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 Status | Full-time | Part-time | Number | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Term | Short Term | Long Term | Short Term | ||
| Employed, Bar Passage Required | 406 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 409 |
| Employed, J.D. Advantage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Employed, Professional Position | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Employed, Other Position | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Employed, Law School/University Funded | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Employed, Undeterminable | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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 Type | Full-time | Part-time | Number | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Term | Short Term | Long Term | Short Term | ||
| Law Firms | |||||
| Solo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1–10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11–25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 26–50 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 51–100 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 101–250 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 251–500 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| 501+ | 279 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 279 |
| Unknown Size | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Business and Industry | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Government | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Public Interest | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| Clerkships (Federal)** | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| Clerkships (State, Local and Territorial)** | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Clerkships (Tribal)** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clerkships (International)** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Education | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Employer Type Unknown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 414 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 417 |
**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 Positions | Full-time | Full-Time | Part-time | Part-Time | Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Term | Short Term | Long Term | Short Term | ||
| Employed - Bar Passage Required | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Employed - J.D. Advantage | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Employed - Professional Position | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Employed - Other Position | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total Employed by Law School/University | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Employment Location | State | Number |
|---|---|---|
| State, largest employment | New York | 300 |
| State, 2nd largest employment | District of Columbia | 36 |
| State, 3rd largest employment | California | 31 |
| 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.