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 2019 | Class of 2018 | Class of 2017

Employment Status

  2019 2018 2017
Employed 283 99.0% 294 98.3% 288 97.3%
Pursuing Graduate Degree 2 0.7% 1 0.3% 1 0.3%
Start Date Deferred 0 0% 1 0.3% 1 0.3%
Not Seeking Employment 1 0.3% 1 0.3% 1 0.3%
Seeking Employment 0 0% 1 0.3% 4 1.4%
Unknown 0 0% 1 0.3% 1 0.3%
TOTAL GRADUATES 286   299   296  
Number of graduates receiving funding as Powell, Kennedy or Ruff fellows (included in figures above) 7 2.4% 12 4.0% 8 2.7%

Employment by Industry/Sector

  2019 2018 2017
Law Firms 196 69.3% 210 71.4% 217 75.3%
Judicial Clerkships 58 20.5% 50 17.0% 32 11.1%
Government 13 4.6% 12 4.1% 23 8.0%
Public Interest 8 2.8% 15 5.1% 6 2.1%
Business/Industry 7 2.5% 6 2.0% 9 3.1%
Academia 1 0.4% 1 0.3% 1 0.3%
Unknown 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
TOTAL EMPLOYED GRADUATES 283   294   288  

Employment Type

  2019 2018 2017
Bar Admission Required/Anticipated 277 97.9% 289 98.3% 280 97.2%
J.D. Preferred 6 2.1% 3 1.0% 7 2.4%
Professional Other 0 0% 2 0.7% 1 0.3%
Nonprofessional Other 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Undeterminable 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
TOTAL EMPLOYED GRADUATES 283   294   288  
Full-time, Long-term 280 98.9% 294 100% 287 99.7%
Full-time, Short-term 1 0.4% 0 0% 0 0%
Part-time, Long-term 1 0.4% 0 0% 1 0.3%
Part-time, Short-term 1 0.4% 0 0% 0 0%
TOTAL EMPLOYED GRADUATES 283   294   288  

Law Firm Employment

FIRM SIZE 2019 2018 2017
501+ Attorneys 161 82.1% 180 85.7% 175 80.6%
251-500 14 7.1% 15 7.1% 20 9.2%
101-250 4 2.0% 9 4.3% 10 4.6%
51-100 7 3.6% 2 1.0% 7 3.2%
26-50 2 1.0% 1 0.5% 1 0.5%
11-25 2 1.0% 0 0% 2 0.9%
2-10 5 2.6% 3 1.4% 2 0.9%
1 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Unknown 1 0.5% 0 0% 0 0%
TOTAL LAW FIRM GRADUATES 196   210   217  

Judicial Clerkship Employment

CLERKSHIP TYPE 2019 2018 2017
Federal Courts 45 77.6% 45 90.0% 28 87.5%
State and Local Courts 13 22.4% 5 10.0% 4 12.5%
Other 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
TOTAL JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP GRADUATES 58   50   32  
Number of graduates receiving funding as Powell, Kennedy or Ruff fellows (included in figures above) 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%

Salaries

ALL SECTORS 2019 2018 2017
75th Percentile $190,000 $190,000 $180,000
Median $190,000 $190,000 $180,000
25th Percentile $73,096 $70,683 $110,000
Total Graduates in This Category 283 294 288
Salaries Reported 281 292 285
Response Rate 99.3% 99.3% 99.0%
PRIVATE SECTOR (Law Firms and Business/Industry) 2019 2018 2017
75th Percentile $190,000 $190,000 $180,000
Median $190,000 $190,000 $180,000
25th Percentile $190,000 $190,000 $180,000
Total Graduates in This Category 203 216 226
Salaries Reported 201 215 224
Response Rate 99.0% 99.5% 99.1%
PUBLIC SECTOR (Judicial Clerkships, Government, Public Interest and Academia) 2019 2018 2017
75th Percentile $70,045 $67,638 $68,036
Median $64,009 $61,425 $62,000
25th Percentile $61,971 $61,000 $58,000
Total Graduates in This Category 80 78 62
Salaries Reported 80 77 61
Response Rate 100% 98.7% 98.4%
Graduates receiving funding as Powell, Kennedy or Ruff fellows are included in Public Sector.

Employment Locations

Map of Employment Locations
Map of Clerkship Locations

  2019 2018 2017
New York 67 23.7% 76 25.9% 80 27.8%
District of Columbia 60 21.2% 79 26.9% 67 23.3%
Virginia 30 10.6% 24 8.2% 21 7.3%
Texas 28 9.9% 17 5.8% 16 5.6%
California  17 6.0% 16 5.4% 23 8.0%
All Other States 81 28.6% 82 27.9% 74 25.7%
International 0 0% 0 0% 7 2.4%
Unknown 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
TOTAL EMPLOYED GRADUATES 283   294   288  

 

Bar Passage Data for Recent Graduates