Employment Data
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.
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 |
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 |
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 |
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% |
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% |
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.