Magazine Ranks UH Law School No. 1 as Best Law School for Asian Students

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s William S. Richardson School of Law topped the nation as the best law school for Asian students in a new survey released in the spring 2021 issue of preLaw Magazine.

The magazine ranked the top 25 law schools in the nation. The UH law school continues to lead the country with 50.1 percent of its students identifying as either Asian or Native Hawaiian.

Additionally, 41.7 percent of the faculty are identified as being members of a minority group.

PreLaw’s methodology included: grading schools based on the percentage of students in each ethnic group (50 percent of score); the percentage of minority professors (25 percent of score); and diversity services offered by the school (25 percent of score).

UH law Dean Camille Nelson noted that Richardson’s diversity is an important strength, bringing together students with a rich array of backgrounds, interests and perspectives.

“Our diversity is intrinsic to our excellence,” said Nelson. “We welcome the recognition of the diverse and inclusive excellence that makes Richardson law a special place to learn to be a legal professional ready for the world’s opportunities and challenges.”

In the same spring issue, UH law school earned an “A” grade for its international law program, and was listed as one of the top 25 law schools for all clerkships, with 23.2 percent of its graduates finding clerkships.

Richardson was among 13 schools earning A’s for international law, including Cardozo School of Law, Duke University, Fordham University and the University of Michigan.

Meanwhile, the clerkship record puts Richardson 17th among an equally powerful list of schools whose students serve in the judiciary after graduation. The list included such schools as Stanford Law School, University of Chicago, University of Maryland and Rutgers Law School.

“Clerkships are prestigious, and they help graduates learn the inner workings of the judicial bench,” said the magazine. “Students get hands-on experience with all the players in the courts, including judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, trial litigators, and support staff. Plus, there’s the research, the writing and the focus on how the court process is managed.”