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Employment Statistics for 2019

Yale Law students are among the most sought after in the nation by employers of all types. Our alumni are prominent both within and outside of the legal profession. They work in private practice, ranging from one-person offices to major firms: in federal, state and local government, including Congress, the Office of the President, and the judiciary; in law teaching and administration; in public service settings; for corporations and businesses; and for nonprofit organizations.

ABA Employment Summary for 2019 Graduates

EMPLOYMENT STATUS FULL TIME
LONG TERM		 FULL TIME
SHORT TERM		 PART TIME
LONG TERM		 PART TIME
SHORT TERM		 NUMBER
Employed - Bar Passage Required 172 0 0 0 172
Employed - JD Advantage 9 0 0 0 9
Employed - Professional Position 0 0 0 0 0
Employed - Non-Professional Position 0 0 0 0 0
Employed - Law School/University Funded 19 2 0 0 21
Employed - Job Category Undeterminable 0 0 0 1 1
Pursuing Graduate Degree Full Time         10
Unemployed - Start Date Deferred         1
Unemployed - Not Seeking         2
Unemployed - Seeking         0
Employment Status Unknown         1
Total Graduates         217
EMPLOYMENT TYPE FULL TIME
LONG TERM		 FULL TIME
SHORT TERM		 PART TIME
LONG TERM		 PART TIME
SHORT TERM		 NUMBER
Law Firms          
Solo 0 0 0 0 0
2-10 0 0 0 0 0
11-25 2 0 0 0 2
26-50 4 0 0 0 4
51-100 0 0 0 0 0
101-250 8 0 0 0 8
251-500 10 0 0 0 10
501+ 67 0 0 0 67
Unknown 0 0 0 0 0
Business & Industry 7 0 0 0 7
Government 5 0 0 0 5
Public Interest (incl. Public Defender) 33 1 0 1 35
Judicial Clerkships **          
Federal 56 0 0 0 56
State & Local 4 0 0 0 4
Other 1 1 0 0 2
Education 3 0 0 0 3
Employer type unknown 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 200 2 0 1 203

**Figure represents graduates in clerkships on March 16, 2020. As of that date, an additional 30 graduates had reported clerkships that commence after March 16, 2020.

LAW SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY FUNDED POSITIONS* FULL TIME
LONG TERM		 FULL TIME
SHORT TERM		 PART TIME
LONG TERM		 PART TIME
SHORT TERM		 NUMBER
Employed - Bar Passage Required 14 1 0 0 15
Employed - J.D. Advantage 5 1 0 0 6
Employed - Professional Position 0 0 0 0 0
Employed - Non-Professional Position 0 0 0 0 0
Total Employed by Law School/University 19 2 0 0 21

* 19 graduates reflected in this section were awarded highly competitive one-year public interest fellowships. Each fellow receives a salary of $47,500 for the year and benefits. Click here for information about YLS public interest fellowship opportunities. In addition, one graduate accepted a prestigious Yale University Fox Fellowship and another graduate accepted a one-year fellowship with Yale University's Office of General Counsel. 

Employment Location State Number
State with largest employment New York 65
State with second largest employment District of Columbia 36
State with third largest employment California 23
Number employed in foreign countries   6
Geographic Destinations of Employed Graduates Class of 2019
Northeast
(CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)		 13.9%
Mid-Atlantic
(NY, NJ, PA)		 36.3%
East North Central
(IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)		 5%
West North Central
(IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, SD, ND)		 1%
South Atlantic
(DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV)		 19.9%
East South Central
(AL, KY, MS, TN)		 2.5%
West South Central
(AR, LA, OK, TX)		 4.5%
Mountain
(AZ, CO, ID, MT,NV, NM, UT, WY)		 1.5%
Pacific
(AK, CA, WA, HI, OR)		 12.4%
U.S. Territories (Puerto Rico) 0%
Foreign 3%
Full-Time Salaries of Employed Graduates Class of 2019
Total Employed Graduates 213
Number of Salaries Reported 203
25th Percentile $64,878
academic --
business $150,000
judicial clerk $63,953
private practice $190,000
government $47,500
public interest $47,500
Median $79,000
academic --
business $165,000
judicial clerk $69,016
private practice $190,000
government $47,500
public interest $52,500
75th Percentile $190,000
academic --
business $200,000
judicial clerk $71,313
private practice $190,000
government $47,500
public interest $60,000
Mean $124,178
academic --
business $190,000
judicial clerk $67,749
private practice $188,944
government $47,500
public interest $56,636

A minimum of five salaries is required for each salary analysis.