Recent Graduate Employment Data

ABA Employment Summaries: Classes of 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017.

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.

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 2020 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.

ABA Required Disclaimers: 

Information on employment outcomes for the Class of 2020 may not reflect a particular law school’s typical results in this area. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, bar admission exams were canceled or delayed in many jurisdictions, thus making it more challenging for graduates to secure employment by the annual Graduate Employment Status Date of March 15. Please reference the 3 years of employment outcome data posted on the ABA Required Disclosures webpage of each ABA-Approved Law School or at www.abarequireddisclosures.org.

Per Interpretation 509-2 of Standard 509, law schools may choose to publicize additional employment outcome data beyond what the Employment Protocols require. This additional data, per Standard 509, must be “complete, accurate, and not misleading to a reasonable law school student or applicant.” Law schools are expected to use “due diligence in obtaining and verifying such information.” The following additional employment outcome data has not been, and will not be, audited by the ABA. It is meant to supplement the annual ABA Employment Summary Report, which reflects the employment status of members of each graduating class as of the annual Graduate Employment Status Date of March 15. Please reference the 3 years of employment outcome data posted on the ABA Required Disclosures webpage of each ABA-Approved Law School or at www.abarequireddisclosures.org.