Class of 2019 Employment 10 Months After Graduation
Columbia Law School reported the information below to the American Bar Association (ABA) for all J.D. graduates in our Class of 2019, indicating their employment status 10 months after graduation.
To further assist our prospective students as they consider enrolling in law school, we have published Employment and Salary Information for the Classes of 2018 and 2017, and the 2019 NALP Summary Report.
| Employment Status | Full-time | Part-time | Number | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Term | Short Term | Long Term | Short Term | ||
| Employed, Bar Passage Required | 416 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 416 |
| Employed, J.D. Advantage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Employed, Professional Position | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Employed, Non-Professional Position | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Employed, Law School/University Funded | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Employed, Undeterminable | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pursuing Graduate Degree Full-Time | 1 | ||||
| Unemployed, Start Date Deferred* | 1 | ||||
| Unemployed, Not Seeking | 0 | ||||
| Unemployed, Seeking | 3 | ||||
| Employment Status Unknown | 0 | ||||
| Total Graduates | 431 |
*Start date was deferred by the employer due to a mandatory business closure resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Employment Type | Full-time | Part-time | Number | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Term | Short Term | Long Term | Short Term | ||
| Law Firms | |||||
| Solo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2–10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11–25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 26–50 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 51–100 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 101–250 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 251–500 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| 501+ | 304 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 304 |
| Unknown Size | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Business and Industry | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Government | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| Public Interest | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| Clerkships (federal)** | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| Clerkships (state and local)** | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Clerkships (other)** | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Education | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Employer Type Unknown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 426 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 426 |
**This number reflects only those 2019 graduates who began a clerkship within 10 months of graduation. In keeping with recent hiring preferences of many judges, a substantial number of graduates work for one or more years before serving as clerks; approximately 20% of each class ultimately clerks, the majority for federal appellate and district courts, and some hold more than one clerkship.
| Employment Location | State | Number |
|---|---|---|
| State, largest employment | New York | 307 |
| State, 2nd largest employment | California | 37 |
| State, 3rd largest employment | District of Columbia | 31 |
| Employed in foreign countries | 7 |
Government and Public Interest Fellowships
For more than 150 years, Columbia Law School graduates have served at the highest levels of government and public interest organizations. We are extremely proud of this legacy and are committed to enhancing it. Our graduates continue to secure prestigious fellowships, government Honors Program positions, and full-time legal jobs. These one-year fellowships require bar passage and allow our graduates who wish to devote their careers to serving the public good the opportunity to do socially important work while assisting underserved organizations and individuals with their legal needs. All positions funded by these fellowships are eligible for Columbia Law School's loan repayment assistance program (LRAP). View Columbia post-graduate government and public interest fellowship opportunities.