Careers

Employment Statistics

The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School experience enables our graduates to pursue successful and fulfilling careers. The data below attests to our continued success in the market.

This information is based on student survey responses, ABA and NALP data, and reflects employment as of the March 15 following graduation for the classes of 2015-2019. Please note that the judicial clerkship chart reflects a different time period and includes alumni.

General Employment Information	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
Graduating Class Size	250	243	256	258	246
Employment Status Known	250	243	256	258	245
Employed	248	241	254	253	240
Start Date Deferred	0	0	0	0	0
Seeking Employment	1	1	1	2	2
Not Seeking Employment	0	0	0	0	2
Enrolled in Full-Time Degree	1	1	1	3	1
Unknown	0	0	0	0	1

The Law School’s cross-disciplinary JD program prepares students for a range of careers in the law and related fields, complemented by professional development programs that build skills necessary to pursue the best jobs and careers. At the Law School, students are exposed to the widest variety of legal employers, nationally and internationally, as well as to Penn alumni worldwide who have used their law degrees to push the boundaries in their fields.

Job Type	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
Law Firm	188	182	183	180	173
2-10	5	2	2	1	3
11-25	1	0	0	0	2
26-50	3	1	1	3	3
51-100	3	2	7	6	4
101-250	8	8	6	7	5
251-500	17	17	17	25	23
501+	151	152	150	138	133
Unknown size	0	0	0	0	0
Solo Practice	0	0	0	0	0
Judicial Clerk	29	26	39	33	34
Business or Industry	8	11	15	21	12
Government/Military	9	10	6	8	7
Public Interest	14	12	10	11	14
Academic	0	0	1	0	0
Law School Funded (Short-Term)	2	2	1	0	3
Law School Funded (Long-Term)	7	10	5	4	6
Other Short Term	1	0	0	2	0

2019

Salary Information	2019
	25th Percentile	Median	75th Percentile	Mean	Salaries Reported
Salary - All Job Types	$150,000	$190,000	$190,000	$158,794	237/248 (96%)
Law Firm	$190,000	$190,000	$190,000	$183,992	184/188 (98%)
2-10	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
11-25	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
26-50	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
51-100	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
101-250	$102,500	$147,500	$175,000	$129,038	8/8 (100%)
251-500	$190,000	$190,000	$190,000	$190,882	17/17 (100%)
501+	$190,000	$190,000	$190,000	$188,742	151/151 (100%)
Unknown size	-	-	-	-	-
Solo Practice	-	-	-	-	-
Judicial Clerk	$61,218	$65,580	$68,036	$63,989	29/29 (100%)
Business or Industry	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
Government/ Military	$60,000	$60,000	$67,500	$64,186	7/9 (78%)
Public Interest	$45,000	$53,000	$56,000	$52,270	13/14 (93%)
Academic	-	-	-	-	-

2018

Salary Information	2018
	25th Percentile	Median	75th Percentile	Mean	Salaries Reported
Salary - All Job Types	$160,000	$190,000	$190,000	$157,627	233/241 (97%)
Law Firm	$190,000	$190,000	$190,000	$183,311	181/182 (99%)
2-10	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
11-25	-	-	-	-	-
26-50	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
51-100	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
101-250	$160,000	$175,000	$190,000	$173,125	8/8 (100%)
251-500	$190,000	$190,000	$190,000	$185,938	16/17 (94%)
501+	$190,000	$190,000	$190,000	$186,818	152/152 (100%)
Unknown size	-	-	-	-	-
Solo Practice	-	-	-	-	-
Judicial Clerk	$55,925	$65,732	$66,110	$61,439	22/26 (85%)
Business or Industry	$115,000	$137,500	$157,500	$141,875	8/11 (73%)
Government/ Military	$40,250	$51,412	$58,000	$58,215	10/10 (100%)
Public Interest	$40,000	$45,000	$50,000	$45,583	12/12 (100%)
Academic	-	-	-	-	-

2017

Salary Information	2017
	25th Percentile	Median	75th Percentile	Mean	Salaries Reported
Salary - All Job Types	$125,000	$180,000	$180,000	$147,967	247/254 (97%)
Law Firm	$180,000	$180,000	$180,000	$174,088	181/183 (99%)
2-10	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
11-25	-	-	-	-	-
26-50	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
51-100	$100,000	$160,000	$160,000	$136,667	6/7 (86%)
101-250	$160,000	$170,000	$183,750	$167,500	6/6 (100%)
251-500	$180,000	$180,000	$180,000	$175,588	17/17 (100%)
501+	$180,000	$180,000	$180,000	$177,107	150/150 (100%)
Unknown size	-	-	-	-	-
Solo Practice	-	-	-	-	-
Judicial Clerk	$57,550	$64,820	$66,110	$61,637	37/39 (95%)
Business or Industry	$125,000	$148,750	$152,500	$147,708	12/15 (80%)
Government/ Military	$45,599	$51,478	$72,989	$60,126	6/6 (100%)
Public Interest	$50,000	$51,500	$53,125	$51,200	10/10 (100%)
Academic	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported

2016

Salary Information	2016
	25th Percentile	Median	75th Percentile	Mean	Salaries Reported
Salary - All Job Types	$125,000	$180,000	$180,000	$149,011	245/253 (97%)
Law Firm	$180,000	$180,000	$180,000	$173,030	179/180 (99%)
2-10	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
11-25	-	-	-	-	-
26-50	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
51-100	$102,500	$115,000	$150,000	$126,667	6/6 (100%)
101-250	$155,000	$160,000	$160,000	$155,714	7/7 (100%)
251-500	$170,000	$180,000	$180,000	$169,494	25/25 (100%)
501+	$180,000	$180,000	$180,000	$177,645	138/138 (100%)
Unknown size	-	-	-	-	-
Solo Practice	-	-	-	-	-
Judicial Clerk	$54,711	$62,000	$63,886	$58,764	31/33 (94%)
Business or Industry	$125,000	$145,000	$200,000	$162,000	17/21 (81%)
Government/ Military	$53,000	$60,892	$63,412	$59,367	8/8 (100%)
Public Interest	$45,500	$48,250	$50,000	$48,482	10/11 (91%)
Academic	-	-	-	-	-

2015

Salary Information	2015
	25th Percentile	Median	75th Percentile	Mean	Salaries Reported
Salary - All Job Types	$100,000	$160,000	$160,000	$131,638	235/240 (98%)
Law Firm	$160,000	$160,000	$160,000	$154,192	172/173 (99%)
2-10	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
11-25	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
26-50	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
51-100	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported	< 5 reported
101-250	$150,000	$160,000	$160,000	$148,000	5/5 (100%)
251-500	$150,000	$160,000	$160,000	$152,391	23/23 (100%)
501+	$160,000	$160,000	$160,000	$158,397	133/133 (100%)
Unknown size	-	-	-	-	-
Solo Practice	-	-	-	-	-
Judicial Clerk	$52,000	$60,000	$63,161	$58,431	31/34 (91%)
Business or Industry	$100,000	$125,000	$150,000	$135,000	11/12 (92%)
Government/ Military	$52,237	$62,000	$64,045	$59,652	7/7 (100%)
Public Interest	$45,000	$47,000	$55,000	$50,000	14/14 (100%)
Academic	-	-	-	-	-

Judicial Clerkships

Law School students receive unparalleled support from staff and faculty in their pursuit of judicial clerkships. And today, recent clerkship placements are at the highest levels in our history. For the years 2015-20, our students and alumni secured 386 clerkships at all levels.

Judicial Clerkships	FIVE YEARS: May 1, 2015 - April 30, 2020	May 1, 2019 - April 30, 2020	May 1, 2018 - April 30, 2019	May 1, 2017 - April 30, 2018	May 1, 2016 - April 30, 2017	May 1, 2015 - April 30, 2016

US Supreme Court	2	1	-	-	-	1
Circuit	111	23	15	21	24	28
District	190	47	30	39	31	43
Federal Staff Attorneys	1	-	-	-	-	1
Magistrate	18	2	4	5	3	4
Bankruptcy	5	1	2	-	2	-
Tax	1	-	1	-	-	-
U.S. Court of International Trade	2	-	1	1	-	-
U.S. Court of Federal Claims	4	-	2	1	1	-
Federal Administrative Law Judge	2	-	1	-	-	1
Delaware Chancery	6	-	2	-	2	2
State Supreme	16	3	7	1	3	2
State Intermediate	7	-	-	2	2	3
State Trial	16	-	6	4	4	2
Territory Trial	1	-	1	-	-	2
International	4	1	1	1	1	-
Total	386	78	73	75	73	87

Additional Employment and Bar Passage Statistics

Employment Requirements	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
Bar Passage Required - Full-time*	237	228	238	234	230
Bar Passage Required - Part-time	0	0	0	1	0
J.D. Advantage*	10	12	16	17	10
Professional	1	1	0	0	0
Non-Professional	0	0	0	1	0

* Includes graduates in positions funded by the Law School.