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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. 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