Recent Graduate Employment Data
Chicago Law graduates find work in every part of the legal profession, as well as in non-legal careers where a law degree is a substantial asset. Our alumni are all over the world, leading the way in private practice, government, public service, business, academia, and the judiciary.
The Law School has long proudly provided data about employment outcomes to prospective students, admitted students, current students, and alumni in various forms. In today’s market, we understand that prospective students want and need more information than ever before in order to make decisions about their futures. We are pleased to offer extensive data below about employment outcomes, and we thank our friends at Yale Law School for providing an excellent model for this information. We have provided our data in the same format as Yale to facilitate easy comparison by prospective students.
You may also wish to see summer employment data.
Download this tabular data as a PDF.
| The University of Chicago Law School Employment 9 Months after Graduation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 | |
| Total Graduates | 195 | 206 | 210 |
| Employed | 191 | 204 | 202 |
| Bar Passage Required | 177 | 196 | 196 |
| JD Preferred | 8 | 5 | 5 |
| Other Professional | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Non-Professional | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Pursuing Graduate Degree | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Unemployed - not seeking | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Unemployed - seeking | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Employment status unknown | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Employment Types of Employed Graduates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 | |
| Law Firms | 71.2% | 80.5% | 81.5% |
| Solo | - | - | - |
| 2-10 | 4.4% | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| 11-25 | 3.7% | - | 0.6% |
| 26-50 | 1.5% | 0.6% | 2.4% |
| 51-100 | 3.7% | 4.3% | 3.0% |
| 101-250 | 3.7% | 5.5% | 4.2% |
| 251-500 | 8.1% | 5.5% | 11.5% |
| 500+ | 74.3% | 82.8% | 77.6% |
| unknown | - | 0.6% | - |
| Business and Industry | 4.2% | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| Government | 3.2% | 2.5% | 2.0% |
| Public Interest | 5.2% | 3.5% | 0.5% |
| Clerkship | 14.1% | 9.0% | 13.0% |
| Federal | 88.9% | 88.9% | 92.9% |
| State and Local | 11.1% | 11.1% | 7.1% |
| Other | - | - | - |
| Academia | 1.6% | 1.5% | - |
| Other/unknown | 0.5% | - | - |
| Geographic Destinations of The University of Chicago Law School Graduates (9 Months Out) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 | |
| Northeast (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) | 2.6% | 1.5% | 0.5% |
| Mid-Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) | 25.6% | 21.5% | 19.4% |
| East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) | 38.2% | 35.5% | 36.3% |
| West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, SD, ND) | 3.7% | 2.5% | 2.5% |
| South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) | 8.9% | 8.5% | 10.9% |
| East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) | 2.1% | 1.0% | 1.5% |
| West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) | 4.2% | 7.0% | 5.5% |
| Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) | 3.7% | 2.5% | 3.0% |
| Pacific (AK, CA, WA, HI, OR) | 8.9% | 18.0% | 19.4% |
| Foreign | 2.1% | 2.0% | 1.0% |
| Most Popular Employment Locations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 | |
| Illinois | 36.1% | 33.0% | 34.3% |
| New York | 25.1% | 20.7% | 18.8% |
| California | 8.4% | 16.7% | 17.4% |
| Full-time Salaries of Employed Graduates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 | |
| Total Employed Graduates | 191 | 204 | 202 |
| Number of Salaries Reported | 180 | 184 | 192 |
| 25th Percentile | $63,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 |
| Median | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 |
| 75th Percentile | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 |
| Mean | $122,796 | $144,482 | $141,904 |
| Judicial Clerk | |||
| 25th Percentile | $57,408 | $57,778 | $57,000 |
| Median | $61,612 | $61,000 | $59,299 |
| 75th Percentile | $63,000 | $62,000 | $60,000 |
| Mean | $60,934 | $59,761 | $57,518 |
| Private Practice | |||
| 25th Percentile | $145,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 |
| Median | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 |
| 75th Percentile | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 |
| Mean | $143,768 | $155,451 | $151,555 |
| Government | |||
| 25th Percentile | $51,000 | < 5 reported | < 5 reported |
| Median | $56,734 | < 5 reported | < 5 reported |
| 75th Percentile | $75,000 | < 5 reported | < 5 reported |
| Mean | $61,078 | < 5 reported | < 5 reported |
| Public Interest | |||
| 25th Percentile | $34,750 | $54,000 | < 5 reported |
| Median | $42,500 | $55,000 | < 5 reported |
| 75th Percentile | $48,314 | $65,000 | < 5 reported |
| Mean | $40,806 | $58,000 | < 5 reported |
| First Post-Clerkship Job Choices | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2010 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2008 | Class of 2007 | 2007-2010 | |
| Law Firm | 85.7% | 75.0% | 80.8% | 95.0% | 84.4% |
| Government | 9.5% | 12.5% | 3.8% | 5.0% | 7.2% |
| Public Interest | 0.0% | 12.5% | 3.8% | 0.0% | 3.6% |
| Academia | 4.8% | 0.0% | 7.7% | 0.0% | 3.6% |
| Business and Industry | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3.8% | 0.0% | 1.2% |
Please note: Employment and salary information is taken from a variety of sources, including: student self-reporting, alumni surveys, employer information, published salary data, and electronic resources.
Employment categories and geographic distinctions follow the NALP definitions found at http://www.nalp.org/uploads/ERSS/Erss_instbk_10.pdf (beginning on page 2) and http://www.nalp.org/uploads/NationalSummaryChartforSchools2010.pdf, respectively.