While the headline-grabbing $215,000 BigLaw starting salary might be the siren song for many, the real story of law school employment is a complex tapestry of high stakes, varied pathways, and sobering statistics that every prospective student needs to understand.
Key Takeaways
- For the class of 2022, 90.4% of law graduates were employed in full-time, long-term positions requiring bar passage (FTLTD) ten months after graduation
- 12% of 2022 grads took JD-required or JD-advantage jobs in business/industry
- Public interest jobs (non-clerical) were 4.5% for 2022 Harvard Law grads
- In 2023, median private sector salary for new law grads was $215,000 at BigLaw firms
- Top 10% of 2022 class of Yale Law had median salary of $215,000
- Median salary for public sector jobs in 2023 was $65,000
- 58% of 2022 law grads entered private practice at firms with 101+ attorneys
- Government jobs accounted for 10.2% of full-time long-term positions for 2023 class
- Judicial clerkships held by 12.8% of 2022 class
- Bar passage rate for first-time takers in July 2023 was 86% nationally
- Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) mean score in 2023 was 140 across all jurisdictions
- February 2023 bar passage rate was 72% for first-time takers
BigLaw salaries are high but most law graduates find solid legal employment.
Bar Passage
- Bar passage rate for first-time takers in July 2023 was 86% nationally
- Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) mean score in 2023 was 140 across all jurisdictions
- February 2023 bar passage rate was 72% for first-time takers
- ABA-accredited schools had 80% bar passage rate in 2023
- UBE passing score jurisdictions saw 85% passage in 2023
- Repeat bar takers passage rate: 45% in July 2023
- California bar passage for July 2023: 52% first-time
- New York bar passage July 2023: 81% first-time
- MBE scaled score national mean 2023: 140.5
- Florida bar July 2023 passage: 68% first-time
- Texas bar passage July 2023: 76% first-time
- MPT average score 2023: 4.2 scaled
- MEE average scaled score 2023: 4.1
- Illinois bar July 2023: 85% passage first-time
- Pennsylvania bar July 2023: 78% first-time
- Ohio bar July 2023 passage: 74% first-time
- Washington bar July 2023: 82% passage
- Massachusetts bar July 2023: 84% first-time
- Colorado bar July 2023 passage: 80% first-time
- Oregon bar July 2023: 79% passage
- Wisconsin bar July 2023: 83% first-time
- Minnesota bar July 2023: 87% passage
- Michigan bar July 2023: 81% first-time
- Indiana bar July 2023: 77% passage
- Kentucky bar July 2023: 75% first-time
- Iowa bar July 2023: 86% passage
- Nebraska bar July 2023: 88% first-time
- Kansas bar July 2023: 82% passage
- Missouri bar July 2023: 79% first-time
- Arkansas bar July 2023: 73% passage
- Oklahoma bar July 2023: 76% first-time
Bar Passage Interpretation
Lawyers-in-training, take note: the bar exam is a high-stakes lottery where your odds of passing depend wildly on whether you're a first-timer in Nebraska (88%) or California (52%), proving that geography is often the most decisive subject on the test.
Employment Rates
- For the class of 2022, 90.4% of law graduates were employed in full-time, long-term positions requiring bar passage (FTLTD) ten months after graduation
- 12% of 2022 grads took JD-required or JD-advantage jobs in business/industry
- Public interest jobs (non-clerical) were 4.5% for 2022 Harvard Law grads
- 95.2% employment rate for NYU Law class of 2022 at graduation plus ten months
- Stanford Law 2023 class had 97% employed in bar passage required jobs
- Columbia Law 2022 employment rate: 98.5% FTLTD
- UChicago Law 2023: 94% in large firm private practice
- Georgetown Law 2022: 92% full-time bar passage jobs
- Penn Law 2023 employment: 96% FTLT JD-required
- Berkeley Law 2022: 91% employed ten months out
- Duke Law 2023: 95.2% bar-required jobs
- Michigan Law 2022 employment rate: 93.8%
- Northwestern Law 2023: 97% full-time long-term
- Cornell Law 2022: 92.5% employed in law jobs
- UVA Law 2023 employment: 96.4% FTLTD
- Vanderbilt Law 2022: 94% bar passage jobs
- UCLA Law 2023: 93% full-time JD-required
- USC Gould 2022 employment: 91.2% FTLT
- Fordham Law 2023: 89% bar-required employment
- Boston College Law 2022: 92% employed ten months
- George Washington Law 2023: 90.5% FTLTD
- American Law School 2022 employment: 88% full-time
- Pepperdine Law 2023: 87.2% bar jobs
- SMU Dedman 2022: 91% employed
- Loyola Chicago 2023: 89.5% FTLT
- Seton Hall Law 2022: 90% bar passage required
- Villanova Law 2023: 92.3% employed
- Wake Forest Law 2022: 88.7% FTLTD
- DePaul Law 2023: 87% bar jobs
- Cardozo Law 2022: 91.2% employment rate
- Temple Law 2023: 89.8% FTLT
Employment Rates Interpretation
These statistics suggest that, while the legal job market appears robust on the surface, the true picture reveals a well-trodden path toward large firm practice, a notable but modest detour into business, and only a faint, courageous trail leading to public interest work.
Job Types
- 58% of 2022 law grads entered private practice at firms with 101+ attorneys
- Government jobs accounted for 10.2% of full-time long-term positions for 2023 class
- Judicial clerkships held by 12.8% of 2022 class
- Firm jobs (2-10 attorneys) were 3.1% of placements for 2023 class
- Public defender positions: 2.4% of 2022 full-time jobs
- Solo practice: 0.8% of 2023 class placements
- Federal clerkships: 4.2% of 2022 elite school grads
- In-house counsel jobs: 3.5% for 2023 class
- State/local government: 5.1% of placements 2022
- Military JD jobs: 0.3% of 2022 total
- Academic jobs: 1.2% for top schools 2022 class
- Non-profit orgs: 4.8% of 2023 public interest jobs
- Small firm (1 attorney): 1.1% placements 2022
- District attorney offices: 2.9% of prosecutor jobs 2023
- Business JD-advantage: 2.7% of 2022 class
- State judicial clerkships: 6.5% of clerking 2023
- Law firm librarian roles: 0.2% of JD-advantage 2022
- Compliance officer JD jobs: 1.5% business 2023
- Public interest fellowships: 1.8% of nonprofit 2022
- Paralegal roles (JD-advantage): 0.5% 2023 class
- University counsel positions: 0.9% academia 2022
- Immigration law nonprofits: 0.7% public interest 2023
- Policy analyst JD roles: 1.3% government 2022
- Corporate compliance JD-business: 1.1% 2023
- Legal recruiting consultant: 0.4% other 2022
- Human resources legal roles: 0.6% business 2023
- Risk management JD positions: 0.8% industry 2022
- Patent agent roles (JD): 0.3% business 2023
- Environmental law nonprofits: 0.5% public interest 2022
- Litigation funding analyst: 0.2% other JD 2023
- E-discovery specialist: 0.4% JD-advantage 2022
Job Types Interpretation
The legal job market for new graduates reveals a clear hierarchy, where over half chase the gold-plated hamster wheel of big law, a modest tenth find stable civic purpose in government, and the rest disperse into a fascinating but precarious mosaic of niche roles that collectively whisper a sobering truth: the JD is a versatile but fiercely competitive key, yet it unlocks startlingly different doors.
Salary Statistics
- In 2023, median private sector salary for new law grads was $215,000 at BigLaw firms
- Top 10% of 2022 class of Yale Law had median salary of $215,000
- Median salary for public sector jobs in 2023 was $65,000
- BigLaw starting salary rose to $225,000 in 2024 for market firms
- Bonus for BigLaw associates in 2023 averaged $15,000-$115,000 by class year
- Median salary at NLJ 250 firms for new grads: $200,000 in 2022
- Public sector median salary increase: 5% from 2022 to 2023
- Cravath scale bonuses hit $115k for senior associates in 2023
- Median BigLaw salary at T14 schools: $215k in 2023
- Private practice median salary: $155,000 for 2023 class
- Signing bonus average in BigLaw: $15,000-$20,000 2023
- NLJ 250 firm salary: $215k base for 2024 class
- Public sector salary at federal clerkships: $80,000 median 2023
- BigLaw year 1 salary at V10 firms: $225k 2024
- Relo bonus average: $10,000 for BigLaw 2023
- Median private sector bonus: $20,000 for new associates 2023
- Top quartile salary private practice: $215k-$225k 2023
- Federal government attorney salary median: $70,000 2023
- BigLaw summer associate pay: $4,250/week 2024
- Median salary non-BigLaw private: $90,000 2023
- Year 8 BigLaw bonus: $115,000 median 2023
- Public sector total compensation incl benefits: $85k median 2023
- BigLaw equity partner salary average: $1.5M 2023
- Median JD-advantage salary: $75,000 2023
- Non-equity partner median pay: $850k BigLaw 2023
- Summer associate conversion to full-time: 85% at BigLaw 2023
- Relocation assistance average: $7,500 BigLaw 2023
- Median salary government prosecutor: $68,000 2023
- BigLaw first-year bonus: $15,000 standard 2023
- Public defender salary median: $62,000 2023
- Median academia salary: $120,000 fellows 2023
Salary Statistics Interpretation
In the surreal economics of legal careers, you can either spend your first year out of school billing enough to buy a modest house or serving the public for the price of the annual property tax on that house.
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