile Changes

Number of schools with a gain in both LSAT 25 and 75: 5

Number of schools with a gain in 1 of LSAT 25 and 75: 6

Number of schools with a gain in one and a loss in the other: 4

Number of schools with a loss of 1 of LSAT 25 and 75: 15

Number of schools with a loss of both LSAT 25 and 75: 12

Number of schools with no change: 7

Average 25th Percentile Move: -0.35

Average 75th Percentile Move: -0.39

GPA 25th and 75th Percentile Changes

Number of schools with a gain in both GPA 25 and 75: 11

Number of schools with a gain in 1 of GPA 25 and 75: 4

Number of schools with a gain in one and a loss in the other: 10

Number of schools with a loss of 1 of GPA 25 and 75: 3

Number of schools with a loss of both GPA 25 and 75: 21

Number of schools with no change: 0

Average 25th Percentile Move: -0.0251

Average 75th Percentile Move: -0.0184

Biggest loser from this bunch is Missouri, with a -4/-2 LSAT, and -0.08/+0.04 GPA. The 2 point drop in Missouri's 75th LSAT of 161 to 159 represents a change from the 83rd to 77th percentile. The 25th LSAT drop from 156 to 152 is a change from the 67th to 52nd percentiles, a serious decline in admissions standards. You used to need to be in the top third to get in. Now you just need to be in the top half.

Synopsis of Schools Ranked 102-144 (47 schools, because of a 5-way tie at 144)

LSAT 25th and 75th Percentile Changes

Number of schools with a gain in both LSAT 25 and 75: 3

Number of schools with a gain in 1 of LSAT 25 and 75: 7

Number of schools with a gain in one and a loss in the other: 3

Number of schools with a loss of 1 of LSAT 25 and 75: 5

Number of schools with a loss of both LSAT 25 and 75: 28

Number of schools with no change: 3

Average 25th Percentile Move: -1.04

Average 75th Percentile Move: -0.55

GPA 25th and 75th Percentile Changes

Number of schools with a gain in both GPA 25 and 75: 9

Number of schools with a gain in 1 of GPA 25 and 75: 0

Number of schools with a gain in one and a loss in the other: 15

Number of schools with a loss of 1 of GPA 25 and 75: 7

Number of schools with a loss of both GPA 25 and 75: 16

Number of schools with no change: 0

Average 25th Percentile Move: -0.030

Average 75th Percentile Move: -0.017

The single worst LSAT 25 drop we've seen since UGA, Suffolk went from a 152 to 148, or 52nd percentile to 36th. You used to have to be in the top half, now you only need to be in the top third. Ouch!

Several other schools saw some nasty drops, but we're giving the biggest loser award for this group to Arkansas - Little Rock, with a -3/-1 LSAT drop, and a -0.13/-0.15 drop in GPA 25/75. Brutal, yet they jumped 6 points in the US News ranking. No accounting for taste.

Synopsis of Schools With Ranks Unpublished (46 schools)

LSAT 25th and 75th Percentile Changes

Number of schools with a gain in both LSAT 25 and 75: 3

Number of schools with a gain in 1 of LSAT 25 and 75: 5

Number of schools with a gain in one and a loss in the other: 3

Number of schools with a loss of 1 of LSAT 25 and 75: 12

Number of schools with a loss of both LSAT 25 and 75: 20

Number of schools with no change: 3

Average 25th Percentile Move: -1.35

Average 75th Percentile Move: -0.43

GPA 25th and 75th Percentile Changes

Number of schools with a gain in both GPA 25 and 75: 9

Number of schools with a gain in 1 of GPA 25 and 75: 5

Number of schools with a gain in one and a loss in the other: 11

Number of schools with a loss of 1 of GPA 25 and 75: 0

Number of schools with a loss of both GPA 25 and 75: 18

Number of schools with no change: 3

Average 25th Percentile Move: -0.029

Average 75th Percentile Move: -0.013

We've got two contenders for biggest loser among the unranked schools.

Western New England saw a -3/-4 LSAT 25/75 drop. The 25 score dropped from the 48th percentile to the 36th, and the 75th dropped from the 67th to 52nd. So, it used to be that to be in the top quarter of its class, you needed to be in the top third of applicants. Now you just need to be in the top half. But this awful LSAT plummet was at last not too terrible exacerbated by GPAs, which dropped a comparatively modest -0.01/-0.07.

Our other contender is Ohio Northern, with a -4/-2 GPA drop, sending its 25th rank from 149 to 145, from the 40th percentile to the 26th. Ouch! But just to add injury to injury, the GPAs here dropped an astonishing -0.22/-0.21. Someone get Ohio Northern some Quilted Northern!

Surely you remember the 7 year old who got suspended from school earlier this month for trying to shape his pop-tart into a mountain, but then his teacher thought it was a gun and then he got suspended for two days because stupidity. I mean, zero tolerance. Actually, I mean both.

And if you haven’t heard of that story, then who knows how you found us here. But, go ahead and google any combination of the words “pastry,” “gun,” and “kid,” and enjoy the 2.5 million results you’ll get.

Zero tolerance is like a dumbed down version of strict liability, which is already pretty dumb to begin with. But at least with strict liability offenses concepts like prosecutorial discretion, mitigation, leniency, and exercising thought and common sense still have their place.

Zero tolerance is supposed to be a school’s way of showing how tough it is, but in reality it’s abdication of responsibility. Making judgment calls can be tough, sometimes you make the wrong choice, and when you do make the wrong choice you get angry parents yelling at you. So, rather than having a tough job with consequences, zero tolerance policies allow schools to preemptively tie their hands and punish everything without discretion. There will still be angry phone calls from parents, but the administrators can just say “Sorry, nothing we can do, zero tolerance, blah blah, Dr. Strangelove, blah blah, stop worrying and learn to love sequestration.”

Fortunately, Maryland State Senator J.B. Jennings decided to make a judgment call.  Jennings has introduced a bill to the Maryland Senate that would ban school leaders from suspending students who make the shape of a gun with their fingers or food, or students who draw a gun on paper.  Jennings says if the gun making is done in a violent manner, then things can be taken to the next level. He hopes the bill will introduce some common sense to the state education system. The bill is headed to the Education Committee, and if it passes there, it will go to the full Senate for a vote.

None of us here at ConDaily being parents (that we know of), we aren’t especially familiar with the real life ramifications of having your seven year old get a two day suspension. But according to Jennings, parents have called his office about this issue repeatedly, with concerns about their child’s permanent and academic records. Which seems pretty valid, given that the current education system in Maryland is one that views poorly expressed food art as a weapon.

The idiocy of the whole situation has been covered ad nauseam, so we won’t beat a dead toaster pastry. But, the fact that the idiocy of the whole situation has escalated so much as to prompt a bill to stop this kind of idiocy is pretty absurd.

But, we support Jennings in his fight for the rights of kids who play with their food, and to acknowledge that no amount of strategic bite placement can turn a Pop Tart into a Pop a Cap in Yo Ass Tart.

Being overworked and underpaid are stressing people out at work, reveals a shocking survey from the American Psychological Association.  One-third of employees experience chronic work-related stress, and it’s worse for women than men.

27% of men feel underpaid, compared with 38% of women; while 30% of men and 32% of women say they don’t have enough opportunities for internal advancement. And in case you don’t like numbers, here’s a handy little companion graphic.

So what? Who hasn’t felt overworked, underappreciated, underpaid, stressed at work? Well, part of the problem is that chronic stress harms productivity, mental clarity, short term memory, decision making, and moods. And it seemingly affects women more so than men, though there is of course a question of whether men and women differ in how they report stress. Either way though, whether women have more stress or just report it more often, you’re going to have to deal with more bitching from your girlfriend. And if she’s less productive at work because she’s stressed, she’s just going to get more stressed. Lucky you.

According to the study, women’s stress is on the rise because more families are relying on women’s earnings. But, the article tells us that employed wives’ contributions to family earnings have hovered at around 47% for the last 4 years. So, that doesn’t really explain the recent rise in stress. Also problematic: only keeping track of “employed wives.” There are plenty of employed women whose families depend on their income that aren’t wives, past or present. The study also suggests that work-life balance is a particular struggle for these women. Guess all the “employed wives” aren’t splitting the chores with their “employed husbands.”

Presuming chronic stress at work is unavoidable, what can be done about it? The article has 0 solutions for men (whatever, dudes are less stressed anyway) and two for women. First are the clichés encouraging women to be more assertive, “give yourself a voice,” “speak up for yourself,” “stand up for behavior you see as unfair.” Well, that’s better than saying women can fix stress at work by talking to other women who are stressed at work, or by encouraging each other to be less stressed. Then again, pretty much anything is better than those. Except maybe a solution that could directly lead to more stress, such as, oh, I don’t know …speaking up, standing up for yourself more often, and engaging in other proactive ways of getting into more confrontations. Not that you shouldn’t stand up for yourself, but let’s not pretend doing so isn’t stressful.

The second solution comes implied, by way of several “success story” anecdotes of women who fixed their chronic work stress. They quit their jobs. Women who reduced their work stress through suicide were not interviewed for the story, though it’s presumable that they had the same level of work stress reduction.

So, if you’re a woman and you’re stressed at work, either “find your voice” or quit your job. And then hope stress doesn’t show up at your next job. Or just perpetually hunt for new jobs, so you can always quit when things get stressful. And if you can’t quit, well, uh, sorry bout ya.

This study is like every “problem with women in the law” piece that I’ve come to loathe so much. It identifies a problem, discusses it enough to have the appearance of depth with no real analytical insights, and then does little or nothing to suggest how to deal with the problem. Or, maybe I’m just one of those stressed women whose mental clarity has been compromised and I’m too moody to notice.

And since we don’t like to complain about something too much without providing a better solution than the non-solutions we’re complaining about, how about not trying to reinvent the wheel? Women are facing more stress at work largely because they’re at work more than they used to be and are finding work in increasingly stressful fields. They’re less likely to be stay-at-home moms, and there’s a better chance they’ll be the lawyer than the secretary than there used to be. So why not take a page from the playbook of the team that’s been dealing with work stress for a lot longer: men.

They don’t “find their voice,” and they don’t often quit. They have happy hours. Sometimes at noon.