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Prominent Alumni (by field)
Map: Where Our Graduates Go
Clerkships by Term and Location
Access to an Elite Career
The career development program at UVA Law is often described as a three-legged stool: private practice, clerkships and public service. UVA uniquely balances and excels in all three areas.
Private Sector
Graduates aren’t just getting jobs at firms — they are getting jobs at the nation’s most elite firms.
No. 3 in Above the Law's 2020 law school rankings, which focus on employment outcomes. More
No. 3 in the country in the percentage of Class of 2019 graduates who went directly to firms of 500 or more attorneys or to federal clerkships, according to American Bar Association data (based on full-time, long-term jobs).
No. 5 in the percentage of Class of 2019 graduates hired by the 100 largest firms, according to the National Law Journal. More
Salaries for the 203 students going into the private sector in the Class of 2019 reflect these outcomes:
75th percentile: $190,000
50th percentile: $190,000
25th percentile: $190,000
Any job location is within reach, and the UVA Law Network is worldwide. The Class of 2018 obtained large firm jobs in 17 states and the District of Columbia. Overall the school sent graduates to 33 states and D.C.
Not only are graduates’ immediate outcomes in the private sector excellent, but so too are their long-term career prospects.
Virginia has graduates in 99 of the American Lawyer top 100 firms (July 2020).
No. 5 in the number of partners in the American Lawyer top 100 firms (September 2020).
No. 5 in the country in the number of female graduate attorneys in the National Law Journal’s top 500 firms, according to Legal Compass (September 2020).
No. 2 in the number of graduates leading the nation's top 100 firms, according to an Above the Law report. More
No. 7 in the number of associates promoted to partner in the 100 largest firms in 2019, according to the National Law Journal. More
No. 3 in the number of chief legal officers at the nation's top 500 companies, according to a 2019 survey by Chambers Associate. More
See more alumni corporate executives and entrepreneurs, and alumni in entertainment and sports.
Clerkships
From federal appeals courts to the U.S. Supreme Court, Virginia helps place students in the most competitive clerkships.
Clerkships by Term and Location
No. 4 after Yale, Harvard and Stanford in placing clerks on the U.S. Supreme Court from 2005-20. More
No. 5 in the percentage of Class of 2019 graduates with federal clerkships. More
No. 2 (tied) in graduates serving as Bristow Fellows, who work in the U.S. Solicitor General’s Office, from the 2010-19 terms. Bristow Fellowships can be steppingstones to U.S. Supreme Court clerkships. More
No. 5 in the number of graduates clerking directly after law school for the classes of 2015-19, according to ABA data.
Clerkships offer advantages to those who pursue them — intense and impactful training in a wide swath of law, access to a network of fellow clerks and, if graduates pursue private-sector work, bonuses at law firms and a salary commensurate with the experience gained. Federal appeals court clerkships are stepping stones to the Supreme Court and other prestigious jobs.
Public Service Careers
Consider how other graduates have succeeded.
Four senators and three representatives who graduated from UVA Law currently serve in the U.S. Congress. (No. 4 in J.D. graduates in the 116th Congress; More)
Other alumni serve in government at the highest levels. UVA is No. 6 among law schools in the number of graduates serving as U.S. attorneys, federal judges, and state attorneys general and solicitors general. When the metric includes just state attorneys general and solicitors general, the school is No. 5. More
According to research completed by the Public Service Center in July 2017, the Law School is No. 2 in the number of graduates serving as state attorneys general.
Outside of government, alumni pursue a range of public interest and nonprofit careers.
Hundreds of alumni are judges, including at federal appellate courts, state supreme courts, and a judge on the World Court.
High-profile graduates have a history of public service: Alums include Robert F. Kennedy ’51, Ted Kennedy ’59, Robert Mueller ’73, former Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño, former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ’83, and numerous governors and state legislators.
Alumni have had amazing careers in academia — UVA President Jim Ryan ’92 is an alum, and Elizabeth Magill ’95, currently dean at Stanford Law School, will serve as UVA provost. Napolitano is now the head of the University of California system.
And graduates are supported through the Virginia Loan Forgiveness Program and a range of salaried fellowships and sources of funding for summer jobs.The Public Service Center also operates an alumni mentoring network to give UVA Law students on the fast track to understanding their future field.
The UVA Law Network
UVA Law has more than 20,000 alumni in all 50 states and more than 60 countries, allowing graduates access to a network that is geographically diverse.
Read more about the UVA Law Network.
Where Our Graduates Go, Classes of 2017-19
- Firm: 72% (623)
- Clerkship: 16% (140)
- Public Interest: 9% (77)
- Corporate: 3% (22)
- Academic: .4% (3)
- The Law School awarded 27 Powell and Kennedy Fellowships to graduates working for public interest and nonprofit employers. More
Law Firms
- 83% with firms in American Lawyer's top 100 by gross revenue
- 6% with firms ranked between 100 and 200
- 2% with large international firms (not ranked by American Lawyer)
- 9% with smaller and boutique firms
Clerkships
- 2 U.S. Supreme Court
- 99 U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal
- 119 U.S. District Courts and other federal courts
- 22 state courts
2017-2022 terms. Some alumni clerked at multiple courts.
Public Interest Jobs
- 14 federal government
- 22 state or local government
- 29 public interest groups
- 11 military
Top Job Locations
- New York (223)
- District of Columbia (206)
- Virginia (75)
- Texas (61)
- California (56)
- Massachusetts (22)
- Georgia (20)
- North Carolina (15)
- Delaware (14)
- Pennsylvania (14)
- Illinois (13)
- Colorado (10)
- Alabama (9)
First-Year Summer Jobs, Class of 2021 (Summer 2019)
Several students held multiple positions.
- 29% federal government
- 27% firm
- 13% judicial
- 12% public interest groups
- 10% state or local government
- 8% academic
- 8% corporate
American Lawyer Top 100, Classes of 2013-19
Among the 2019 Am Law 100, members of the classes of 2013-19 have practiced in all 100 firms, ranked by gross revenue.
RANK | FIRM |
1 | Kirkland & Ellis |
2 | Latham & Watkins |
3 | Baker McKenzie |
4 | DLA Piper |
5 | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom |
6 | Sidley Austin |
7 | Hogan Lovells |
8 | Morgan, Lewis & Bockius |
9 | Jones Day |
10 | White & Case |
11 | Norton Rose Fulbright |
12 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher |
13 | Ropes & Gray |
14 | Greenberg Traurig |
15 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett |
16 | Weil, Gotshal & Manges |
17 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison |
18 | Sullivan & Cromwell |
19 | Mayer Brown |
20 | Davis Polk & Wardwell |
21 | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton |
22 | King & Spalding |
23 | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan |
24 | Cooley |
25 | Paul Hastings |
26 | Goodwin Procter |
27 | Reed Smith |
28 | Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr |
29 | Covington & Burling |
30 | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld |
31 | McDermott Will & Emery |
32 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe |
33 | Morrison & Foerster |
34 | Squire Patton Boggs |
35 | Milbank |
36 | Dechert |
37 | K&L Gates |
38 | Winston & Strawn |
39 | Proskauer Rose |
40 | Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer |
41 | Shearman & Sterling |
42 | Debevoise & Plimpton |
43 | Holland & Knight |
44 | Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner |
45 | Perkins Coie |
46 | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati |
47 | Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz |
48 | Foley & Lardner |
49 | McGuireWoods |
50 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher |
51 | Cravath, Swaine & Moore |
52 | Alston & Bird |
53 | O'Melveny & Myers |
54 | Hunton Andrews Kurth |
55 | Vinson & Elkins |
56 | Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton |
57 | Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson |
58 | Baker Botts |
59 | Seyfarth Shaw |
60 | Baker & Hostetler |
61 | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman |
62 | Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy |
63 | Katten Muchin Rosenman |
64 | Littler Mendelson |
65 | Venable |
66 | Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith |
67 | Nixon Peabody |
68 | Troutman Sanders |
69 | Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough |
70 | Polsinelli |
71 | Faegre Baker Daniels |
72 | Locke Lord |
73 | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart |
74 | Fox Rothschild |
75 | Duane Morris |
76 | Cozen O'Connor |
77 | Womble Bond Dickinson |
78 | Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton |
79 | Drinker Biddle & Reath |
80 | Jackson Lewis |
81 | Blank Rome |
82 | Jenner & Block |
83 | Schulte Roth & Zabel |
84 | Fish & Richardson |
85 | Fenwick & West |
86 | Williams & Connolly |
87 | Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo |
88 | Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel |
89 | Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft |
90 | Boies Schiller Flexner |
91 | Ballard Spahr |
92 | Haynes and Boone |
93 | Barnes & Thornburg |
94 | Akerman |
95 | Crowell & Moring |
96 | Steptoe & Johnson |
97 | Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz |
98 | Davis Wright Tremaine |
99 | Dorsey & Whitney |
100 | Cahill Gordon & Reindel |

5/10/15/25: How’s Life After Law School?
What are your classmates up to? We check in with Liah Burnley ’15, Celia Cohen ’10, Sarang ‘Sy’ Damle ’05 and Jeffrey Stump ’95.