Paul Schiff Berman

The College of Law was ranked seventh on Hispanic Business magazine's "2009 Top 10 Law Schools for Hispanics," released in September. The magazine, which also rated business, engineering and medical schools, based its selections on reputation, enrollment, faculty, student services and retention rates.

While generally hesitant to rely on rankings to determine a school's quality, Paul Schiff Berman, Dean of the College of Law, said a celebration of the College's "tremendous commitment to its Hispanic students, its comprehensive range of curricular offerings that address issues of potential interest to those students, and its strong ties to the broader Hispanic legal community" is appropriate.

"The growing Hispanic population in the United States is arguably the demographic story of the 21st century," Berman said. "Accordingly, as we create a new model for public legal education in the 21st century, we at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to train Hispanic lawyers of tomorrow while addressing, through teaching and scholarship, the complex issues of law and policy implicated by these broad societal changes."

The ranking is attributed to the College's dedicated administration, faculty and staff who have created a rich environment for Hispanic students, and given them many opportunities to learn about the law, practice and demonstrate their skills and talents, launch productive careers and become rooted in the community. These include:

• The Program on Legal Issues Affecting Hispanics in the Americas, which combines a focus on transnational business issues with an emphasis on domestic civil rights issues.
• A varied collection of practical experiences through a well-established Clinical Program, including the accomplished Immigration Law and Policy Clinic.
• An active Chicano/Latino Law Students Association, which facilitates involvement in student life and creates welcoming paths for participation in the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) moot court competitions.
• A pilot HNBA mentoring program, and close ties with the undergraduate student organization, El Concilio, and the local Hispanic bar association, Los Abogados.
• ASU's innovative North American Center for Transborder Studies, providing opportunities for Hispanic students to take interdisciplinary courses at the intersection of law, immigration and national identity.

The Top 10 are: (1) University of New Mexico  School of Law; (2) University of Texas at Austin School of Law; (3)  Florida State University College of Law; (4)  American University Washington College of Law; (5) University of Miami School of Law; (6) University of San Francisco School of Law; (7) Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law; (8)  University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law; (9) University of Southern California Gould School of Law, and (10) University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.

To read more about the rankings, click here.