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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. 1 in the country in the percentage of Class of 2018 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. 1 in the country in the percentage of Class of 2018 graduates who went directly to firms of 100 or more attorneys or to federal clerkships, according to American Bar Association data (based on full-time, long-term jobs).

No. 1 in Above the Law's 2019 law school rankings, which focus on employment outcomes. More

No. 5 in the percentage of Class of 2018 graduates hired by the 100 largest firms, according to the National Law Journal. More

Salaries for the 216 students going into the private sector in the Class of 2018 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 each of the American Lawyer top 100 firms (as of June 2019).

No. 4 in the number of partners in the National Law Journal's top 500 firms, according to Legal Compass (June 2018).

No. 2 in the number of graduates leading the nation's top 100 firms, according to an Above the Law report. More

No. 6 in the number of associates promoted to partner in the 100 largest firms in 2018, according to the National Law Journal. More

No. 2 after Harvard in the number of chief legal officers at the nation's top 500 companies, according to a 2014 report by the Law Department Management Blog. 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.

No. 4 after Yale, Harvard and Stanford in placing clerks on the U.S. Supreme Court from 2005-18. More

No. 4 after Yale, Stanford and Chicago in federal clerkships for the Class of 2018. 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 2014-18, 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 2015-17

• Firm: 70% (668)
• Clerkship: 17% (159)
• Public Interest: 11% (107)
• Corporate: 3% (28)
• Academic: .4% (4)
• The Law School awarded 57 Powell and Kennedy Fellowships to graduates working for public interest and nonprofit employers. More

Law Firms

• 77% with firms in American Lawyer's top 100 by gross revenue
• 8% with firms ranked between 100 and 200
• 3% with large international firms (not ranked by American Lawyer)
• 12% with smaller and boutique firms

Clerkships

• 3 U.S. Supreme Court
• 83 U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal
• 119 U.S. District Courts and other federal courts
• 22 state courts

Some alumni clerked at multiple courts.

Public Interest Jobs

• 23 federal government
• 48 state or local government
• 28 public interest groups
• 8 military

Top Job Locations

• New York (225)
• District of Columbia (193)
• Virginia (116)
• California (81)
• Texas (62)
• Pennsylvania (24)
• Massachusetts (22)
• Maryland (20)
• Georgia (19)
• Delaware (17)
• North Carolina (17)
• International (16)
• Florida (15)
• Ohio (13)
• Colorado (11)
• Tennessee (11)

Campus Recruiting, Fall 2017

• More than 675 offices
• Over 5,900 on-campus interviews of second-year students

First-Year Summer Jobs, Class of 2019 (Summer 2017)

Several students held multiple positions.

• 26% federal government
• 25% firm
• 15% judicial
• 15% academic
• 11% public interest groups
• 9% state or local government
• 6% corporate

American Lawyer Top 100, Classes of 2012-17

Among the 2017 Am Law 100, members of the classes of 2012-17 have practiced in at least 94 of the 100 firms, ranked by gross revenue.

RANK	FIRM
1	Latham & Watkins
2	Kirkland & Ellis
3	Baker McKenzie
4	Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
5	DLA Piper
6	Jones Day
7	Sidley Austin
8	Hogan Lovells
9	Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
10	Norton, Rose Fulbright
11	White & Case
12	Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
13	Ropes & Gray
14	Greenberg Traurig
15	Sullivan & Cromwell
16	Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
17	Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
18	Weil, Gotshal & Manges
19	Mayer Brown
20	Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
21	Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
22	Davis Polk & Wardwell
23	K&L Gates
24	Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
25	Reed Smith
26	Paul Hastings
27	King & Spalding
28	Squire Patton Boggs
29	Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
30	Cooley
31	Morrison & Foerster
32	Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
33	Shearman & Sterling
34	Goodwin Procter
35	Dechert
36	McDermott Will & Emery
37	Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
38	Proskauer Rose
38	Baker Botts
40	Covington & Burling
41	Winston & Strawn
42	Holland & Knight
43	Perkins Coie
45	Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
46	Cravath, Swaine & Moore
47	Debevoise & Plimpton
48	Alston & Bird
49	O'Melveny & Myers
50	Willkie Farr & Gallagher
51	McGuireWoods
52	Foley & Lardner
53	Vinson & Elkins
54	Baker & Hostetler
55	Arnold & Porter
56	Seyfarth Shaw
57	Bryan Cave
58	Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
59	Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
60	Locke Lord
61	Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
62	Katten Muchin Rosenman
63	Hunton & Williams
64	Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy
65	Littler Mendelson
66	Venable
67	Troutman Sanders
68	Faegre Baker Daniels
69	Nixon Peabody
70	Jenner & Block
71	Duane Morris
72	Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
73	Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith
74	Polsinelli
75	Crowell & Moring
76	Drinker Biddle & Reath
77	Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart
78	Blank Rome
80	Fox Rothschild
80	Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
82	Boies Schiller Flexner
83	Schulte Roth & Zabel
84	Fish & Richardson
86	Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz
87	Cahill Gordon & Reindel
88	Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
89	Cozen O'Connor
90	Haynes and Boone
92	Barnes & Thornburg
93	Fenwick & West
94	Steptoe & Johnson
95	Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel
97	Akerman
98	Pepper Hamilton