[UPDATE: Emory’s data are now included in this page.]
Okay, this’ll be short as I have work to do.
The ABA has released its employment data for the class of 2013, which is defined as everyone who graduated between September 1, 2012, and August 1, 2013. Employment data are outcomes as of February 15, 2014, irrespective of interim job changes. Savvy readers will notice that the most mediocre law school ever, Generic University School of Law, made an appearance again. They’ll also note that Emory’s data have been removed from the ABA’s site, which I’m sure will be corrected soon. For those who are truly curious, the ABA has even broken down the employment data for each of Cooley’s branch campuses. There are a few other traps for the unwary, e.g. schools that haven’t received even provisional ABA accreditation, like Lincoln Memorial. Even Peking China made the list. None of these schools have any useful data.
Generally, graduates fared little better this year than last year. 55.3 57 percent were employed full-time/long-term in bar-passage required jobs. This is up 0.2 0.8 percentage points from February 2013.
On the other hand, the graduate unemployment rate grew while the non-response rate declined.
Tables below the jump to conserve blog space.
**********
| STATUS (EXCL. P.R.) | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployed-Seeking | 2,686 | 4,016 | 4,768 | 5,068 |
| Status Unknown | 1,458 | 1,453 | 1,113 | 986 |
| Total Grads | 43,526 | 43,735 | 45,755 | 46,116 |
| Unemployed-Seeking | 6.2% | 9.2% | 10.4% | 11.0% |
| Status Unknown | 3.3% | 3.3% | 2.4% | 2.1% |
| Total Grads | 9.5% | 12.5% | 12.9% | 13.1% |
Things appear to be trending worse for law grads. Certainly it’ll get better when the supply starts falling in the future.
Here’s the employment status distribution.
(Clicking on this image shall embiggen it.)
…And what you’ve been waiting for: a breakdown of law schools by their employed bar-passage required full-time, long-term, less funded positions rates.
**********
| PERCENT GRADUATES EMPLOYED FULL-TIME/LONG-TERM IN BAR-PASSAGE-REQUIRED JOBS (EXCL. LAW-SCHOOL-FUNDED JOBS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RANK | LAW SCHOOL | ’12 | ’13 | CHANGE |
| 1. | Columbia University | 85.3% | 88.3% | 3.0% |
| 2. | Chicago, University of | 87.0% | 86.5% | -0.5% |
| 3. | New York University | 79.0% | 86.2% | 7.2% |
| 4. | Pennsylvania, University of | 91.9% | 85.7% | -6.1% |
| 5. | Duke University | 84.9% | 85.1% | 0.2% |
| 6. | Stanford University | 89.0% | 85.1% | -3.9% |
| 7. | Harvard University | 84.6% | 84.9% | 0.4% |
| 8. | Cornell University | 85.3% | 81.3% | -3.9% |
| 9. | Michigan, University of | 81.7% | 81.2% | -0.5% |
| 10. | Virginia, University of | 79.7% | 79.7% | 0.0% |
| 11. | California-Berkeley, University of | 85.9% | 78.4% | -7.5% |
| 12. | Vanderbilt University | 71.4% | 78.2% | 6.7% |
| 13. | Northwestern University | 75.9% | 77.5% | 1.5% |
| 14. | Iowa, University of | 71.4% | 76.3% | 5.0% |
| 15. | Texas At Austin, University of | 75.3% | 75.1% | -0.2% |
| 16. | Kentucky, University of | 74.1% | 74.4% | 0.3% |
| 17. | Yale University | 77.0% | 74.4% | -2.6% |
| 18. | New Mexico, University of | 67.2% | 73.7% | 6.5% |
| 19. | Georgetown University | 66.8% | 72.4% | 5.6% |
| 20. | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 52.3% | 72.1% | 19.7% |
| 21. | Alabama, University of | 77.3% | 71.7% | -5.6% |
| 22. | Southern Methodist University | 75.1% | 70.9% | -4.2% |
| 23. | Notre Dame, University of | 65.3% | 70.7% | 5.3% |
| 24. | Baylor University | 67.1% | 70.5% | 3.4% |
| 25. | Florida State University | 66.4% | 69.6% | 3.2% |
| 26. | New Hampshire University of | 60.9% | 69.2% | 8.3% |
| 27. | Montana, University of | 61.0% | 69.1% | 8.2% |
| 28. | Seton Hall University | 65.8% | 68.9% | 3.1% |
| 29. | Georgia, University of | 69.4% | 68.4% | -1.1% |
| 30. | Minnesota, University of | 64.3% | 68.2% | 3.9% |
| 31. | South Carolina, University of | 70.4% | 68.2% | -2.2% |
| 32. | Arkansas, Fayetteville, University of | 70.5% | 68.2% | -2.3% |
| 33. | North Carolina, University of | 67.6% | 68.1% | 0.6% |
| 34. | Washington, University of | 68.0% | 67.8% | -0.2% |
| 35. | Louisiana State University | 76.7% | 67.4% | -9.3% |
| 36. | Wyoming, University of | 56.0% | 67.1% | 11.1% |
| 37. | Colorado, University of | 51.4% | 67.0% | 15.6% |
| 38. | South Texas College of Law | 71.4% | 67.0% | -4.4% |
| 39. | Ohio Northern University | 59.4% | 66.7% | 7.3% |
| 40. | California-Los Angeles, University of | 70.0% | 66.6% | -3.4% |
| 41. | Oklahoma City University | 53.6% | 66.5% | 12.8% |
| 42. | Florida, University of | 56.8% | 66.4% | 9.6% |
| 43. | Oklahoma, University of | 66.5% | 66.3% | -0.2% |
| 44. | Nebraska, University of | 65.6% | 66.1% | 0.5% |
| 45. | Washington University | 67.0% | 66.0% | -1.0% |
| 46. | Mercer University | 72.5% | 65.6% | -6.9% |
| 47. | California-Davis, University of | 60.9% | 65.3% | 4.4% |
| 48. | Tennessee, University of | 65.2% | 65.3% | 0.1% |
| 49. | Louisville, University of | 66.9% | 64.8% | -2.1% |
| 50. | Brigham Young University | 63.3% | 64.6% | 1.4% |
| 51. | Indiana University – Bloomington | 54.4% | 64.6% | 10.2% |
| 52. | California-Irvine, University of | 83.9% | 64.3% | -19.6% |
| 52. | Houston, University of | 63.0% | 64.3% | 1.3% |
| 54. | Kansas, University of | 61.0% | 64.2% | 3.1% |
| 55. | Illinois, University of | 58.2% | 64.1% | 5.9% |
| 56. | Boston College | 65.4% | 64.0% | -1.4% |
| 57. | Gonzaga University | 50.6% | 64.0% | 13.4% |
| 58. | Dayton, University of | 51.1% | 63.7% | 12.5% |
| 59. | University of Nevada – Las Vegas | 60.9% | 63.6% | 2.8% |
| 60. | Utah, University of | 63.4% | 63.4% | 0.0% |
| 61. | Fordham University | 62.6% | 63.4% | 0.9% |
| 62. | George Washington University | 60.3% | 63.2% | 2.8% |
| 63. | Mississippi, University of | 59.4% | 63.2% | 3.8% |
| 64. | Rutgers University-Camden | 63.0% | 63.0% | 0.1% |
| 65. | Washburn University | 63.5% | 62.9% | -0.5% |
| 66. | Georgia State University | 65.8% | 62.6% | -3.3% |
| 67. | Idaho, University of | 56.7% | 62.4% | 5.7% |
| 68. | Emory University | 66.9% | 62.3% | -4.6% |
| 69. | University of Buffalo-Suny | 52.2% | 62.2% | 10.1% |
| 70. | Stetson University | 59.5% | 62.0% | 2.5% |
| 71. | South Dakota, University of | 63.2% | 62.0% | -1.2% |
| 72. | Willamette University | 52.0% | 61.8% | 9.8% |
| 73. | Arizona State University | 63.2% | 61.8% | -1.4% |
| 74. | St. Mary’S University | 66.8% | 61.5% | -5.3% |
| 75. | Memphis, University of | 56.7% | 61.3% | 4.6% |
| 76. | Boston University | 64.1% | 61.2% | -3.0% |
| 77. | Missouri, University of | 68.0% | 61.1% | -7.0% |
| 78. | Miami, University of | 58.8% | 60.7% | 1.9% |
| 79. | Nova Southeastern University | 57.1% | 60.5% | 3.5% |
| 80. | Southern California, University of | 69.7% | 60.5% | -9.2% |
| 81. | Ohio State University | 59.5% | 60.4% | 1.0% |
| 82. | Samford University | 59.6% | 60.4% | 0.8% |
| 83. | Drake University | 56.1% | 60.1% | 4.0% |
| 84. | Wisconsin, University of | 62.0% | 59.9% | -2.1% |
| 85. | Case Western Reserve University | 46.5% | 59.9% | 13.4% |
| 86. | Albany Law School of Union University | 51.5% | 59.7% | 8.2% |
| 87. | Florida International University | 62.0% | 59.6% | -2.3% |
| 88. | North Dakota, University of | 67.8% | 59.5% | -8.3% |
| 89. | Faulkner University | 50.0% | 59.4% | 9.4% |
| 90. | Temple University | 53.1% | 59.3% | 6.3% |
| 91. | Texas Tech University | 61.4% | 59.2% | -2.2% |
| 92. | William Mitchell College of Law | 51.5% | 59.1% | 7.6% |
| 93. | Mississippi College | 59.8% | 58.8% | -0.9% |
| 94. | Arizona, University of | 66.4% | 58.5% | -7.9% |
| 95. | Wake Forest University | 67.9% | 58.5% | -9.5% |
| 96. | Tulsa, University of | 64.2% | 58.0% | -6.1% |
| 97. | Regent University | 51.2% | 58.0% | 6.8% |
| 98. | Richmond, University of | 56.8% | 57.7% | 1.0% |
| 99. | West Virginia University | 76.8% | 57.7% | -19.1% |
| 100. | Washington And Lee University | 49.2% | 57.3% | 8.1% |
| 101. | Brooklyn Law School | 48.7% | 57.3% | 8.6% |
| 102. | William And Mary Law School | 56.4% | 56.7% | 0.3% |
| 103. | Chicago-Kent College of Law-Iit | 59.2% | 56.0% | -3.2% |
| 104. | St. John’S University | 49.1% | 56.0% | 6.9% |
| 105. | Denver, University of | 49.2% | 55.6% | 6.4% |
| 106. | Campbell University | 67.6% | 55.6% | -12.0% |
| 107. | Saint Louis University | 60.9% | 55.5% | -5.4% |
| 108. | Creighton University | 57.6% | 55.2% | -2.4% |
| 109. | Syracuse University | 45.9% | 54.9% | 9.0% |
| 110. | Pittsburgh, University of | 51.4% | 54.5% | 3.2% |
| 110. | Widener University-Harrisburg | 46.7% | 54.5% | 7.8% |
| 112. | Vermont Law School | 45.1% | 54.5% | 9.4% |
| 113. | Cincinnati, University of | 53.6% | 54.4% | 0.8% |
| 114. | Cardozo School of Law | 54.0% | 54.3% | 0.3% |
| 115. | Rutgers University-Newark | 54.3% | 54.1% | -0.2% |
| 116. | Marquette University | 57.3% | 54.0% | -3.3% |
| 117. | Northern Illinois University | 62.6% | 53.8% | -8.8% |
| 118. | Villanova University | 51.2% | 53.8% | 2.6% |
| 119. | Wayne State University | 54.8% | 53.4% | -1.3% |
| 120. | Charleston School of Law | 53.7% | 53.3% | -0.4% |
| 121. | San Diego, University of | 47.1% | 53.1% | 6.0% |
| 122. | Pepperdine University | 46.5% | 53.1% | 6.6% |
| 123. | Touro College | 50.8% | 53.0% | 2.2% |
| 124. | Duquesne University | 52.7% | 52.7% | -0.1% |
| 125. | Tulane University | 62.5% | 52.0% | -10.4% |
| 126. | Hawaii, University of | 52.8% | 51.9% | -0.9% |
| 127. | John Marshall Law School | 42.0% | 51.8% | 9.8% |
| 128. | Lewis And Clark College | 56.0% | 51.6% | -4.4% |
| 129. | Indiana University – Indianapolis | 50.8% | 51.4% | 0.5% |
| 130. | Akron, University of | 46.8% | 51.2% | 4.4% |
| 131. | Loyola University-New Orleans | 48.6% | 51.2% | 2.6% |
| 132. | Arkansas, Little Rock, University of | 60.4% | 51.0% | -9.4% |
| 133. | Loyola University-Chicago | 54.6% | 50.3% | -4.3% |
| 134. | Oregon, University of | 41.6% | 50.3% | 8.7% |
| 135. | Appalachian School of Law | 38.5% | 50.0% | 11.5% |
| 135. | Drexel University | 48.4% | 50.0% | 1.6% |
| 135. | Toledo, University of | 51.7% | 50.0% | -1.7% |
| 138. | Loyola Marymount University-Los Angeles | 40.9% | 49.9% | 9.0% |
| 139. | George Mason University | 49.5% | 49.4% | -0.1% |
| 140. | Howard University | 47.7% | 49.3% | 1.6% |
| 141. | Hofstra University | 51.2% | 48.6% | -2.7% |
| 142. | City University of New York | 53.9% | 48.6% | -5.3% |
| 143. | Missouri-Kansas City, University of | 66.0% | 48.4% | -17.6% |
| 144. | Maryland, University of | 53.0% | 48.1% | -4.9% |
| 145. | St. Thomas University (Florida) | 40.3% | 47.8% | 7.5% |
| 146. | Cleveland State University | 48.9% | 47.8% | -1.1% |
| 146. | Texas Southern University | 55.6% | 47.8% | -7.8% |
| 148. | Widener University-Delaware | 38.7% | 47.3% | 8.7% |
| 149. | Pennsylvania State University | 58.2% | 47.0% | -11.2% |
| 150. | Catholic University of America | 36.2% | 46.6% | 10.5% |
| 151. | Depaul University | 40.5% | 46.1% | 5.6% |
| 152. | Northeastern University | 43.3% | 45.4% | 2.2% |
| 153. | St. Thomas, University of (Minnesota) | 44.1% | 44.9% | 0.8% |
| 154. | Hamline University | 42.6% | 44.9% | 2.2% |
| 155. | New York Law School | 39.6% | 44.5% | 4.9% |
| 156. | Baltimore, University of | 53.0% | 44.4% | -8.7% |
| 157. | Capital University | 48.2% | 44.3% | -3.9% |
| 158. | Santa Clara University | 42.6% | 44.1% | 1.5% |
| 159. | Arizona Summit Law School | 43.6% | 44.1% | 0.4% |
| 160. | Texas A&M University | 53.1% | 43.8% | -9.4% |
| 161. | Seattle University | 47.1% | 43.4% | -3.7% |
| 162. | Maine, University of | 42.5% | 42.7% | 0.2% |
| 163. | California-Hastings, University of | 46.3% | 42.4% | -3.9% |
| 164. | Connecticut, University of | 54.3% | 42.2% | -12.0% |
| 165. | Roger Williams University | 51.4% | 41.7% | -9.7% |
| 166. | New England Law | Boston | 36.3% | 40.1% | 3.8% |
| 167. | Southwestern Law School | 43.8% | 40.0% | -3.8% |
| 168. | Barry University | 48.5% | 39.8% | -8.7% |
| 169. | Atlanta’S John Marshall Law Shool | 43.5% | 39.7% | -3.8% |
| 170. | Pace University | 46.5% | 39.5% | -7.1% |
| 171. | Valparaiso University | 41.9% | 39.0% | -2.8% |
| 172. | Northern Kentucky University | 43.8% | 38.8% | -5.1% |
| 173. | Florida A&M University | 38.1% | 38.5% | 0.3% |
| 174. | American University | 38.4% | 38.3% | -0.2% |
| 175. | Michigan State University | 40.9% | 37.9% | -3.0% |
| 176. | Chapman University | 36.5% | 37.6% | 1.1% |
| 177. | Western State College of Law | 32.5% | 37.4% | 4.9% |
| 178. | Suffolk University | 39.8% | 37.0% | -2.9% |
| 179. | Western New England University | 33.8% | 36.8% | 3.1% |
| 180. | Mcgeorge School of Law | 41.5% | 36.5% | -5.0% |
| 181. | San Francisco, University of | 22.6% | 35.5% | 12.9% |
| 182. | California Western School of Law | 43.8% | 35.2% | -8.6% |
| 183. | University of La Verne | 35.6% | 34.9% | -0.7% |
| 184. | Detroit Mercy, University of | 29.7% | 34.6% | 4.9% |
| 185. | Ave Maria School of Law | 35.5% | 34.6% | -1.0% |
| 186. | Charlotte School of Law | 37.6% | 34.6% | -3.0% |
| 187. | Quinnipiac University | 41.1% | 34.5% | -6.6% |
| 188. | Liberty University | 51.1% | 34.4% | -16.7% |
| 189. | Elon University | 50.9% | 32.8% | -18.1% |
| 190. | Florida Coastal School of Law | 35.9% | 30.8% | -5.1% |
| 191. | Thomas Jefferson School of Law | 28.8% | 29.0% | 0.2% |
| 192. | Southern University | 43.2% | 28.6% | -14.6% |
| 193. | Thomas M. Cooley Law School | 28.8% | 26.9% | -1.9% |
| 194. | Whittier Law School | 34.1% | 26.7% | -7.5% |
| 195. | Inter American University of Puerto Rico | 2.1% | 26.5% | 24.3% |
| 196. | University of Massachusetts Dartmouth | 22.7% | 25.2% | 2.5% |
| 197. | District of Columbia | 25.8% | 25.0% | -0.8% |
| 198. | North Carolina Central University | 26.1% | 22.5% | -3.6% |
| 199. | Golden Gate University | 21.5% | 22.4% | 0.9% |
| 200. | Puerto Rico, University of | 13.9% | 19.8% | 5.9% |
| 201. | Pontifical Catholic University of P.R. | 10.6% | 7.5% | -3.1% |
| TOTAL (EXCL. P.R.) | 55.7% | 55.9% | 0.1% | |
| 10TH PERCENTILE (EXCL. P.R.) | 38.4% | 36.8% | -1.6% | |
| 25TH PERCENTILE (EXCL. P.R.) | 46.7% | 47.3% | 0.6% | |
| MEDIAN (EXCL. P.R.) | 54.7% | 57.5% | 2.8% | |
| 75TH PERCENTILE (EXCL. P.R.) | 65.8% | 65.3% | -0.5% | |
| 90TH PERCENTILE (EXCL. P.R.) | 75.9% | 74.4% | -1.5% | |
| MEAN (EXCL. P.R.) | 55.7% | 55.9% | 0.2% | |
I’m sure there’s more I could pick over, but this is all I’ve got.
The Last Gen X American 
American at 173 …. and 38% … Wow.
UCiBB us at abiyt 42% and Quinnepiac is at 34.5% This indicates the legal employment market for new lawyers in Connecticut is tanking.
Excuse me, UCONN is at 42%
Southern New England as a whole is tanking:
Northeastern: 45.8%
Suffolk: 36.9%
Dean O’Brienopolis: 40.1%
UMASS: 25.2%
Western New England: 36.8%
Roger Williams: 41.7%
Even BC and BU are *only* pulling 64% and 61.2%, respectively.
P.S. I simply cannot believe that 3rd-tier Franklin Pierce, nee University of New Hampshire, pulled down the 26th best showing in the country, and the best showing in New England save for H and Y.
Hm. The average New England law school has a 50.3% rate, no doubt warped by Harvard, which is really a New York school. The only BEA region which does worse is the Far West at 50.1% average. The rest were at least 55% this year.
As for New Hampshire, it appears to be placing well in <100-lawyer firms. I've got no hypotheses as to why, though.
Third Tier Drake ranks 83rd on this list. Great work as usual, Matt.
American better get a clue about “employment outcomes.” At #174 it’s deep in TTTT territory in the only ranking that really matters to anybody with a brain.
Shows what geographic proximity to jobs can do – Columbia and NYU higher than Harvard and Yale.
I suspect the FT, LT, JD-required percentages are slightly lower for Harvard and Yale because they have non-practice opportunities afforded to essentially no one else save for Stanford and maybe Chicago. I’m talking about things like investment banking, McKinsey/BCG/Bain, venture capital, private equity, maybe even hedge funds if they have some quantitative background.
No mention of Article III clerkships here, which is a big part of why Harvard, Yale, and Stanford aren’t on top. Oughta be factored in or at least noted as they are a highly desirable outcome and lead to good employment.
The employment questionnaire defines bar passage required to include judicial clerkships. Harvard, Yale, and Stanford have some grads in JD Advantage jobs, which is why they’re not on top.