Employment Data

Employment Nine Months after Graduation

The chart below shows the numbers of Duke Law students in various types of employment nine months after graduation. This information is reported annually to the ABA and/or NALP, the Association for Legal Career Professionals. Data reported to the ABA may be downloaded in full for the Class of 2010, Class of 2011 and Class of 2012.

  Class of
2012*		 Class of
2011**		 Class of
2010***
Total Graduates 225 207 213
Employed 217 197 202
Bar Passage Required 211 181 179
JD Preferred/Advantage^ 5 13 21
Other Professional 0 2 1
Non-Professional 1 1 1
Unknown 0 0 0
Pursuing Graduate Degree 2 3 5
Unemployed - not seeking 2 2 4
Unemployed - seeking 3 3 2
Employment status unknown 1 2 0

See further detail on employment data

 

^ABA modified the term in 2012.

*Twenty-one members of the Class of 2012 were employed in short-term (under one year) positions as of Feb. 15, 2013.  Eleven of those were supported by a Duke Law-funded fellowship. One long-term position was a University-funded fellowship.

**Thirteen members of the Class of 2011 were employed in short-term (under one year) positions as of Feb. 15, 2012. Eight of those were supported by a Duke Law-funded fellowship. Three long-term positions were University-funded fellowships.

***Nineteen members of the Class of 2010 were employed in short-term (under one year) positions as of Feb. 15, 2011. Eight of those were supported by a Duke Law-funded fellowship. Many of the graduates who were in short-term positions or who were unemployed as of Feb. 15, 2011, are known to have accepted long-term legal or professional positions since then. Two full-time positions were University-funded.

Visit the ABA website for term definitions.

Employment Type
(Percentage of Employed Graduates)

Duke Law graduates find employment in all sectors of the legal profession and beyond. (Please note that percentages may not add up to 100 because numbers are rounded to the nearest tenth.)

  Class of
2012		 Class of
2011		 Class of
2010
Law Firms 126/58.1% 122/61.9% 124/61.4%
Solo 0/0.0% 0/0.0% 2/1.6%
2-10 4/3.2% 12/9.8% 12/9.7%
11-25 3/2.4% 3/2.5% 5/4.0%
26-50 1/0.8% 7/5.7% 3/2.4%
51-100 1/0.8% 6/4.9% 6/4.8%
101-250 4/3.2% 14/11.5% 14/11.3%
251-500 21/16.7% 13/10.7% 9/7.3%
500+ 92/73.0% 66/54.1% 73/58.9%
unknown 0/0.0% 1/0.8% 0/0.0%
Business and Industry 12/5.5% 12/6.1% 8/4.0%
Government (includes Military) 13/6.0% 13/6.6% 22/10.9%
Public Interest 19/8.8% 11/5.6% 10/5.0%
Clerkship 46/21.2% 33/16.8% 34/16.8%
Academia 1/0.5% 6/3.0% 4/2.0%
Other/unknown 0/0.0% 0/0.0% 0/0.0%

See further detail on employment data

 

Clerkships

Many Duke Law students secure clerkships each year. Some accept clerkships that begin after graduation, and some obtain clerkships after a year or more of law practice in a firm or public sector position. Duke Law provides comprehensive support to all students and alumni seeking clerkships. Following are the numbers of students in clerkships, by class and by term (term counts include graduating students as well as alumni).

  Class of
2012*		 Class of
2011**		 Class of
2010
Federal Courts 31 25 27
State Courts 15 8 7
Total by Class 46 33 34
       
  Term
2012-13*		 Term
2011-12**		 Term
2010-11
Article 3 Courts 38 37 40
Other Federal Courts 4 8 7
State Courts 15 11 9
Total by Term 57* 56** 56

*For the Class of 2012, 1 graduate clerking was employed in a Bridge to Practice position.
**For the Class of 2011, 2 graduates clerking were employed in Bridge to Practice positions.


Geographic Destinations of Duke Law School Graduates

Duke Law School has approximately 9000 alumni presently practicing law in all 50 states and in more than 70 countries around the globe. (Please note that percentages may not add up to 100 because numbers are rounded to the nearest tenth.)

  Class of
2012		 Class of
2011		 Class of
2010
Northeast
ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, RI, NY, NJ, PA, DE		 32.3% 25.4% 30.2%
Mid-Atlantic
DC, VA, MD, WV		 17.5% 14.7% 16.3%
South Atlantic
NC, SC, GA		 11.5% 20.8% 16.3%
Midwest
OH, IN, IL, MO, KS, NE, IA, ND, SD, MI, MN, WI, KY		 6.0% 6.1% 5.4%
South
TX, LA, MS, OK, TN, AR, AL, FL		 11.1% 16.2% 12.9%
West
AK, HI, CA, NV, WA, OR, AZ, NM, UT, CO, WY, ID, MT		 19.4% 12.7% 16.8%
International 2.3% 4.1% 1.9%

Most Popular Employment Locations

Duke Law graduates are unusually widespread throughout the United States and the world. The locations with the consistently highest concentrations of Duke graduates are listed below; other popular locations include Florida, Texas, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Georgia.

  Class of 2012 Class of 2011 Class of 2010
New York 22.1% 17.8% 22.2%
Washington, D.C. 14.3% 13.2% 15.3%
California 12.4% 10.7% 10.9%
North Carolina 8.8% 15.2% 13.8%

Salaries by Sector (Long-Term, Full-Time Employed Graduates Only)

  Private
Practice		 Judicial
Clerk		 Govt., Public Interest, Military
Class of 2012      
(number reporting/total number
in long-term, full-time category)		 118/121
98%		 43/44
98%		 19/21
90%
25th Percentile $145,000 $50,000 $42,000
50th Percentile $160,000 $55,000 $52,500
75th percentile $160,000 $60,000 $62,000
Class of 2011      
(number reporting/total number
in long-term, full-time category)		 116 / 120
97%		 31 / 31
100%		 16 / 18
89%
25th Percentile $115,000 $50,000 $41,000
50th Percentile $160,000 $57,408 $51,630
75th percentile $160,000 $61,000 $64,900
Class of 2010      
(number reporting/total number
in long-term, full-time category)		 113 / 118
96%		 34 / 34
100%		 19 / 23
83%
25th Percentile $140,000 $50,000 $40,000
50th Percentile $160,000 $57,400 $55,000
75th percentile $160,000 $60,000 $62,000

 

Loan Repayment

Duke Law recently expanded its Loan Repayment Assistance Program to provide greater assistance to graduates working in the public sector. See our Financial Aid site for more information.