Q: What opportunities are there for judicial clerkships?
A: The Law School is among the small handful of law schools that consistently places its 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. Traditionally, approximately 15% of the graduating class secures judicial clerkships with the help of the Law School's Director of Judicial Clerkships and the Faculty Clerkship Committee.
For more information about clerkship opportunities at Columbia, please click here.
Q: I am interested in pursuing a career in the public sector. Can you describe how loan repayment assistance works at Columbia?
A: Currently recognized as one of the five best in the nation, Columbia Law School was the first American law school to establish a Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) for graduates who devote their careers to serving the public interest. Columbia's LRAP has no salary cap and pays most of the law school debt for all graduates in qualifying employment.
Q: In what setting do Columbia Law School graduates typically work?
A: Columbia graduates truly inhabit the full spectrum of professional niches in the legal arena throughout their respective careers. Opportunities abound and our alumni routinely find that their Columbia J.D. degree opens any professional door of interest to them.
81% of Columbia's Class of 2008 chose to join law firms of varying sizes and areas of practice immediately after earning their J.D. degree. Eleven percent of the Class of 2008 received federal clerkships throughout the country; 6% immediately entered public interest, government, or academic positions; and 2% entered the business sector.
In addition, many Columbia Law graduates who begin their legal careers with judicial clerkships will often pursue positions in the public sector after successfully completing their clerkship experience.
