A study that appeared in the May 2015 issue of Buffalo Law Review ranks Catholic University's Columbus School of Law #32 in the nation in the number of alumni who become partners at the largest law firms. A summary of the work was also published in the New York Times and more recently in the Spring 2016 issue of the National Jurist.

The study's self-explanatory title, "Where Do "Big" Law Firm Partners Come From? Some unexpected places," notes that "When planning a successful career, law students may find the best guidance outside the US News and World Report rankings." CUA Law's ranking on the Big Law Firm Partners list outperforms its US News ranking by 77.5 places; the greatest disparity between the two rankings of the 100 law schools on the list.
University of Minnesota Law Professor Edward S. Adams, Samuel P. Engel, and the Buffalo Law Review collaborated on the study of more than 33,000 law partners at the top 115 law firms in the country. According to a press release: "The study shows that the USN&WR rankings are not the best metrics of a school's graduates' potential for success in becoming a partner at one of these firms-and earning a potentially lucrative living. Indeed, when ranked according to the success of their graduates at these firms, some schools find themselves in drastically different company. The study shows that certain factors that go completely unconsidered by the USN&WR rankings-such as geographical location relative to a major legal market-may play a significant role in "big" law firm partnership prospects." In the study's executive summary, CUA Law is also included among the top ten most under-ranked law schools as calculated by the methodology used by US News. The article also provides insights into which school's graduates are the most profitable and provides a rich opportunity for the legal profession and academia to study law firm culture, behavior, history, and the business of law more deeply. The data also includes information on firm and/or partner office location, age, gender, revenue, and profitability.