W&L Law Releases 2019 Graduate Employment Report According to the report, 92.7% of the class of 2019 secured a full-time, long-term job that either requires bar passage or for which a J.D. degree is an advantage.
Washington and Lee University School of Law has released a report on employment rates for its class of 2019.
The School announced another year of extremely strong performance in employment. The report measures employment 10 months after graduation.
According to the report, 92.7% of the class of 2019 secured a full-time, long-term job that either requires bar passage or for which a J.D. degree is an advantage. This is 5% higher than the employment percentage for the class of 2018, which placed W&L as the #2 law school for the Virginia, Maryland and DC market. The overall employment rate for the class including all employment types and graduate school is 96.4%.
“I am really excited for this class and the incredible success they had in securing great jobs all over the country,” said Cliff Jarrett, assistant dean for career strategy. “This is further evidence that the whole school approach that W&L Law takes toward career success is working. This high water mark for employment is a testament to our students, our faculty and administration and especially our loyal alumni.”
Jarrett added, “W&L Law grads are working in a wide variety of geographic locations and in so many different types of legal positions. Our clerkship placements for this class were also top notch, both with federal and state judges.”
The report shows graduates working in a diverse range of jobs, with a significant number of graduates in larger law firms and clerkships. Almost 50% of those employed are heading to law firms, and 31% percent of those graduates working for firms are working for “Big Law,” firms with over 500 lawyers. More than a quarter of the class will be clerking for judges, and another 18% are working in government positions and 7% in business and industry positions.
One particular area of strength for W&L Law has always been placement in federal and state clerkships, and this remains the case for the class of 2019. 26% of the class is clerking, including placements in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, federal district courts in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia as well as state appellate and trial courts in Alaska, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey and Virginia.
These 110 graduates are employed in 22 states and one foreign country. The top geographic areas for employment are Virginia, Washington D.C., North Carolina and New York. The complete ABA employment report for the class of 2019 will be available soon online and will include data about the employment status of all the 2019 graduates. An extensive summary is available online here.
Despite the uncertainty of the market caused by the COVID-19 crisis, OCS also is reporting positive employment news for the class of 2020. As of the beginning of April, almost two-thirds of the class is employed in JD required or preferred jobs.
