Law School Graduates Employment Summary (Class of 2021)

For class of 2021, 35,529 students have graduated from ABA-accredited law schools. Among them, 32,192 has hired in law firms or law related companies. The total rate of employed is 90.61%.

by working status, 31,164 graduates hired as full-time status and 1,176 contracted as part-time status. By duration, 31,286 graduates got long-term jobs and 1,054 got short-term jobs.

83.61% (26,915) of total employed graduates employed by companies where the bar passage is required and 11.45% (3,686) graduates got J.D. Advantage (or J.D. Preferred) jobs where the bar passage does not require.

The below table summarizes the employment statistics by working status and contract duration. The category definition can be found at ABA Data Terms.

	Total	Percentage (%)	Full-time		Part-time
			Long-term	Short-term	Long-term	Short-term
Total Graduates	35,529
Total Employed	32,192	90.61%	30,637	527	649	527
Bar Passage Required	26,915	75.76%	26,433	210	211	210
J.D. Advantage	3,686	10.37%	3,101	207	229	207
Professional Position	853	2.40%	650	43	116	43
Other	274	0.77%	116	29	86	29
Undeterminable	28	0.08%	7	2	1	2
Enrolled in Graduate Studies	426	1.20%
Start Date Deferred	220	0.62%
Unemployed - Not Seeking	410	1.15%
Unemployed - Seeking	1,876	5.28%
Employment Status Unknown	406	1.14%

Employment by Company and Position Types

56.77% (18,275) of all employed graduates found employment at law firms. By size of law firm, 5,757 graduates (17.88%) were employed at law firms with 500 or more employees and 5,618 graduates (17.45%) at law firms with 1 to 10 employees.

3,586 students (11.14%) went to business and industry, and 3,673 graduates (11.41%) were employed by government.

The following table summarizes the law school employment statistics by position and hired organization types.

	Total	Percentage (%)	Full-time		Part-time
			Long-term	Short-term	Long-term	Short-term
Total Employed	32192	-	30637	527	649	527
Law Firms	18275	51.44%	17732	119	294	119
Total Employed	32,192	90.61%	30,637	527	649	527
Solo	250	0.70%	228	2	16	2
1-10	5,618	15.81%	5,230	59	231	59
11-25	2,057	5.79%	2,006	14	28	14
26-50	1,231	3.46%	1,212	6	8	6
51-100	1,011	2.85%	996	11	0	11
101-250	1,152	3.24%	1,143	5	4	5
251-500	1,113	3.13%	1,105	5	2	5
More than 500	5,757	16.20%	5,743	9	2	9
Unknown Size	86	0.24%	69	8	3	8
Business and Industry	3,586	10.09%	3,116	141	230	141
Government	3,673	10.34%	3,516	84	48	84
Public Interest	2,743	7.72%	2,599	66	42	66
Clerkships - Federal	1,207	3.40%	1,189	18	0	18
Clerkships ±State, Local, and Territorial	2,167	6.10%	2,090	69	1	69
Clerkships - Tribal	1	0.00%	1	0	0	0
Clerkships - International	16	0.05%	13	3	0	3
Education	451	1.27%	340	23	30	23
Employer Type Unknown	73	0.21%	41	4	4	4