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Employment Statistics

The Penn Law experience enables our graduates to pursue successful and fulfilling careers, even in uncertain economic times. The data below attests to our continued success in the market.

This data is based on student survey responses, ABA and NALP data, and reflects employment at nine months following graduation for each respective class. Please note that the judicial clerkship chart reflects a different time period and includes alumni. 

General Employment Information 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
Graduating Class Size 259 270 274 276 258
Employment Status Known 259 270 274 274 258
Employed 252 265 262 265 252
Start Date Deferred 1 0 0 0 0
Seeking Employment 4 5 6 3 2
Not Seeking Employment 0 0 3 1 0
Enrolled in Full-Time Degree 2 0 3 5 4
Unknown 0 0 0 2 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 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
Law Firm 167 196 179 180 186
2-10 4 3 6 5 2
11-25 2 3 5 3 0
26-50 3 5 4 4 1
51-100 3 5 3 4 5
101-250 11 17 14 13 11
251-500 18 25 21 10 13
501+ 126 138 125 139 154
Unknown size 0 0 0 2 0
Solo Practice 0 0 1 0 0
Judicial Clerk 41 40  41  49  38
Business or Industry 19 12 18 9 10
Government/Military 9 6 11 11 10
Public Interest 14 10 10 14 6
Academic 2 1  3 2 2
Law School Funded (Short-Term)  0 0 7 11 N/A 
Law School Funded (Long-Term)
13 9  4 2 N/A 
Other Short Term 1 1 1  4 4 N/A 

1 Prior to 2010, this category was defined to include employment of one year in duration, which captured judicial clerkship statistics. For detailed information on judicial clerkships, please see the Judicial Clerkships table below.

    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

2010

Salary Information 2010
  25th Percentile  Median  75th Percentile  Mean Salaries Reported
Salary -
All Job Types 		$73,408 $160,000 $160,000 $127,080 233/265 (88%)
Law Firm $160,000 $160,000 $160,000 $152,100 170/180 (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 $160,000 $160,000 $160,000 $154,000  13/13 (100%)
251-500 $145,000 $160,000 $160,000 $150,500 10/10 (100%)
501+ $160,000 $160,000 $160,000 $156,123 138/139 (99%)
Unknown size < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported
Solo Practice - - - - -
Judicial Clerk  $50,356  $66,897  $73,408  $61,987 48/49 (98%)
Business or Industry < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported  < 5 reported
Government/
Military 		$45,187 $62,467 $62,467 $53,171 7/11 (64%)
Public Interest $42,500 $45,000 $51,000 $48,429 7/14 (50%)
Academic < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported < 5 reported  < 5 reported

2009

Salary Information 2009
  25th Percentile  Median  75th Percentile  Mean Salaries Reported
Salary -
All Job Types 		$106,230 $160,000 $160,000 $131,151 245/252 (97%)
Law Firm $160,000 $160,000 $160,000 $154,311 185/186 (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 $88,750 $130,000 $152,500 $122,500 5/5 (100%)
101-250 $125,000 $135,000 $160,000 $138,182 11/11 (100%)
251-500 $150,000 $160,000 $160,000 $153,846 13/13 (100%)
501+ $160,000 $160,000 $160,000 $157,370 154/154 (100%)
Unknown size - - - -  -
Solo Practice - - - -  -
Judicial Clerk  $50,000  $55,500  $60,000  $54,267 38/38 (100%)
Business or Industry $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $101,000 7/10 (70%)
Government/
Military 		$36,000 $52,206 $59,245 $53,670 8/10 (80%)
Public Interest $43,000 $52,000 $59,000 $51,200 5/6 (83%)
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 2009-13, our students and alumni secured 323 clerkships at all levels.

Judicial Clerkships FOUR YEARS: May 1, 2009 - April 30, 2013 May 1, 2012 - April 30, 2013 May 1, 2011 - April 30, 2012 May 1, 2010 - April 30, 2011 May 1, 2009 - April 30, 2010
 
US Supreme Court 3 1 1 1 -
Circuit 96 27 22 24 23
District 126 41 26 32 27
Staff Attorneys 1 - 1 - -
Magistrate 14 5 4 3 2
Bankruptcy 7 - - 6 1
Tax 1 - - 1 -
U.S. Court of International Trade 1 1 - - -
U.S. Court of Federal Claims 3 2 1 - -
Federal Administrative Law Judge 2 1 - 1 -
Delaware Chancery 15 5 3 3 4
State Supreme 11 5 1 2 3
State Intermediate 18 3 4 4 7
State Trial 22 1 5 7 9
Territorial Trial 1 - - - 1
International 2 1 1 - -
Subtotal for students 196 58 40 46 52
Subtotal for alumni 127 35 29 38 25
Total 323 93 69 84 77

       

Employment Requirements 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
Bar Required - Full-time 236 256 235 244 240
Bar Required - Part-time 1 2 7 11 -
J.D. Advantage 15 7 19 8 8
Professional-Other 0 0 1 2 4
Bug 00