Career Services
Employment Data for Recent Graduates
A range of employment opportunities awaits NYU Law grads. Private practice is the most common starting point, though many take public service and government positions. Some land jobs at consulting firms or other businesses. The data below reflects what NYU Law reports to the ABA for each class year nine months following graduation. We present it in a format similar to one used by some of our peer schools to allow for easy comparison.
Additional information about these statistics.
| EMPLOYMENT OF NYU LAW GRADUATES 9 MONTHS AFTER GRADUATION | ||||
| Class of 2011 | Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 | |
| TOTAL GRADUATES | 466 | 497 | 471 | 484 |
| Employed | 446 | 480 | 457 | 458 |
| Bar admission required | 424 | 456 | 437 | 438 |
| JD preferred | 17 | 22 | 14 | 13 |
| Other Professional | 4 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Non-Professional | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Pursuing Graduate Degree | 4 | 6 | 9 | 18 |
| Unemployed - not seeking | 4 | 9 | 3 | 2 |
| Unemployed - seeking | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Employment Status Unknown | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| EMPLOYMENT TYPES OF EMPLOYED GRADUATES | ||||
| Class of 2011 | Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 | |
| Law Firm | 53.81% | 61.7% | 71.6% | 75.0% |
| Solo Practice | 0.42% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2 to 10 attorneys | 6.67% | 2.7% | 0.9% | 0.3% |
| 11 to 25 attorneys | 4.17% | 1.7% | 0.3% | 0.9% |
| 26 to 50 attorneys | 3.33% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.9% |
| 51 to 100 attorneys | 1.67% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.3% |
| 101 to 250 attorneys | 2.92% | 3.7% | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| 251 to 500 attorneys | 10.83% | 10.1% | 11.0% | 12.5% |
| 501 or more attorneys | 70% | 81.1% | 81.5% | 79.9% |
| Firm size unknown | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1.8% | 0.0% |
| Business and Industry | 4.93% | 2.9% | 2.2% | 2.2% |
| Government | 7.85% | 6.7% | 4.1% | 2.0% |
| Public Interest | 18.16% | 14.2% | 10.3% | 9.2% |
| Judicial Clerkship* | 14.35% | 13.1% | 10.7% | 10.5% |
| Federal | 79.37% | 79.4% | 84.1% | 77.0% |
| State & Local | 19.05% | 19.0% | 15.9% | 18.8% |
| Other | 1.59% | 1.6% | 0.0% | 4.2% |
| Academia | 0.22% | 0.6% | 1.1% | 0.9% |
| Military | 0.45% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
* This number reflects only those who take a clerkship immediately following graduation. In keeping with recent hiring preferences of judges, a substantial number of graduates work for one or more years before serving as clerks; approximately 20% of each class ultimately clerks, and some hold more than one clerkship.
| GEOGRAPHIC DESTINATIONS OF EMPLOYED GRADUATES (9 Months Out) | ||||
| Class of 2011 | Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 | |
| Northeast
(CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) |
2.02% | 2.5% | 3.3% | 1.8% |
| Mid-Atlantic
(NY, NJ, PA) |
67.87% | 69.1% | 66.5% | 70.5% |
| East North Central
(IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) |
1.12% | 2.5% | 1.5% | 1.3% |
| West North Central
(IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, SD, ND) |
0.67% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 1.1% |
| South Atlantic
(DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) |
7.87% | 9.4% | 13.6% | 9.4% |
| East South Central
(AL, KY, MS, TN) |
2.47% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.5% |
| West South Central
(AR, LA, OK, TX) |
2.25% | 1.7% | 2.2% | 1.1% |
| Mountain
(AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) |
0.90% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.1% |
| Pacific
(AK, CA, WA, HI, OR) |
11.91% | 10.6% | 8.7% | 9.4% |
| International | 2.92% | 2.3% | 2.4% | 2.8% |
| MOST POPULAR EMPLOYMENT DESTINATIONS | ||||
| Class of 2011 | Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 | |
| New York | 62.56% | 64.0% | 63.7% | 68.8% |
| California | 9.87% | 9.0% | 8.3% | 9.2% |
| District of Columbia | 4.26% | 5.8% | 12.7% | 7.2% |
| FULL-TIME SALARIES OF EMPLOYED GRADUATES | ||||
| Class of 2011 | Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 | |
| Total Employed Graduates | 446 | 480 | 457 | 458 |
| Number Salaries Reported | 387 | 403 | 421 | 419 |
| 25th Percentile | $55,000 | $67,963 | $145,000 | $160,000 |
| Median | $145,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 |
| 75th Percentile | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 |
| Mean | $108,003 | $129,500 | $136,169 | $138,657 |
| Judicial Clerk | Class of 2011 | Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 |
| 25th Percentile | $57,000 | $56,656 | $55,000 | $54,494 |
| Median | $60,000 | $60,000 | $60,000 | $58,986 |
| 75th Percentile | $64,729 | $64,387 | $63,000 | $60,840 |
| Mean | $59,025 | $59,541 | $57,979 | $57,161 |
| Law Firm | Class of 2011 | Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 |
| 25th Percentile | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 |
| Median | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 |
| 75th Percentile | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 |
| Mean | $153,119 | $156,062 | $158,006 | $158,481 |
| Government | Class of 2011 | Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 |
| 25th Percentile | $24,000 | $60,000 | $57,000 | $55,000 |
| Median | $33,000 | $62,000 | $61,500 | $57,329 |
| 75th Percentile | $62,500 | $65,000 | $69,000 | $63,150 |
| Mean | $45,488 | $63,208 | $62,900 | $58,960 |
| Public Interest | Class of 2011 | Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 |
| 25th Percentile | $24,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 |
| Median | $43,000 | $48,000 | $46,750 | $45,500 |
| 75th Percentile | $52,390 | $54,000 | $51,250 | $51,645 |
| Mean | $38,519 | $49,093 | $44,783 | $48,640 |
| FIRST NON-CLERKSHIP EMPLOYMENT OF ALL GRADUATES | ||||
| Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 | Class of 2007 | |
| Law Firm | 69.9% | 79.0% | 79.4% | 82.5% |
| Public Interest | 16.7% | 12.4% | 13.1% | 11.9% |
| Government | 9.7% | 5.0% | 4.0% | 3.1% |
| Business and Industry | 3.0% | 2.2% | 2.4% | 1.9% |
| Academia | 0.7% | 1.4% | 1.1% | 0.6% |
| NYU LAW FUNDED LAUNCH GRANT POSITIONS* | ||||
| Class of 2011 | Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 | |
| Total launch grants | 45 | 38 | 21 | 14 |
| Converted to full-time position with initial employer | tbd | 16 | 5 | 4 |
| Led to other full-time employment | tbd | 19 | 9 | 7 |
| Did not lead to full-time employment | tbd | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Unknown | tbd | 2 | 4 | 1 |
* Read about the positions described in this table.