Positive Trends in Law Graduate Employment

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Recent data from the American Bar Association (ABA) reveals encouraging news for law school graduates, indicating that more graduates from the class of 2023 secured full-time jobs compared to the past decade.

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Upward Trend in Employment Rates

• According to the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, 85.6% of the 30,160 graduates from the 195 ABA-accredited law schools in 2023 were employed ten months after graduation, as of March 15.
• This figure marks an improvement over the employment rates of the previous years, with 84.6% for the class of 2022 and 83% for the class of 2021.
• Bill Adams, the managing director of ABA accreditation and legal education, noted that the employment rate has been steadily rising since 2019, except for the class of 2020, which faced challenges due to the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Job Market Dynamics

• Notably, the class of 2023 saw a decline in jobs within the business and industry sector, with a decrease of 18.1% compared to the previous year.
• The number of law firm positions also slightly decreased by 1.1%.
• However, there was an increase in government positions, with 11.1% of graduates securing jobs in this sector, up from 10.4% in 2022.
• Clerkships and public-interest jobs also saw an uptick, with 9.5% and 8.9% of graduates securing these positions, respectively, compared to the previous year.
• Conversely, JD-advantage jobs decreased by 17.8% in 2023 compared to 2022.
• Bar-passage-required jobs remained relatively stable, with 28,244 graduates employed in such roles for the class of 2023, compared to 28,054 in 2022.

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These trends indicate a positive trajectory in law graduate employment, reflecting resilience and adaptability in the face of changing market dynamics and economic challenges.