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Prominent Alumni (by field)
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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 2022 law school rankings, which focus on employment outcomes. More

No. 4 in the country in the percentage of Class of 2021 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

Salaries for the 214 students going into the private sector in the Class of 2021 reflect these outcomes:

75th percentile: $215,000
50th percentile: $215,000
25th percentile: $205,000

Any job location is within reach, and the UVA Law Network is worldwide. The Class of 2021 obtained jobs in 31 states and Washington, 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 (and the AmLaw 25, AmLaw 200 and the National Law Journal 500). (May 2022).

No. 5 in the country in the number of female graduate attorneys in the American Lawyer top 100 firms, according to Legal Compass (May 2022).

No. 5 in the country in the number of lawyers in the American Lawyer top 100 firms, according to Legal Compass (May 2022).

No. 2 in the number of graduates leading the nation's top 100 firms, according to an Above the Law report. 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 July 2022).

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 in placing clerks on the U.S. Supreme Court from 2007-2022. More

No. 4 in the percentage of graduates from the classes of 2018-21 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

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. More

Public Service Careers

Consider how other graduates have succeeded.

Four senators and two 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 December 2022, the Law School is tied for 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 ’85, former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ’83, and numerous governors and state legislators.

Alumni have had notable careers in academia — UVA President Jim Ryan ’92 is an alum, and Elizabeth Magill ’95 served as UVA provost before being named president of the University of Pennsylvania. Napolitano also served as 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 2019-21

• Firm: 69% (626)
• Clerkship: 20% (184)
• Public Interest: 9% (84)
• Corporate: 1% (11)
• Academic: 0.1% (1)
• The Law School awarded 31 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

• 5 U.S. Supreme Court
• 112 U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal
• 153 U.S. District Courts and other federal courts
• 40 state courts

2019-2025 terms. Some alumni clerked at multiple courts.

Public Interest Jobs

• 18 federal government
• 18 state or local government
• 9 military
• 39 public interest groups

Top Job Locations

• District of Columbia (213)
• New York (213)
• Texas (86)
• Virginia (85)
• California (67)
• Pennsylvania (24)
• Georgia (23)
• Ohio (19)
• Maryland (14)
• North Carolina (13)
• Tennessee (13)
• Delaware (12)
• Illinois (12)
• Colorado (11)
• Massachusetts (11)

First-Year Summer Jobs, Class of 2023 (Summer 2021)

Some students held multiple positions.

• 23% public interest groups
• 20% firm
• 20% judicial
• 19% academic
• 13% federal government
• 8% corporate
• 4% state or local government

American Lawyer Top 100, Classes of 2013-21

Members of the classes of 2013-2021 practice in all 100 of the 2021 American Lawyer Top 100 firms.

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