Class of 2021 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 2021, 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 2020, 2019 and 2018, and the 2020 NALP Summary Report.
Information on employment outcomes for the class of 2021 may not reflect a particular law school’s typical results in this area. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, bar admission exams were canceled or delayed in many jurisdictions, thus making it more challenging for graduates to secure employment by the annual Graduate Employment Status Date of March 15. Please reference the 3 years of employment outcome data posted on the ABA Required Disclosures webpage of each ABA-Approved Law School or at www.abarequireddisclosures.org
| Employment Status | Full-time | Part-time | Number | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Term | Short Term | Long Term | Short Term | ||
| Employed, Bar Passage Required | 441 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 441 |
| Employed, J.D. Advantage | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Employed, Professional Position | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Employed, Other Position | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Employed, Law School/University Funded | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Employed, Undeterminable | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pursuing Graduate Degree Full-Time | 1 | ||||
| Unemployed, Start Date Deferred | 0 | ||||
| Unemployed, Not Seeking | 3 | ||||
| Unemployed, Seeking | 5 | ||||
| Employment Status Unknown | 0 | ||||
| Total Graduates | 460 |
| Employment Type | Full-time | Part-time | Number | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Term | Short Term | Long Term | Short Term | ||
| Law Firms | |||||
| Solo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1–10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11–25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26–50 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 51–100 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 101–250 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 251–500 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| 501+ | 300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 300 |
| Unknown Size | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Business and Industry | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Government | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Public Interest | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| Clerkships (Federal)** | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| Clerkships (State and Local)** | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Clerkships (Tribal)** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clerkships (International)** | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Education | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Employer Type Unknown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 450 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 451 |
**This number reflects only those 2021 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 Positions | Full-time | Full-Time | Part-time | Part-Time | Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Term | Short Term | Long Term | Short Term | ||
| Employed - Bar Passage Required | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Employed - J.D. Advantage | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Employed - Professional Position | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Employed - Other Position | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total Employed by Law School/University | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Employment Location | State | Number |
|---|---|---|
| State, largest employment | New York | 308 |
| State, 2nd largest employment | California | 40 |
| State, 3rd largest employment | District of Columbia | 24 |
| Employed in foreign countries | 15 |
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.