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Employment Data

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Employment opportunities available to graduates of Duke Law School consistently rank among the nation’s best and most prestigious. 

Graduating students go on to positions with a wide range of organizations around the United States and abroad, including law firms, businesses, government agencies, and nonprofits, as well as judicial clerkships and academic employment.

As of March 15, 2022, 98% (247/251) of the Class of 2021 was employed in long-term, full-time positions that required bar passage or were “J.D. Advantage.”  Four of these were school funded.  

If you are considering law school, we encourage you to use the data available to compare institutions and ask detailed and probing questions that will help you make the most informed decision based on your career goals and aspirations.

Employment Ten Months after Graduation

The chart below shows the numbers of Duke Law students in various types of employment ten months after graduation. This information is reported annually to the American Bar Association (ABA) and/or the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). Data reported to the ABA may be downloaded in full for the Class of 2019, Class of 2020, and, Class of 2021.

 

  Class of
2021		 Class of
2020		 Class of
2019
Total Graduates 251 214 221
Employed 247 209 215
Bar Passage Required 235 199 208
JD Advantage 8 2 3
Professional Position 0 0 0
Law School/University Funded 4 8 4
Other Position 0 0 0
Undeterminable 0 0 0
Pursuing Graduate Degree 2 1 3
Employed - Start Date Deferred 1 1 0
Unemployed - Not Seeking 0 1 0
Unemployed - Seeking 0 1 1
Employment Status Unknown 1 1 2

See further detail on employment data

Visit the ABA website for term definitions.

Short-Term and Law School/University-Funded Positions

  Class of
2021		 Class of
2020		 Class of
2019
Not School Funded Short-Term 0 3 0
Law School/University-Funded      
   - Short-Term 0 7 3
   - Long-Term 4 1 1

Employment Type

Duke Law graduates find employment in all sectors of the legal profession and beyond.

  Class of
2021		 Class of
2020		 Class of
2019*
Law Firms 179 156 149
Solo 0 1 0
1-10 4 1 0
11-25 0 0 1
26-50 0 6 1
51-100 3 4 2
101-250 7 2 8
251-500 19 17 13
500+ 146 125 124
unknown 0 0 0
Business and Industry 8 5 7
Government (includes Military) 10 6 9
Public Interest 14 12 10
Clerkship 33 28 38
Education 3 2 2
Other/unknown 0 0 0

*This table includes short-term and Law School/University-funded positions to align with the ABA Employment Summary reporting. Below is the breakout of the employment type for the law school/university-funded positions.

Law School/University Funded Positions

  Class of
2021		 Class of
2020		 Class of
2019
Education 2 Long-term 1 Long-term 1 Long-term
Government     1 Short-term
Law Firm      
Public Interest 2 Long-term 7 Short-term 2 Short-term

Clerkships

Many Duke Law students secure clerkships each year. Below are the numbers of alumni that were in clerkships ten months after their graduation.

Graduates Clerking 10 Months
After Graduation
(% of Total Class)		 Class of
2021		 Class of
2020		 Class of
2019
Federal Courts 28/251
11.2%		 25/214
11.7%		 31/221
14.0%
State Courts 5/251
2.0%		 3/214*
1.4%		 7/221
3.2%
Other Courts 0/251
0%		 0/214
0%		 0/221
0%
Total by Class 33/251
13.1%		 28/214
13.1%		 38/221
17.2%

*For the Class of 2020, 1 graduate clerking was employed in a short-term position.

In addition to students who accept clerkships that begin after graduation, alumni also obtain clerkships that begin 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 all Duke Law graduates in clerkships by term:

Total Clerkships by Term Term
2021-22		 Term
2020-21		 Term
2019-20
Federal Courts 62 58 63
U.S. Supreme Court 1 0 1
U.S. Circuit Courts 27 21 19
U.S. District Courts 32 34 39
Other Federal Courts 2 3 4
State Courts 7 7 9
International Courts 1 0 0
Total by Term 70 65 72

Geographic Destinations 

Duke Law School has more than 11,000 alumni presently 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.)

% of Total Employed Class of
2021		 Class of
2020		 Class of
2019
Northeast
ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, RI, NY, NJ, PA, DE		 84/247
34.0%		 86/209
41.1%		 82/215
38.1%
Mid-Atlantic
DC, VA, MD, WV		 35/247
14.2%

37/209
17.7%

 33/215
15.3%
South Atlantic
NC, SC, GA		 38/247
15.4%		 22/209
10.5%		 29/215
13.5%
Midwest
OH, IN, IL, MO, KS, NE, IA, ND, SD, MI, MN, WI, KY

19/247
7.7%

 12/209
5.7%		 10/215
4.7%
South
TX, LA, MS, OK, TN, AR, AL, FL		 36/247
14.6%		 23/209
11.0%		 36/215
16.7%
West
AK, HI, CA, NV, WA, OR, AZ, NM, UT, CO, WY, ID, MT		 33/247
13.4%		 26/209
12.4%		 16/215
7.4%
International 2/247
0.8%

3/209
1.4%

 9/215
4.2%

Most Popular Employment Locations

Duke Law graduates are employed 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, Georgia and Illinois.

Class of 2021 % of Total Employed
New York 27.1% (67/247)
Washington, D.C. 11.3% (28/247)
California 10.9% (27/247)
North Carolina 10.9% (27/247)
Texas 9.7% (24/247)
Massachusetts 4.9% (12/247)
   
Class of 2020 % of Total Employed
New York 34.9% (73/209)
Washington, D.C. 15.8% (33/209)
California 10.0% (21/209)
North Carolina 9.1% (19/209)
Texas 6.7% (14/209)
Florida 2.9% (6/209)
 
Class of 2019 % of Total Employed
New York 31.2% (67/215)
Washington, D.C. 14.4% (31/215)
North Carolina 10.7% (23/215)
Texas 10.7% (23/215)
California 6.0% (13/215)
Non-US 4.2% (9/215)
   

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

  Private
Practice		 Judicial
Clerk		 Govt., Public Interest, Military
Class of 2021       
(number reporting/total number in long-term, full-time category) 99%
177/179		 97%
32/33		 92%
22/24
75th Percentile $215,000 $70,000 $67,500
50th Percentile $215,000 $66,676 $61,742
25th Percentile $215,000 $65,000 $50,000
Class of 2020      
(number reporting/total number in long-term, full-time category)

97%
152/156

 100%
27/27		 91%
10/11
75th Percentile $190,000 $70,000 $69,000
50th Percentile $190,000 $65,914 $60,960
25th Percentile $190,000 $64,000 $57,510
Class of 2019      
(number reporting/total number in long-term, full-time category)

99%
148/149

 100%
38/38		 88%
14/16
75th Percentile $190,000 $65,000 $74,792
50th Percentile $190,000 $64,000 $51,500
25th Percentile $190,000 $60,000 $48,000

 

 

*

Per Interpretation 509-2 of Standard 509, law schools may choose to publicize additional employment outcome data beyond what the Employment Protocols require. This additional data, per Standard 509, must be “complete, accurate, and not misleading to a reasonable law school student or applicant.” Law schools are expected to use “due diligence in obtaining and verifying such information.” The following additional employment outcome data has not been, and will not be, audited by the ABA. It is meant to supplement the annual ABA Employment Summary Report, which reflects the employment status of members of each graduating class as of the annual Graduate Employment Status Date of March 15. Please reference the 3 years of employment outcome data posted on the ABA Required Disclosures webpage of each ABA-Approved Law School or at www.abarequireddisclosures.org. 

*

Duke University School of Law is approved by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association, 321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654, 312-988-6738.

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