Employment Statistics

Class of 2023 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 2023, 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 2023, 2022 and 2021, and the 2023 NALP Summary Report

Employment StatusFull-time Part-time Number
 Long TermShort TermLong TermShort Term 
Employed, Bar Passage Required406300409
Employed, J.D. Advantage30003
Employed, Professional Position10001
Employed, Other Position00000
Employed, Law School/University Funded40004
Employed, Undeterminable00000
Pursuing Graduate Degree Full-Time    0
Unemployed, Start Date Deferred    1
Unemployed, Not Seeking    2
Unemployed, Seeking    7
Employment Status Unknown    0
Total Graduates    427
Employment TypeFull-time Part-time Number
 Long TermShort TermLong TermShort Term 
Law Firms     
     Solo00000
     1–1000000
     11–2520002
     26–5040004
     51–10021003
     101–25070007
     251–5004400044
     501+279000279
     Unknown Size00000
Business and Industry30003
Government1500015
Public Interest2910030
Clerkships (Federal)**2200022
Clerkships (State, Local and Territorial)**51006
Clerkships (Tribal)**00000
Clerkships (International)**00000
Education20002
Employer Type Unknown00000
Total414300417

**This number reflects only those 2023 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.

Law School / University Funded PositionsFull-timeFull-TimePart-timePart-TimeNumber
 Long TermShort TermLong TermShort Term 
Employed - Bar Passage Required40004
Employed - J.D. Advantage00000
Employed - Professional Position00000
Employed - Other Position00000
Total Employed by Law School/University40004
Employment LocationStateNumber
State, largest employmentNew York300
State, 2nd largest employmentDistrict of Columbia36
State, 3rd largest employmentCalifornia31
Employed in foreign countries 8

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 full-time legal jobs as well as government honors program positions and public interest fellowships. These one or two-year fellowships, require bar passage, allow our graduates 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 postgraduate government and public interest fellowship opportunities