Employment Statistics

2010 | Historical

JD and JD-MBA Class of 2010

In order to assist prospective students and others, we strive to portray our employment results in a highly detailed and comprehensive way. The following tables outline the initial employment outcomes and detailed salary statistics of our graduates. We also provide 5 years of data so that you may consider the relative impacts of significant economic changes.

On this page, we also have provided a link to our "Market Trends" web page. As a service to our students and alumni, our Career Strategy Center staff analyzes and summarizes the substantial trends occurring within the legal services industry on this page.

The Princeton Review again ranked Northwestern Law as the best law school for career prospects in 2011 – a position we have held for 5 of the past 7 years.

We hope you find this information helpful.

Employed at Nine Months Out
Number
Percent
Employed
268
94%
Seeking
5
2%
Not Seeking
3
1%
Enrolled in Academic Program
6
2%
Status Unknown
3
1%
Total Class Size
285
Employment by Type
Number
Percent1
Law Firm
166
62%
     2-10
5
2%
     11-25
1
<1%
     26-50
3
1%
     51-100
8
3%
     101-250
13
5%
     251-500
21
8%
     501+
115
43%
     Unknown size
0
0%
Judicial Clerkship
29
11%
Business/Industry
26
10%
Public Interest/Government
27
10%
Academic
2
<1%
Law School Funded (Short-Term)
8
3%
Other Short-Term
9
3%
Employer Type Unknown
1
<1%
1Employment percentages based upon the total number of graduates known to be employed
Employment Requirements
Total
Full-Time
Part-Time
Bar Admission Required/Anticipated
225
223
2
JD Preferred
36
26
10
Professional - Other
6
5
1
Non-Professional
1
0
1
Employment Type Unknown
0
0
0
Judicial Clerkships, 2009 - 2010 Hiring Season (321 Students, 18 Alumni)
Number
U.S. Supreme Court
1
Circuit Court of Appeals
18
Federal District Court
18
State Trial Court and Appellate Court
4
State Supreme Court
4
Bankruptcy Court & Article 1 Federal Court
3
International
2
1Includes three clerkships coming 2011 or later

Employment by Geography

Employment by Geography, Class of 2010

Geographic Distribution of Recruiters

Geographic Distribution of Recruiters, Class of 2010

Salary Information
Number
Percent
# of Employed Reporting Salaries
233
88%
Known Salaries of Employed
Number
Percent
Less than $40,000
21
8%
$40,000 - $59,999
18
7%
$60,000 - $79,999
27
10%
$80,000 - $99,999
4
1%
$100,000 - $119,999
10
4%
$120,000 - $139,999
10
4%
$140,000 - $159,999
10
4%
$160,000+
133
50%
Employed and Not Reporting
35
13%
Salary by Selected Job Sectors1
25th Percentile
Median Salary
75th Percentile
# Reporting Salary
Law Firm
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
160
     Solo
N/A
N/A
N/A
0
     2-10
< 5 reported
< 5 reported
< 5 reported
3
     11-25
< 5 reported
< 5 reported
< 5 reported
1
     26-50
< 5 reported
< 5 reported
< 5 reported
2
     51-100
$116,250
$152,500
$160,000
8
     100-250
$120,000
$145,000
$160,000
11
     250-500
$145,000
$160,000
$160,000
21
     500+
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
114
     Unknown size
N/A
N/A
N/A
0
Judicial Clerkship
$60,000
$60,000
$60,000
28
Business/Industry
<$40,000
$95,000
$112,500
19
Public Interest/Government
$40,000
$45,500
$53,400
18
1Salary calculations based upon reported salaries
Bar Passage Rate
Percent
Bar passage
96%

For updated information and analysis of the current legal marketplace, please visit our Market Trends page.