The student body, culled each year from approximately 1,800 applicants, is, as one would expect, highly able and accomplished, but it is also more mutually supportive than others I have seen. Although I am not one to put much stock in college rankings, it is interesting to note that two recent publications praise the College of Law for it s supportive atmosphere. Author Linda Hirshman gave ASU the highest rating in the country in her book A Woman s Guide to Law School and the Hispanic Business Magazine ranked the College of Law as one of the top ten law schools for Hispanic students. Once again, perhaps this tradition of student cooperation stems from the fact that the early classes felt the camaraderie of pioneers and that the stodgy old boy traditions of privilege were never a part of the history of this school. Another characteristic of the school which is remarkable in my experience is its modesty.
Most law schools spend a lot of time and money producing puff pieces of various sorts.
These are designed to attract students and generally to enhance the institution s reputation. If you read as many of these things as I do, you would be astonished to learn how many schools programs, faculties, and facilities are prestigious, world class, or state of the art . More often than you would imagine the publicity predates any real record of unusual accomplishment. By contrast, at ASU, there are outstanding, established programs which are under-publicized. For example, The Center for the Study of Law, Science and Technology began twenty two years ago as the country s first program devoted to the interdisciplinary study of law and science.