Employment Report

Vanderbilt Law has one of the most successful career services programs among the nation’s leading law schools, providing comprehensive resources to help students explore top-tier career services options and to guide graduates to employment opportunities across the United States and around the world.

employment report

Exceptional Outcomes

The information in the tables below is for the J.D. Class of 2023, as of 10 months after graduation. This data was reported to the ABA and/or NALP according to their reporting guidelines.

  • No. 8

    Law schools that sent the highest percentage of J.D. graduates to the nation's 100 largest law firms, National Law Journal / Law.com (2024)
  • $215,000

    Private sector median salary of J.D. graduates
    (NALP, 2024)
  • 99.5%

    of J.D. graduates employed 10 months after graduation (NALP, 2024)

EMPLOYMENT STATUSNUMBERAll Vanderbilt '23 Graduates (200)ABA National '23 Graduates (35,213)
Employed - Bar Passage Required18492.0%80.2%
Employed - JD Advantage84.0%7.6%
Employed - Professional Position10.5%2.1%
Employed - Law School / University Funded63.0%1.1%
Unemployed - Seeking10.5%5.0%
Total Graduates200100.0%

Employment Details

  • Employment and Salary by Sector

    Employment Sector# of Jobs Reported% of Reported# with Salary25th PercentileMedian75th PercentileMean
    Private Sector
    Vanderbilt15075.4%139$185,000$215,000$215,000$190,928
    National21,13166.3%14,228$85,000$145,000$215,000$149,686
    Public Sector
    Vanderbilt4924.6%47$59,319$69,107$77,000$68,914
    National10,71133.6%7,513$60,000$69,300$75,968$69,894
    Data for J.D. Class of 2023

  • Employment and Salary by Category

    Employment Category# of Jobs Reported% of Reported# with Salary25th PercentileMedian75th PercentileMean
    Business & Industry63.0%6$80,000$85,000$105,000$86,000
    Clerkships168.0%16$59,712$67,929$75,500$67,813
    Education52.5%5$46,000$46,000$46,000$60,800
    Government147.0%13$70,000$78,592$82,764$77,564
    Private Practice14472.4%133$185,000$215,000$215,000$195,662
    Public Interest147.0%13$60,000$68,000$72,500$64,739
    Total Employed199100%
    Data for J.D. Class of 2023

  • Size of Employer Law Firm

    Law Firm SizeNumber of Graduates
    1-107
    11 - 256
    26 - 502
    51 - 1002
    101 - 2506
    251 - 50013
    501+108
    Total Employed in Private Practice144
    Data for J.D. Class of 2023

  • Clerkships Employment Report

    Judicial ClerkshipsNumber of Graduates
    Federal12
    State4
    Total16
    Data for J.D. Class of 2023

Employment Destinations

  • Employment by Geographic Region

    RegionNumber ReportedPercent of Reported
    New EnglandCT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT52.5%
    Mid-AtlanticNJ, NY, PA4723.6%
    E. North CentralIL, IN, MI, OH, WI136.5%
    West North CentralIA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD31.2%
    South AtlanticDE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV4221.1%
    East South CentralAL, KY, MS, TN3919.6%
    West South CentralAR, LA, OK, TX3115.6%
    MountainAZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY94.5%
    PacificAK, CA, HI, OR, WA94.5%
    Non-U.S. locations10.5%
    Data for J.D. Class of 2023

  • Most Popular Destinations

    Location Employment is BasedPercentage of Class
    New York21%
    Tennessee17%
    Texas14%
    Washington D.C.11%
    Illinois5%
    California4%
    Colorado4%
    Georgia4%
    Data for J.D. Class of 2023

Associate Attorney, K&L Gates

Luke Kessel '22

“I wanted to go to a top-ranked school in the Southeast, and I was impressed by Vanderbilt’s job placement numbers. Vanderbilt’s strong national reputation and ability to place students in coveted postgraduate positions was a significant factor in my choice to come here."

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