US NEWS RANKINGS! It's the MOST WONDERFUL Time of the YEAR

Oh, be still ol' ticker! It's that magic day for those of us who gut lemmings like fish: US NEWS DAY!

That's right, fellow scammers, the new batch of US News Rankings are out and available for salivating!

Some notables:

-ILLINOIS and VILLANOVA continue to suffer for their legitimate misdeeds, instead of the made-up ones that critics slew at all law schools. Illinois is down to 47th and Villanova is barely in the top 100.

-EMORY continues to be an excellent bargain. At only $46k tuition, you save 9k on tuition fees over Columbia, and get an education that's equally first-tier.

-INDIANA cracked the top-25, proving that there is a place in Indiana for another law school, as not everyone can get into such a prestigious institution.

-The city of Boston has three (3) top 31 law schools (HARVARD, BOSTON U., and BOSTON COLLEGE). Obviously, graduates of those schools are in high demand, but many employers cannot pay the market rate for their services. Thus, it appears to be an excellent time to check out Massachusetts' mid-level options, like SUFFOLK.

-Many of my favorite, private-school big-city law schools ("stealth BigLaw schools") remained strong: American (DC) at 56th, Cardozo at 58th, Seton Hall at 64th, and Case-Western, Chicago-Kent, and Loyola-Los Angeles all as part of a great big 8-way orgy at number 68.

-The Alabama legal market is BOOMING. SAMFORD shot up 29 spots and ALABAMA is the 21st best law school in the country. This means Emory grads no longer have to go to Nebraska - they can just go next door! RRRRRRoll Tide!

-The U. of ST. THOMAS (MN) continues to be a sleeper hit. The other three Minneapolis schools all placed strongly on the list, so you know that the Minnesota legal market is going gangbusters to support four excellent law schools. At St. Thomas, you can get into the clear no. 2 school in Minneapolis for only $1,256/credit hour. That's really not that much. I mean, I won't do the math, but obviously if they're putting it in credit hour form instead of full tuition, it has to be low. Like, if you're hiring someone, do you pay them more if you pay them salary or by the hour? Same concept. St. Thomas is a winner. The only question remains: how will YOU spend the cash you rake in at Dorsey & Whitney?

-California continues to be THE PLACE for young attorneys, placing 13 schools on the top 150. Hurrah for the Golden State! Hurrah!

-Two criticisms must be noted: (1) the list still pales in comparison to Brian Leiter's; and (2) Thomas Cooley is still being unfairly treated due to its size. I await Don "The Godfather" Luduc's newest just criticism with baited breath.