Recent Graduate Employment Data

ABA Employment Summaries: Classes of 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018.

The Law School has long provided data about employment outcomes in various forms to prospective students, admitted students, current students, and alumni. We are pleased to offer this extensive data about employment outcomes and salaries for the four most recent graduating classes. We also provide additional detailed information about judicial clerkships, including information about where our students who clerk immediately after graduation choose to work after they are finished clerking, and summer employment data.

University of Chicago Law School Employment 10 months after graduation
  Class of 2021 Class of 2020 Class of 2019 Class of 2018
Total Graduates 213 203 202 206
Employed 211 199 199 202
Bar Passage Required 206 198 196 198
JD Advantage 5 1 3 4
Professional 0 0 0 0
Other Position 0 0 0 0
Unknown 0 0 0 0
Pursuing Graduate Degree 2 1 1 0
Employed - Start Date Deferred 0 0 1 0
Unemployed - Not Seeking 0 0 0 2
Unemployed - Seeking 0 2 0 2
Employment Status Unknown 0 1 1 0
Law School/University Funded Positions
  Class of 2021 Class of 2020 Class of 2019 Class of 2018
Employed - Bar Passage Required 6 4 7 10
Employed - JD Advantage 0 0 1 0
Employed - Professional 0 0 0 0
Employed - Other Position 0 0 0 0
Total Funded by Law School/University 6 4 8 10
Employment Types of Employed Graduates*
  Class of 2021 Class of 2020 Class of 2019 Class of 2018
Law Firms 57.8% (122) 62.8% (125) 62.3% (124) 60.9% (123)
Solo - - - -
2-10 1.6% (2) 0.8% (1) 0.8% (1) 0.8% (1)
11-25 0.8% (1) - 1.6% (2) 0.8% (1)
26-50 1.6% (2) - 3.2% (4) 2.4% (3)
51-100 3.3% (4) - 3.2% (4) 3.3% (4)
101-250 - 4.8% (6) 3.2% (4) 5.7% (7)
251-500 4.1% (5) 5.6% (7) 7.3% (9) 8.1% (10)
500+ 88.5% (108) 88.8% (111) 80.6% (100) 78.9% (97)
unknown - - - -
Business and Industry 2.8% (6) 0.5% (1) 1.0% (2) 4.0% (8)
Government 3.3% (7) 0.5% (1) 2.5% (5) 2.5% (5)
Public Interest 4.7% (10) 5.0% (10) 6.0% (12) 5.0% (10)
Clerkship 30.8% (65) 31.2% (62) 27.6% (55) 27.7% (56)
Federal 90.8% (59) 90.3% (56) 87.3% (48) 87.5% (49)
State and Local 7.7% (5) 9.7% (6) 12.7% (7) 12.5% (7)
International 1.5% (1) - - -
Academia 0.5% (1) - 0.5% (1) -
Other/unknown - - - -
Geographic Destinations of Employed Graduates*
  Class of 2021 Class of 2020 Class of 2019 Class of 2018
Northeast (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) 2.4% (5) 2.5% (5) 2.0% (4) 1.0% (2)
Mid-Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) 15.7% (33) 19.6% (39) 19.1% (38) 20.3% (41)
East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) 33.3% (70) 32.7% (65) 36.7% (73) 35.6% (72)
West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, SD, ND) 1.4% (3) 3.0% (6) 3.0% (6) 3.0% (6)
South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) 9.5% (20) 12.1% (24) 9.5% (19) 11.9% (24)
East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) 4.3% (9) 3.5% (7) 1.5% (3) 3.0% (6)
West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) 8.1% (17) 6.5% (13) 7.0% (14) 9.4% (19)
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) 4.3% (9) 4.5% (9) 5.5% (11) 1.0% (2)
Pacific (AK, CA, WA, HI, OR) 18.6% (39) 13.1% (26) 14.1% (28) 13.9% (28)
Foreign (Foreign Countries and US Territories) 2.4% (5) 2.5% (5) 1.5% (3) 1.0% (2)
Most Popular Employment Locations*
  Class of 2021 Class of 2020 Class of 2019 Class of 2018
Illinois 31.0% (65) 29.1% (58) 31.7% (63) 30.7% (62)
New York 14.3% (30) 17.6% (35) 18.1% (36) 19.8% (40)
California 15.7% (33) 12.1% (24) 12.6% (25) 11.9% (24)
District of Columbia 6.2% (13) 7.0% (14) 8.0% (16) 8.9% (18)
Texas 8.1% (17) 6.0% (12) 6.5% (13) 7.9% (16)
Full-time Salaries of Employed Graduates
  Class of 2021 Class of 2020 Class of 2019 Class of 2018
Total Graduates Employed Full-time 209 199 199 202
Number of Full-time Salaries Reported 206 198 196 201
Percentage of Salaries Reported 98.6% 99.5% 98.5% 99.5%
25th Percentile $71,697 $71,409 $68,897 $67,628
Median $207,500 $190,000 $190,000 $180,000
75th Percentile $215,000 $190,000 $190,000 $190,000
Mean $153,192 $143,113 $141,522 $137,574
Private Sector 126 126 126 131
Number of Full-time Salaries Reported 123 125 124 130
Percentage of Salaries Reported 97.6% 99.2% 98.4% 99.2%
25th Percentile $215,000 $190,000 $190,000 $180,000
Median $215,000 $190,000 $190,000 $190,000
75th Percentile $215,000 $190,000 $190,000 $190,000
Mean $211,061 $187,480 $184,032 $178,999
Public Sector 83 73 73 71
Number of Full-time Salaries Reported 83 73 72 71
Percentage of Salaries Reported 100.0% 100.0% 98.6% 100.0%
25th Percentile $64,649 $64,649 $62,236 $57,595
Median $69,000 $66,393 $65,000 $63,192
75th Percentile $73,098 $71,697 $68,996 $67,638
Mean $67,433 $67,141 $68,309 $61,727

As you can see, UChicago 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 is proud to provide significant support to students and graduates entering public service. Students who pursue careers in public interest immediately after graduation face unique challenges, and one of the ways the Law School helps to ameliorate those challenges is through postgraduate public interest fellowships and funding, as well as a generous loan forgiveness program.

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.

Private Sector salaries include graduates in both the Law Firms and Business and Industry categories.

Public Sector salaries include graduates in the Government, Public Interest, Judicial Clerkships, and Academia categories.

Employment categories for the Class of 2021 follow the definitions in the ABA Employment Protocols. Geographic distinctions follow these NALP categories.

*Percentage calculations for employment types, geographic destinations, and most popular employment locations are based on the number of employed graduates in the class, which can be found in the second line of data at the top of the chart. The numerator for each calculation is presented in parentheses after the percentage. The percentages for law firms by size and for type of judicial clerkship are calculated using the total number of graduates employed in firms and clerkships, respectively.