Class of 2022 Law Grads “Shatter” Employment and Salary Records

One year after the legal job market for the Class of 2021 was named “one of the strongest on record,” a report from the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) details record-breaking employment for 2022 law grads.

For the Class of 2022, the overall employment rate increased to 92.1 percent, the highest since the Class of 1987 (92.2 percent). The vast majority of graduates, 79.9 percent, obtained “bar passage required/anticipated” jobs, which is the highest since 2001, when the NALP started to use the current job classifications. Graduates also garnered higher pay. The national median salary ticked up to a record $85,000 from 2021 graduates’ median $80,000. And 2022 graduates reported feeling content with their jobs, with a record low of 7.8 percent currently looking for a new job.   

The number of graduates entering private practice increased by one percentage point from the Class of 2021 to 58.0 percent, the highest in the last 20 years. And their median salary in private practice increased to $150,000, a 14.1 percent increase from that received by 2021 graduates. At the biggest firms (more than 500 lawyers), the median salary rose to $215,000. 

The percentage of 2022 graduates entering into public service (30.7 percent) also increased slightly from the Class of 2021 (30.5 percent). This increase was driven by those entering jobs in government and public interest. Judicial clerkship positions declined slightly from 10.7 percent to 10.1 percent. 

The report also identified a trend away from law school graduates entering business, which has historically employed the second highest number after private practice. In 2019, a shift in graduates away from business started to occur, and it continued among 2022 graduates. Just 9.8 percent of the Class of 2022 entered into business, making it the lowest since 1992. 

Study Finds that Most 2019 Law School Graduates are Satisfied with Their Jobs

Almost half, 47 percent, of lawyers from the Class of 2019 report that they are “extremely satisfied” with their current employment. This is according to the recently published Law School Alumni Employment and Satisfaction, a joint study by the NALP and NALP Foundation. Another 38 percent of the Class of 2019 reported that they feel “somewhat satisfied” with their employment. And a record low, 13 percent of respondents, reported that they are actively seeking a new job. 

The annual study collects information from law school graduates three years after graduation to learn more about their employment and satisfaction. This year’s data included 1,927 graduates from 42 U.S. law schools. The high rate of satisfaction for the Class of 2019 compares favorably to last year’s report (which included 2018 graduates), where only 42 percent reported being “extremely satisfied.” 

Respondents’ reports of high satisfaction, however, may disguise the high mobility they have experienced in the few years since departing law school. Almost three-quarters, 71 percent, reported having had two or more sequential positions since graduation. Among the group who had more than one position since law school, most switched jobs for better compensation/bonuses (62 percent) or because of “attitude ‘fit’ concerns” (42 percent). School debt continues to impact their choice of job and employment sector, as well as other life decisions, including purchasing a home and having children. 

Duke Law Takes the Top Spot in Above the Law’s Outcomes-Focused Law School Rankings

Above the Law recently published its 11th annual ranking of law schools. For the second year in a row and the third time in four years, Duke took the top spot. 

Above the Law reviews data from 120 schools to compile its ranking but only publishes the top 50. And it includes only those schools that have a national reach for quality legal employment (as opposed to just regional) for all students, not just those at the top of their class. The ranking is also unique in that its focus is on employment outcomes, specifically how students fare in obtaining legal employment post-graduation, and how well a school positions students to repay their debt. Furthermore, it is the only ranking to include ABA employment data for the most recent graduates (Class of 2022, in this case). 

Generally, movement within the top ranks was fairly minimal. The top four ranked schools are the same as last year with minor changes. However, Vanderbilt, which ranked in the 5th position last year, dropped to the 7th rank, switching places with the University of Michigan. Other notable changes include a five-rank drop by Washington University in St. Louis, which was ranked 6th last year and 11th currently. And there was a five-rank increase by NYU, which was ranked 17th previously and now ranks 12th. Washington and Lee also moved up eight slots this year from 26th to 18th, and UC Berkeley dropped from the 12th to the 20th rank. 

Below, we show the 2023 ranking for the top 20 schools. You can find the rest on Above the Law’s website. 

2023 Rank School (Change from 2022)

1 Duke (–)

2 Cornell (+1)

3 University of Virginia (-1)

4 University of Chicago (–)

5 Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor (+2)

6 Columbia (+2)

7 Vanderbilt (-2)

8 Northwestern (Pritzker) (+1)

9 University of Penn (Carey) (+1)

10 Notre Dame (+4)

11 Washington U in St. Louis (-5)

12 NYU (+5)

13 University of Texas, Austin (-2)

14 Harvard (+2)

15 University of Georgia (-2)

16 Yale (-1)

17 USC (+1)

18 Washington and Lee (+8)

19 University of Illinois (–)

20 Univ. of California, Berkeley (-8)