Prepare for a corporate law career.
Becoming a first-year associate at a large corporate law firm isn’t easy, experts say. With full-time, first-year associate positions at large law firms typically paying six-figure salaries, the competition for these entry-level legal jobs is intense. But experts say aspiring lawyers who attend highly ranked law schools usually have better odds of finding work at large law firms than their peers at lower-ranked schools. Here are the 10 law schools where class of 2021 graduates were most likely to have full-time jobs at law firms with more than 500 lawyers within 10 months of graduating, according to the American Bar Association.
Duke University (NC)
U.S. News law school rank: 5 (tie)
Graduates employed in law firms: 71.3%
Portion of these graduates employed full time at large law firms: 81.6%
Learn more about the Duke University School of Law.
Northwestern University (Pritzker) (IL)
U.S. News law school rank: 10 (tie)
Graduates employed in law firms: 77%
Portion of these graduates employed full time at large law firms: 82.4%
Learn more about the Pritzker School of Law.
Stanford University (CA)
U.S. News law school rank: 1 (tie)
Graduates employed in law firms: 40.8%
Portion of these graduates employed full time at large law firms: 82.7%
Learn more about Stanford Law School.
Columbia University (NY)
U.S. News law school rank: 8 (tie)
Graduates employed in law firms: 78.5%
Portion of these graduates employed full time at large law firms: 83.1%
Learn more about Columbia Law School.
University of Virginia
U.S. News law school rank: 8 (tie)
Graduates employed in law firms: 67.3%
Portion of these graduates employed full time at large law firms: 83.2%
Learn more about the University of Virginia School of Law.
Cornell University (NY)
U.S. News law school rank: 13
Graduates employed in law firms: 82.4%
Portion of these graduates employed full time at large law firms: 84.3%
Learn more about the Law School at Cornell University.
Yale University (CT)
U.S. News law school rank: 1 (tie)
Graduates employed in law firms: 42.2%
Portion of these graduates employed full time at large law firms: 84.8%
Learn more about Yale Law School.
Harvard University (MA)
U.S. News law school rank: 5 (tie)
Graduates employed in law firms: 58.1%
Portion of these graduates employed full time at large law firms: 86.7%
Learn more about Harvard Law School.
University of Chicago
U.S. News law school rank: 3
Graduates employed in law firms: 57.3%
Portion of these graduates employed full time at large law firms: 88.5%
Learn more about the University of Chicago Law School.
University of Pennsylvania (Carey)
U.S. News law school rank: 4
Graduates employed in law firms: 72%
Portion of these graduates employed full time at large law firms: 89.2%
Learn more about the Carey Law School at Penn.
Find law schools where grads get jobs.
Discover law schools that have impressive job placement statistics and offer high-quality career services, and find out what law schools are doing to help their students become more employable. See the 2023-2024 Best Law Schools rankings and follow U.S. News Education on Twitter and Facebook.
Consider law schools with high full-time placement rates at large law firms.
— University of Pennsylvania (Carey): 89.2%
— University of Chicago: 88.5%
— Harvard University: 86.7%
— Yale University: 84.8%
— Cornell University: 84.3%
— University of Virginia: 83.2%
— Columbia University: 83.1%
— Stanford University: 82.7%
— Northwestern University (Pritzker): 82.4%
— Duke University: 81.6%
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10 Law Schools That Lead to Full-Time Jobs at Big Law Firms originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 09/28/23: This article was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
