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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. 2 in Above the Law's 2021 law school rankings, which focus on employment outcomes. More

No. 2 in the country in the percentage of Class of 2020 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. 2 in the percentage of recent alumni working at the top 10 highest-grossing law firms. More

No. 3  in the percentage of Class of 2020 graduates who went directly to firms of 100 or more attorneys or to federal clerkships, according to ABA data (based on full-time, long-term jobs).

Salaries for the 220 students going into the private sector in the Class of 2020 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 2020 obtained large firm jobs in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Overall the school sent graduates to 34 states and D.C.

Not only are graduates’ immediate outcomes in the private sector excellent, but so too are their long-term career prospects.

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. 5 in the number of associates promoted to partner in the 100 largest firms in 2020, 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

Virginia has graduates in all 100 of the American Lawyer top 100 firms (as of May 2021).

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. 5 after Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Chicago in placing clerks on the U.S. Supreme Court from 2005-21. More

No. 4 in the percentage of graduates from the classes of 2018-20 going directly to federal clerkships after law school, according to ABA data.

No. 2 (tied) in graduates serving as Bristow Fellows, who work in the U.S. Solicitor General’s Office, from the 2010-21 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 2018-20

• Firm: 70% (622)
• Clerkship: 19% (172)
• Public Interest: 9% (76)
• Corporate: 2% (17)
• Academic: 0.2% (2)
• The Law School awarded 30 Powell and Kennedy Fellowships to graduates working for public interest and nonprofit employers. More

Law Firms

• 85% with firms in American Lawyer's top 100 by gross revenue
• 5% with firms ranked between 100 and 200
• 2% with large international firms (not ranked by American Lawyer)
• 8% with smaller and boutique firms

Clerkships

• 2 U.S. Supreme Court
• 115 U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal
• 139 U.S. District Courts and other federal courts
• 27 state courts

2017-2022 terms. Some alumni clerked at multiple courts.

Public Interest Jobs

• 12 federal government
• 16 state or local government
• 10 military
• 38 public interest groups

Top Job Locations

• New York (220)
• District of Columbia (215)
• Virginia (81)
• Texas (72)
• California (55)
• Georgia (21)
• Ohio (20)
• Pennsylvania (18)
• North Carolina (17)
• Massachusetts (16)
• Illinois (13)
• Delaware (12)
• Maryland (12)
• Colorado (11)
• South Carolina (11)

First-Year Summer Jobs, Class of 2022 (Summer 2020)

Several students held multiple positions.

• 24% firm
• 21% federal government
• 21% academic
• 19% judicial
• 12% public interest groups
• 8% state or local government
• 7% corporate

American Lawyer Top 100, Classes of 2014-20

Among the 2020 Am Law 100, members of the classes of 2014-20 have practiced in all 100 firms, ranked by gross revenue.

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