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Employment Statistics

The Penn Law 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 February 15 following graduation for the classes of 2011-2013 and as of the March 15 following graduation for the classes of 2014-2015. Please note that the judicial clerkship chart reflects a different time period and includes alumni. 

General Employment Information 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
Graduating Class Size 246 278 259 270 274
Employment Status Known 245 278 259 270 274
Employed 240 274 252 265 262
Start Date Deferred 0 1 1 0 0
Seeking Employment 2 0 4 5 6
Not Seeking Employment 2 0 0 0 3
Enrolled in Full-Time Degree 1 3 2 0 3
Unknown 1 0 0 0 0

Penn Law’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 Penn Law, 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 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
Law Firm 173 207 167 196 179
2-10 3 4 4 3 6
11-25 2 5 2 3 5
26-50 3 4 3 5 4
51-100 4 1 3 5 3
101-250 5 13 11 17 14
251-500 23 24 18 25 21
501+ 133 155 126 138 125
Unknown size 0 0 0 0 0
Solo Practice 0 1 0 0 1
Judicial Clerk 34 36 41 40  41
Business or Industry 12 10 19 12 18
Government/Military 7 9 9 6 11
Public Interest 14 10 14 10 10
Academic 0 2 2 1  3
Law School Funded (Short-Term)  3 0 0 0 7
Law School Funded (Long-Term)
6 9 13 9  4
Other Short Term
0 1 1 1  4

     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 - - - -  -

    2014

Salary Information 2014
  25th Percentile  Median  75th Percentile  Mean Salaries Reported
Salary -
All Job Types 		$100,000 $160,000 $160,000 $130,518

270/274 (98%)

Law Firm $160,000 $160,000 $160,000 $151,413

206/207 (99%)

2-10 < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported  < 5 reported
11-25 $61,500 $100,000 $152,500 $105,600  5/5 (100%)
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 $127,500 $160,000 $160,000 $144,231

13/13 (100%)

251-500 $142,500 $160,000 $160,000 $151,771

24/24 (100%)

501+ $160,000 $160,000 $160,000 $157,161

155/155 (100%)

Unknown size - - - -  -
Solo Practice < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported
Judicial Clerk  $51,250  $60,000  $61,245  $58,355

 34/36 (94%)

Business or Industry $100,000 $120,000 $135,000 $116,667

9/10 (90%)

Government/
Military 		$25,000 $60,000 $60,000 $48,922

 9/9 (100%)

Public Interest $41,250 $49,000 $55,066 $46,126

 10/10 (100%)

Academic < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported  < 5 reported

    2013

Salary Information 2013
  25th Percentile  Median  75th Percentile  Mean Salaries Reported
Salary -
All Job Types 		$81,204 $160,000 $160,000 $127,664

235/252 (93%)

Law Firm $160,000 $160,000 $160,000 $155,067

163/167 (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 $145,000 $160,000 $160,000 $151,364

11/11 (100%)

251-500 $160,000 $160,000 $160,000 $155,278

18/18 (100%)

501+ $160,000 $160,000 $160,000 $157,183

126/126 (100%)

Unknown size - - - -  -
Solo Practice - - - -  -
Judicial Clerk  $50,182  $60,000  $60,761  $55,201

40/41 (98%)

Business or Industry $100,000 $110,000 $135,000 $123,846

13/19 (68%)

Government/
Military 		$33,375 $60,000 $71,602 $54,708

7/9 (78%)

Public Interest $18,000 $45,000 $51,000 $38,682

 11/14 (79%)

Academic < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported  < 5 reported

2012

Salary Information 2012
  25th Percentile  Median  75th Percentile  Mean Salaries Reported
Salary -
All Job Types 		$100,000 $160,000 $160,000 $130,957

252/265 (95%)

Law Firm $145,000 $160,000 $160,000 $149,781

192/196 (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 $100,000 $105,000 $147,500 $120,000 5/5 (100%)
101-250 $140,000 $160,000 $160,000 $150,588

17/17 (100%)

251-500 $125,000 $135,000 $160,000 $137,280

25/25 (100%)

501+ $160,000 $160,000 $160,000 $156,314

137/138 (99%)

Unknown size - - - -  -
Solo Practice - - - -  -
Judicial Clerk  $55,288  $61,245  $61,250  $56,909

36/40 (90%)

Business or Industry $100,000 $130,000 $140,000 $144,545

11/12 (92%)

Government/
Military 		$56,500 $60,000 $60,000 $55,793

5/6 (83%)

Public Interest $36,100 $43,750 $46,387 $40,684

 8/10 (80%)

Academic < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported  < 5 reported

2011

Salary Information 2011
  25th Percentile  Median  75th Percentile  Mean Salaries Reported
Salary -
All Job Types 		$62,688 $145,000 $160,000 $122,227 241/262 (92%)
Law Firm $145,000 $160,000 $160,000 $148,464 169/179 (94%)
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 $113,750 $135,000 $160,000 $133,571 14/14 (100%)
251-500 $137,500 $160,000 $160,000 $151,400 20/21 (95%)
501+ $160,000 $160,000 $160,000 $154,837 123/125 (98%)
Unknown size - - - -  -
Solo Practice < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported  < 5 reported
Judicial Clerk  $50,000  $59,266  $61,245  $55,020 40/41 (98%)
Business or Industry $48,750 $81,600 $106,250 $83,800 14/18 (78%)
Government/
Military 		$45,750 $49,001 $70,602 $55,421 8/11 (73%)
Public Interest $42,500 $42,500 $46,000 $44,843  7/10(70%)
Academic < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported  < 5 reported


Judicial Clerkships

Penn Law 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 2011-16, our students and alumni secured 430 clerkships at all levels.

Judicial Clerkships FIVE YEARS: May 1, 2011 - April 30, 2016 May 1, 2015 - April 30, 2016 May 1, 2014 - April 30, 2015 May 1, 2013 - April 30, 2014 May 1, 2012 - April 30, 2013 May 1, 2011 - April 30, 2012
 
US Supreme Court 3 1 - - 1 1
Circuit 120 28 18 25 27 22
District 201 43 44 47 41 26
Staff Attorneys 4 1 1 - 1 1
Armed Forces Courts of Appeals 1 - 1  -  -  -
Magistrate 18 4 2 3 5 4
Bankruptcy 3 - 1 2 - -
U.S. Court of International Trade 1 - - - 1 -
U.S. Court of Federal Claims 6 - 2 1 2 1
Federal Administrative Law Judge 5 1 1 2 1 -
Delaware Chancery 17 2 4 3 5 3
State Supreme 14 2 5 1 5 1
State Intermediate 13 3 1 2 3 4
State Trial 20 2 8 4 1 5
International 5   2 1 1 1
Subtotal for students 255 57 45 55 58 40
Subtotal for alumni 175  30  45 35 36 29
Total 430 87 90 90 94 69

       

Employment Requirements 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
Bar Required - Full-time 230* 263 236 256 235
Bar Required - Part-time 0 1 1 2 7
J.D. Advantage 10 10 15 7 19
Professional-Other 0 0 0 0 1

*Includes 9 graduates in bar required positions funded by the law school