Employment Data for Recent Graduates

Employment Data for Recent Graduates

The information in the tables below is as of 10 months after graduation. This data was reported to the ABA and/or NALP according to their reporting guidelines.

Related: Career Development Facts and Statistics | Map: Where Our Graduates Go | Map: Clerkships by Location | Prominent Alumni | Bar Passage Data for Recent Graduates

Career Brochure (Aggregate Data for Classes of 2016-18, Including Employers Listed by Location and Court District) 
 

ABA Employment Summary Reports

Class of 2018 | Class of 2017 | Class of 2016

Employment Status

  2018 2017 2016
Employed 294 98.3% 288 97.3% 323 97.9%
Pursuing Graduate Degree 1 0.3% 1 0.3% 0 0%
Start Date Deferred 1 0.3% 1 0.3% 0 0%
Not Seeking Employment 1 0.3% 1 0.3% 1 0.3%
Seeking Employment 1 0.3% 4 1.4% 6 1.8%
Unknown 1 0.3% 1 0.3% 0 0%
TOTAL GRADUATES 299   296   330  
Number of graduates receiving funding as Powell, Kennedy or Ruff fellows (included in figures above) 12 4.0% 8 2.7% 19 5.8%

Employment by Industry/Sector

  2018 2017 2016
Law Firms 210 71.4% 217 75.3% 224 69.3%
Judicial Clerkships 50 17.0% 32 11.1% 58 18.0%
Government 12 4.1% 23 8.0% 22 6.8%
Public Interest 15 5.1% 6 2.1% 12 3.7%
Business/Industry 6 2.0% 9 3.1% 6 1.9%
Academia 1 0.3% 1 0.3% 0 0%
Unknown 0 0% 0 0% 1 0.3%
TOTAL EMPLOYED GRADUATES 294   288   323  

Employment Type

  2018 2017 2016
Bar Admission Required/Anticipated 289 98.3% 280 97.2% 315 97.5%
J.D. Preferred 3 1.0% 7 2.4% 7 2.2%
Professional Other 2 0.7% 1 0.3% 0 0%
Nonprofessional Other 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Undeterminable 0 0% 0 0% 1 0.3%
TOTAL EMPLOYED GRADUATES 294   288   323  
Full-time, Long-term 294 100% 287 99.7% 317 98.1%
Full-time, Short-term 0 0% 0 0% 3 0.9%
Part-time, Long-term 0 0% 1 0.3% 3 0.9%
Part-time, Short-term 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
TOTAL EMPLOYED GRADUATES 294   288   323  

Law Firm Employment

FIRM SIZE 2018 2017 2016
501+ Attorneys 180 85.7% 175 80.6% 174 77.7%
251-500 15 7.1% 20 9.2% 24 10.7%
101-250 9 4.3% 10 4.6% 9 4.0%
51-100 2 1.0% 7 3.2% 6 2.7%
26-50 1 0.5% 1 0.5% 6 2.7%
11-25 0 0% 2 0.9% 3 1.3%
2-10 3 1.4% 2 0.9% 2 0.9%
1 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Unknown 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
TOTAL LAW FIRM GRADUATES 210   217   224  

Judicial Clerkship Employment

CLERKSHIP TYPE 2018 2017 2016
Federal Courts 45 90.0% 28 87.5% 48 82.8%
State and Local Courts 5 10.0% 4 12.5% 10 17.2%
Other 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
TOTAL JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP GRADUATES 50   32   58  
Number of graduates receiving funding as Powell, Kennedy or Ruff fellows (included in figures above) 0 0% 0 0% 1 1.7%

Salaries

ALL SECTORS 2018 2017 2016
75th Percentile $190,000 $180,000 $180,000
Median $190,000 $180,000 $180,000
25th Percentile $70,683 $110,000 $66,510
Total Graduates in This Category 294 288 323
Salaries Reported 292 285 313
Response Rate 99.3% 99.0% 96.9%
PRIVATE SECTOR (Law Firms and Business/Industry) 2018 2017 2016
75th Percentile $190,000 $180,000 $180,000
Median $190,000 $180,000 $180,000
25th Percentile $190,000 $180,000 $180,000
Total Graduates in This Category 216 226 230
Salaries Reported 215 224 221
Response Rate 99.5% 99.1% 96.1%
PUBLIC SECTOR (Judicial Clerkships, Government, Public Interest and Academia) 2018 2017 2016
75th Percentile $67,638 $68,036 $64,094
Median $61,425 $62,000 $60,210
25th Percentile $61,000 $58,000 $51,188
Total Graduates in This Category 78 62 92
Salaries Reported 77 61 92
Response Rate 98.7% 98.4% 100%
Graduates receiving funding as Powell, Kennedy or Ruff fellows are included in Public Sector.

Employment Locations

Map of Employment Locations
Map of Clerkship Locations

  2018 2017 2016
District of Columbia 79 26.9% 67 23.3% 66 20.4%
New York 76 25.9% 80 27.8% 74 22.9%
Virginia 24 8.2% 21 7.3% 36 11.1%
Texas 17 5.8% 16 5.6% 23 7.1%
California  16 5.4% 23 8.0% 25 7.7%
All Other States 82 27.9% 74 25.7% 93 28.8%
International 0 0% 7 2.4% 5 1.5%
Unknown 0 0% 0 0% 1 0.3%
TOTAL EMPLOYED GRADUATES 294   288   323  

 

Bar Passage Data for Recent Graduates