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Most law students dream of passing the bar exam after graduating from law school and finding a job in the legal industry as a lawyer. They don’t dream of only being able to put the “bar” in “barista” because their law school pedigree is limiting them in the job market. When you’ve got up to six figures of nondischargeable debt to service after graduation, you want to know that your résumé will make it to a hiring partner’s desk — not the nearest garbage pail.
How can you be certain that the school your law degree is from won’t be a hindrance in your job search? Are graduates of your school capable of being hired for law jobs and putting their degrees to use? Sadly, these are questions students must ask.
Law.com produced several helpful charts based on law school employment data for the class of 2019. Today, we will highlight one of the more concerning charts, the law schools with the highest percentage of underemployed graduates. These law school graduates are either unemployed, employed in temporary or part-time work, or working in nonprofessional jobs. Here are the top 10 law schools that have helped graduates land rather underwhelming positions:
1. Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico: 73.24 percent
2. Ave Maria School of Law: 48.48 percent
3. Inter American University of Puerto Rico: 39.01 percent
4. Appalachian School of Law: 38.71 percent
5. University of San Francisco: 37.82 percent
6. Western Michigan University: 37.46 percent
7. University of Puerto Rico: 35.12 percent
8. North Carolina Central University: 34.19 percent
9. Concordia Law School: 33.33 percent
10. Barry University: 33.15 percent
That’s disheartening. (Please note that this list pre-dates the pandemic. If anything, these graduates may be struggling with their employment prospects even more now.)
Click here to see the rest of the law schools with the highest percentage of underemployed graduates, plus other informative charts detailing the schools with the highest percentage of graduates working in Biglaw and in state and federal clerkships, as well as the schools with the most unemployed graduates.
Are you a recent law school graduate who hasn’t been able to find a full-time legal job or a job in the legal profession? What has your law school done to help? We’re interested in learning about your experiences — good or bad — and may anonymously feature some of your stories on Above the Law. You can email us, text us at (646) 820-8477, or tweet us @atlblog. Best of luck in your job search!
Law Grads Hiring Report: Job Stats for the Class of 2019 [Law.com]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.