• Law firm—81%
• Median private sector salary: $160,000
• Judicial clerkships—11%
• Public interest/Government/Academia—6%
• Business—2%
Nearly all members of the class reported that they are living in their first-choice location, as well as working in their chosen area of legal practice.
Typical 2L Summer
Law firm—88% Public interest—7%
Government—3% Business—2%
Typical 1L Summer
Law firm—28% Judicial internship—15%
Public interest—30% Government—11%
Business—9% Academia—7%
The Office of Career Services and Professional Development coordinates legal employment resources and provides individualized support to students who are interested in practicing in the private sector. Columbia's career program is one of the largest and most successful in the country.
Columbia's on-campus recruiting programs take place in late summer, early fall, and late spring and bring more than 700 interviewers, from almost every large urban center in the world, to conduct interviews with our law students.
The Center for Public Interest Law (CPIL) operates under the Social Justice Program and assists students individually in exploring the role of a public interest lawyer in a variety of areas including:
Nonprofit organizations
Government agencies
International human rights organizations
Academia
Pro bono service in private law firms
With an ever-expanding list of pro bono and internship placements and resources to help students identify emerging nongovernmental organizations throughout the world, CPIL can advise students no matter what their individual interests.
The Judicial Clerkship Program consistently helps to place Columbia students in federal and state court clerkships, ranging from the U.S. Supreme Court and federal circuit and district courts to an array of state and specialty courts. In addition, the Law School has several judicial externship programs that provide students with opportunities to intern with federal district court and appellate judges. The Clerkship Office, in collaboration with a Faculty Clerkship Committee, develops programs in which judges, faculty, and alumni/ae help educate students about clerkship opportunities and experiences.
Columbia’s Careers in Law Teaching Program encourages and educates students interested in joining the legal academy as professors, whether immediately upon graduation or sometime thereafter. Columbia Law School ranks third among the nation’s law schools in the number of its graduates who are members of the legal professoriate. The faculty and Law School alumni in teaching are enthusiastically committed to continuing and facilitating this long tradition.
