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.
The information in the tables below is as of 10 months after graduation. This data was reported to the ABA and/or NALP according to their reporting guidelines.
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)
of J.D. graduates employed 10 months after graduation (2023)
Private sector median salary of J.D. graduates (ABA, 2022)
| EMPLOYMENT STATUS | NUMBER | All Vanderbilt '23 Graduates (200) | ABA National '23 Graduates (35,213) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employed - Bar Passage Required | 184 | 92.0% | 80.2% |
| Employed - JD Advantage | 8 | 4.0% | 7.6% |
| Employed - Professional Position | 1 | 0.5% | 2.1% |
| Employed - Other Position | 0 | 0.0% | 0.7% |
| Employed - Law School / University Funded | 6 | 3.0% | 1.1% |
| Employed - Undeterminable | 0 | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Enrolled in Graduate Studies | 0 | 0.0% | 1.0% |
| Employed - Start Date Deferred | 0 | 0.0% | 0.6% |
| Unemployed - Not Seeking | 0 | 0.0% | 0.8% |
| Unemployed - Seeking | 1 | 0.5% | 5.0% |
| Employment Status Unknown | 0 | 0.0% | 0.8% |
| Total Graduates | 200 | 100.0% |
| EMPLOYMENT STATUS | Full Time Long Term | Full Time Short Term | Part Time Long Term | Part Time Short Term | NUMBER | All Vanderbilt '23 Graduates (200) | ABA National '23 Graduates (35,213) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Law Firms | |||||||
| Solo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.6% |
| 1 - 10 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3.5% | Law Firm Positions (1-501+) ABA Nat'l '23: 52.6% Vanderbilt Law '23: 78.3% |
| 11 - 25 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 25 - 50 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.0% | |
| 51 - 100 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.0% | |
| 101 - 250 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 251 - 500 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 6.5% | |
| 501+ | 108 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 108 | 54.0% | |
| Unknown Size | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Business & Industry | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3.0% | 7.6% |
| Government | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7.0% | 11.1% |
| Public Interest | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7.0% | 8.9% |
| Clerkships - Federal | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6.0% | All Clerkships ABA Nat'l '23: 9.5% Vanderbilt Law '23: 8.0% |
| Clerkships - State, Local, Territorial | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2.0% | |
| Clerkships - Tribal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Clerkships - International | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Education | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2.5% | 1.3% |
| Employer Type Unknown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Total Employed | 197 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 199 | 99.5% | |
| Location Employment is Based | Percentage of Class of 2023 |
|---|---|
| New York | 21% |
| Tennessee | 17% |
| Texas | 14% |
| Washington D.C. | 11% |
| Illinois | 5% |
| California | 4% |
| Colorado | 4% |
| Georgia | 4% |
“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."