Law school can be an intense experience and students should come prepared to put forth effort. Time should also be utilized wisely.
NALP reports that the class of 2023 set new employment records in almost every category they cover, such as its employment rate and percentage employed in jobs that required bar passage – both reaching all-time highs.
Job Market
Headlines about more law school graduates landing jobs may be exaggerated, but their employment rate is still higher than ever. According to data released by the American Bar Association on April 22nd, 85.6% of the Class of 2023 found full time, long term Bar passage required or JD Advantage positions.
The American Bar Association report provides a breakdown of legal job market by employer and practice area, making it possible to assess how many graduates are working in each legal specialization. Furthermore, firm-funded jobs (as opposed to self-funded) may reflect economic cycles more accurately.
The report demonstrates that an increasing number of law graduates are finding positions outside private law firms, including government, judicial clerkships and public interest positions. Furthermore, their numbers have remained fairly consistent for several years despite fluctuations in the economy.
Graduate Employment Rate
NALP has collected data for many years on graduate employment rates at law schools. Even during difficult economic conditions, graduates found employment that allowed them to repay their student loans and pursue rewarding careers.
This year’s graduating class achieved the highest number of full-time, long-term jobs requiring bar passage (excluding unpaid intern positions ) since 1981 – over 77% were employed in positions for which having a law degree was either necessary or an advantage.
At first glance, this year’s employment rate may appear to have taken a drop due to a smaller graduating class; however, that should not come as a shock; smaller classes have often managed to secure more employment than larger ones in a dwindling job market. The chart below displays the percentage of employed ABA-reporting graduates employed in jobs requiring bar passage or JD advantage degrees or those not necessitating legal training, respectively; “other” employment comprised 0.04 per cent and is not represented within this graph.
Underemployed and Unemployed Graduates
As law schools graduated more graduates during the boom times preceding the recession, law schools witnessed an alarmingly increased rate of underemployment among their graduates. Underemployment encompasses graduates taking jobs that do not require law degrees as well as those holding part-time or short-term work arrangements requiring no legal degree – often remaining unemployed for many months after graduation.
The Class of 2024 found employment for nearly 82% of its graduates who required bar passage for full time work or had J.D. advantages. This number increased when school-funded jobs were removed – this factor caused five schools to fall below this benchmark.
Top law schools remain at the forefront of Big Law hiring nationwide. New York Law School placed 91% of its 2023 graduates into jobs considered “gold standard” by NALP; Northwestern Pritzker sent 70%; University of Pennsylvania Carey 69%
Graduates in Public Interest Organizations
Graduates who enter law school with an emphasis on public interest often end up working in private firms for several reasons, including financial lure. Others may decide that working private practice for some years before returning to public interest (see Question 6). Furthermore, others decide to go into government or non-profit work via in-house roles or fellowship programs that give them opportunities to work immediately after graduating – for more information regarding this option visit CDO’s Public Interest Fellowship Resources.
This year’s graduate employment rate (excluding law school-funded jobs ) reached its highest level since 2003–56.2% were employed full-time and long-term lawyer jobs after graduation compared with 55% post-recession; NALP’s research indicates that as large firms reduce opportunities, more graduates tend to find work with small firms rather than otherwise being unemployed.