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After months of debate about rankings systems, law school leaders from across the country gathered at Harvard Law School on March 1 to discuss a path forward for sharing information.

Speaking at the day’s first panel, Tamara F. Lawson, Toni Rembe Dean at the ������Ƶ, delivered a clear message: It’s time to prioritize student needs.

“We’ve reached an inflection point that many of us have waited on for a very long time,” Lawson said. “We are here because we want to provide relevant and accurate information to students in ways they can access better, and make it more tailored to their passions, dreams and their ability to make an impact on justice.”

Lawson spoke at the , which featured a keynote address from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. She was joined on the “Framing the Issue: Data, Consumers, and Incentives” panel by Deidré Keller, Dean of Law, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University; Christopher Norio Avery, professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School; and moderator Risa Goluboff, Dean of the University of Virginia School of Law.

When Lawson announced in December the School of Law would no longer participate in the U.S. News and World Report rankings, she noted that the “methodology undercuts our mission, values and commitment to an equitable and inclusive vision for legal education and society.”

At the conference, Lawson said there needs to be a culture shift within the profession, including both prospective students and employers, to focus on how schools actually serve students and prepare them as professionals. The American Bar Association already does some of this in ways that other rankings can’t.

“The ABA holds every law school accountable on criteria and data that is publicly available and transparent,” Lawson said. “The ABA goes to every law school. It talks to law students. It talks to law graduates. It talks to law faculty and sits in classes. And all of that is done by experts in the field. And there is no way to game that type of accountability.”

Still, Lawson believes law schools can and should do more to make it easier for students to choose the path that is best for them. This is especially important at public institutions with a mission to prepare lawyers for public service.

“It’s an important conversation,” Lawson said. “The old system we are leaving never consulted students. We want to put students in the driver’s seat.”