David Lat collects school-wide emails (updated here) sent by these deans in response to their school’s decline in the just-released U.S. News rankings:  Buffalo (#100, down from #77), Case Western (#63, down from #53), Iowa (#27, down from #24), Minnesota (#22, down from #20), and North Carolina (#38, down from #36).  Miami (#82, down from #70) is here. (The deans should read Brian Leiter’s caution about placing undue emphasis on the overall ranking.)

Update:  These schools have issued press releases in response to the U.S. News rankings:

• Alabama:  "The University of Alabama School of Law is ranked 11th among public law schools and 32nd among all law schools in the nation, according to U.S. News ….  The 2009 ranking is the highest ever for UA Law School, eclipsing last year’s mark of 15th among public law schools and 36th among all law schools. UA Law has been ranked among the top 50 law schools for 10 consecutive years."
• Boston College:  "Boston College Law School has moved up to 26th"
• BYU:  "The J. Reuben Clark Law School is ranked 46th."
• Chapman:  "March 28, 2008, ushered in a new era for the School of Law in its ongoing reach for excellence. Early that morning, the latest U.S. News … rankings revealed that Chapman had moved into the 3rd tier — a noteworthy achievement for a school that is only early in its second decade. The surprise news was announced by Dean Eastman to thunderous applause at Chapman’s monthly “En Banc” reception that evening. The Dean noted, “While we are happy that others are recognizing the hidden gem that is Chapman, we will not rest here. Our aspirations are, quite simply, to be recognized as one of the best opportunities in legal education.”
• Creighton:  "Creighton University School of Law has climbed to the rank of 12th in the nation among the nearly 200 law schools offering dispute resolution classes."
• Denver:   "The Sturm College of Law ranked in the top 100 law schools in the country for the seventh straight year at No. 88. Four Sturm College of Law programs also were ranked among the best in the nation, including two in the top 20. The Environmental Law program moved up three positions to No. 13, and the Tax Law program rose two places to No. 19. In addition, two law programs unranked last year are now listed as among the best: the International Law program at No. 23 and the Clinical Training program at No. 36."
• Duke:  "Within the law school, Duke was tied for fifth in environmental law and placed sixth for intellectual property law."
• Emory:  "Emory Law again ranks No. 22 in U.S. News."
• George Washington:  "The GW Law School (20) moves up two spots on this year’s list of 184 accredited law schools. For the fourth consecutive year, GW’s intellectual property law program is ranked third in the nation. The international law program is ranked eighth and environmental law 16th. The GW Law School also is recognized for its student diversity."
• Georgetown:  "The Law Center retained its overall ranking of 14th place in the 2009 list. Among the specialty categories, the Law Center is ranked in the top 10 for clinical training, tax law, environmental law, health law, international law and trial advocacy."
• Georgia:  "The School of Law rose four spots in this year’s rankings, moving to 32nd from 36th."
• Hamline:  "Hamline … has moved into the third tier in the national rankings in the latest U.S.News … assessment of the nation’s best law schools …. In addition, Hamline’s Dispute Resolution Institute has been ranked in the top five in the nation for the eighth consecutive year. … "The third tier is a level of recognition that we know employers and students are looking for in an institution,” said Hamline University President Linda Hanson.
• Indiana-Bloomington:  "The IU School of Law-Bloomington remained at 15th among public law schools and 36th overall, the only Big Ten public law school that didn’t decline in the rankings."
• Indiana-Indianapolis:  "The IU School of Law-Indianapolis experienced one of the largest improvements in the rankings, from 85th to 68th."
• Kentucky:  "[T]he College of Law ranked 59th."
• Loyola-L.A.:  "Loyola Law School Los Angeles jumped three spots in the law school rankings … Loyola also ranked sixth in trial advocacy and 11th in diversity. In tax law, Loyola Law moved up to 13th in the US — or seventh in the country among law schools with graduate tax programs, according to the TaxProf Blog."
• Mercer:  "The Legal Writing Program at the Walter F. George School of Law of Mercer University is again the top-ranked program among all of the law schools in the nation as announced today."
• Michigan State:  "U.S. News … again placed MSU Law in the third tier in its 2009 rankings. The U.S. News data also shows that MSU Law ranks in the top 100 in terms of the credentials of our entering class, and our reputation among lawyers and judges."
• Nova:  "Nova … rose to No. 22 in the U.S. News and World Report’s specialty rankings for legal writing, up from a No. 30 ranking last year. For the second year in a row, NSU and Stetson are the only Florida law schools ranked in the top 40 in legal writing."
• Pepperdine:  "Pepperdine … is now ranked as No. 59 in the nation …. In 2006, the school was ranked 77th, 87th in 2007 and 66th in 2008. Associate Dean for Student Life Jim Gash said the school is rapidly moving in the right direction. …  The new ranking is a vote of confidence in what [Dean Ken] Starr has been doing, according to Gash, who said Starr has transitioned the law school into a new category. “Starr is probably the busiest dean in the country, which is how our reputation continues to increase,” Gash said. “He is the best known and most accomplished law school dean in the country.”
• St. Louis:  "For the fifth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has named Saint Louis University’s health law program the best in the nation."
• Santa Clara:  "Santa Clara Law was once again named one of the top 100 law schools in the country."
• Stetson:  "U.S. News … has ranked Stetson … among the nation’s top 100 law schools again this year. U.S. News also ranked Stetson Law first in the nation for trial advocacy and number six for legal writing."
• UNLV:  "In addition to moving up 12 spots from 100 to 88 in the overall rankings, the Boyd School of Law also advanced their already impressive position in each of the following specialty rankings: • Boyd’s Lawyering Process program, which includes legal writing, was named the nation’s 3rd best program of its kind. • UNLV’s Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution was named among the top 10 programs, up three spots to number nine. • The Thomas and Mack Legal Clinic jumped eight spots from number 20 to number 12."
• Utah:  "The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law is rated 51st among the nation’s top 100 law schools …. In 2008, the Quinney College of Law was ranked 57th in the same guide. The college’s 51 ranking was just one point behind five schools that tied at 46."
• Vanderbilt:  "Vanderbilt Law School moved up to No. 15 in U.S. News[‘] … annual ranking of law schools. Vanderbilt tied for 16th in last year’s rankings."
• Washington University:  "The School of Law remains in the top 20 for the third straight year, retaining its No. 19 ranking. Within the School of Law, the trial advocacy program remains among the nation’s best at No. 4 in the nation, as does the clinical training program, which ranks No. 6."
• University of Washington:  "U.S. News … has ranked the UW School of Law a top 10 public law school in the magazine’s annual which looks at America’s best graduate schools. The UW School of Law was ranked 30 among all U.S. law schools in the report."
• Widener:  "U.S.News … has listed the law school’s health law program among the nation’s 10 best."
• William & Mary:  "William & Mary … moved up in this year’s U.S. News & World Report rankings …. [T]he law school came in this year at 30th, tied with the University of Washington. Last year, the school was ranked at 31st in the nation, tied with Ohio State and the University of Wisconsin."

Update:  Brian Leiter (Texas) chides these schools in Hall of Shame: Schools Publicizing Their Meaningless US News Ranking.