My Law School Is Better Than You Think Publications—Vote For Us Please!

The U.S. News surveys have been filled out and sent in.  And now my mail box seems empty.  After a fall of receiving an extraordinary number of publications from other law schools, mailings have declined to a trickle.  So it is time to take stock of the substance and form of efforts to persuade voters to check the right box.

This year we were inundated with glossy brochures and homey letters that sent the following messages:

• My senior faculty is better than you think.
• My junior faculty is better than you think.
• My visiting faculty is better than you think.
• My faculty’s scholarship is better than you think.
• My school’s specialty programs are better than you think.
• My school’s conferences are better than you think.
• My school’s pro bono programs are better than you think.
• My school’s building is better than you think.
• My school’s alumni have better careers than you think.
• My school’s students are more engaged than you think.

The messages were sent in comprehensive large publications, innumerable small publications and everything in between.  Production values ranged from those that would make any national brand proud to desktop publishing quality. 

And a major line was crossed.  No, a school didn’t ( as a commentator from several years ago suggested) send  cash in exchange for a vote.  Rather,  I received my first set of law school promotional materials mailed to my home.  What a gutsy way of attempting to get through the clutter!!  My wife says she is already eager to learn more about all the wonderful things that will be happening in American legal education next year.

And oh by the way, look for our Earle Mack School of Law publications in the next couple of months.   You will be impressed.  We’re a lot better than you think!

Comments

[Chad]

This year I fell into the category of "Most Recently Tenured" faculty member. With the amount of marketing mail that title generated, you'd think I just received a vote in Heisman race.

Out of curiosity, I shared most of the pop pieces that I received with a graphic designer friend to gauge their value. He estimated the tally at over $2,500 for the production and mailing of those pieces.

The interesting thing is that some are addressed to my actual name while others were simply addressed to "Most Recently Tenured" faculty member. Kudos to those schools that made the effort to take the extra step of adding the name.

Getting "Most Recently Tenured" labeled-mail is about as personal and impressive as the ole' "Or Current Resident" credit card offers.

[Bethany]

I know this is a perennial question, but my school is discussing it now (we don't currently send out much stuff). Does anyone read these things? What are you more likely to read? As appointments chair this year, I was diligent about quickly throwing away everything that I received (there is a convenient glossy paper recycling bin right by our mailboxes) so that I wouldn't be influenced by marketing fluff, but it would be great to get people's opinions on what is more likely to be read/remembered. By the way, I agree with Chad about the impersonal heading--while I tried to have no reaction to anything I received, my reaction to anything marked "Faculty Appointments Chair" was irrationally negative.

[andy]

I read things that were specifically tailored to my research area (tax law). Thus, I at least flipped through any tax LLM brochures and whatnot. Didn't have time for other things.