Placement Data for Law Graduates

St. John’s Law is one of New York’s best.

St. John’s is one of only three schools in New York City to achieve 90%+ overall employment and 80%+ FT/LT/Bar/JD* employment for each of the past three years. (along with Columbia and NYU)

#40 nationwide for placing graduates in the 100 biggest law firms, making us a 2018 National Law Journal “Go-To Law School”

20+ graduates every year start their careers in New York DA’s offices

Full employment data for the Class of 2017 is available here: ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2017

*full-time, long-term, bar-required or JD-advantage jobs (excluding law school funded positions)

How do we do it?

Every student is supported by a dedicated counselor from the Law School’s Career Development Office. Students get individualized attention from their first semester on, so they can identify a career pathway that interests them and pursue related coursework and activities. To complement this unique approach to career development, the upper-level curriculum has been designed around different career paths. Students build on their required foundation courses with advanced classes, drafting courses, clinic work, internships, externships, and co-curricular activities like trial and appellate advocacy—all focused on developing practical skills and targeted expertise so St. John’s Law students graduate profession-ready.

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This data was collected and reported in March 2018 and uses the ABA’s definitions for the various categories, except where noted.

Overall, the employment status of 100% of the Class of 2017 (214/214) was ascertained by the Career Development Office. As of March 15, 2018, 193 of these graduates were employed, 1 had a deferred start date for employment, 17 were still seeking employment, 1 was pursuing a graduate degree, and 2 were not seeking employment. The placement rate as of March 15, 2018, for all graduates from the Class of 2017 (193/214) was 90.2%.

ABA Employment Summary - data submitted on placement for Class of 2017 (updated April 26, 2018)
NALP - report received August 2017
2017 Graduate Demographics

Types of Employment
For graduates known to be employed, both full-time and part-time, the breakdown of their areas of employment is as follows:

Law Firms: 114/193 (59.1%)
Government: 32/193 (16.6%)
Business and Industry: 37/193 (19.2%)
Judicial Clerkships: 1/193 (0.5%)
Public Interest: 7/193 (3.6%)
Education: 2/193 (1.0%)

Employment Distribution by Size of Law Firms
For graduates working at law firms, the breakdown of firm size is as follows:

Solo: 0/114 (0%)
2 to 10 Attorneys: 30/114 (26.3%)
11 to 25 Attorneys: 23/114 (20.2%)
26 to 50 Attorneys: 6/114 (5.3%)
51 to 100 Attorneys: 17/114 (14.9%)
101 to 250 Attorneys: 7/114 (6.1%)
251 to 500 Attorneys: 3/114 (2.6%)
501+ Attorneys: 28/114 (24.6%)

Employment Breakdown

Employed Full-Time: 182/193 (94.3%)
Employed Part-Time: 11/193 (5.7%)

Terms of Employment

Long-Term Basis: 187/193 (96.9%)
Short-Term Basis: 6/193 (3.1%)

Bar Admission

Bar admission required/anticipated (includes judicial clerks): 157/193 (81.3%)
JD advantage (“A position in this category is one for which the employer sought an individual with a J.D., and perhaps even required a J.D., or for which the J.D. provided a demonstrable advantage in obtaining or performing the job, but which does not itself require bar passage or an active law license or involve practicing law.”): 27/193 (14%)
Professional Position (“A position in this category is one that requires professional skills or training but for which a J.D. is neither required nor a demonstrable advantage. Examples of persons in this category include a math or science teacher, business manager, or performing arts specialist. Other examples include professions such as doctors, nurses, engineers, or architects, if a J.D. was not demonstrably advantageous in obtaining the position or in performing the duties of the position.”): 4/193 (2.1%)
Non-Professional Position (“A position in this category is one that does not require any special professional skills or training.”): 2/193 (1.0%)
Law School/University Funded: 3/193 (1.6%)

This data was collected and reported in March 2017 and uses the ABA’s definitions for the various categories, except where noted.

Overall, the employment status of 100% of the Class of 2016 (244/244) was ascertained by the Career Development Office. As of March 15, 2017, 224 of these graduates were employed, 19 were still seeking employment, and 1 was pursuing a graduate degree. The placement rate as of March 15, 2017, for all graduates from the Class of 2016 (224/244) was 92%.

ABA Employment Summary - data submitted on placement for Class of 2016 (April 7, 2017)
NALP - report received September 2017

Types of Employment
For graduates known to be employed, both full-time and part-time, the breakdown of their areas of employment is as follows:

Law Firms: 128/224 (57.1%)
Government: 42/224 (18.8%)
Business and Industry: 36/224 (16.1%)
Judicial Clerkships: 5/224 (2.2%)
Public Interest: 8/224 (3.6%)
Education: 5/224 (2.2%)

Employment Distribution by Size of Law Firms
For graduates working at law firms, the breakdown of firm size is as follows:

Solo: 1/128 (0.8%)
2 to 10 Attorneys: 46/128 (35.9%)
11 to 25 Attorneys: 11/128 (8.6%)
26 to 50 Attorneys: 15/128 (11.7%)
51 to 100 Attorneys: 14/128 (10.9%)
101 to 250 Attorneys: 6/128 (4.7%)
251 to 500 Attorneys: 5/128 (3.9%)
501+ Attorneys: 30/128 (23.4%)

Employment Breakdown

Employed Full-Time: 211/224 (94.2%)
Employed Part-Time: 13/224 (5.8%)

Terms of Employment

Long-Term Basis: 214/224 (95.5%)
Short-Term Basis: 10/224 (4.5%)

Bar Admission

Bar admission required/anticipated (includes judicial clerks): 179/224 (79.9%)
JD advantage (“A position in this category is one for which the employer sought an individual with a J.D., and perhaps even required a J.D., or for which the J.D. provided a demonstrable advantage in obtaining or performing the job, but which does not itself require bar passage or an active law license or involve practicing law.”): 36/224 (16.1%)
Professional Position (“A position in this category is one that requires professional skills or training but for which a J.D. is neither required nor a demonstrable advantage. Examples of persons in this category include a math or science teacher, business manager, or performing arts specialist. Other examples include professions such as doctors, nurses, engineers, or architects, if a J.D. was not demonstrably advantageous in obtaining the position or in performing the duties of the position.”): 2/224 (0.9%)
Non-Professional Position (“A position in this category is one that does not require any special professional skills or training.”): 2/224 (0.9%)
Law School/University Funded: 5/224 (2.2%)

Salary Data

Salary data is based on NALP definitions. 170 of 224 graduates employed full-time (75.9%) reported their salaries to the Career Development Office. Below is detailed salary data reported for full-time employment in major categories:

Law Firms: (96 out of 128 graduates provided salary data)
25th Percentile: $60,000
Median: $80,000
75th Percentile: $180,000

Government: (40 out of 42 graduates provided salary data)
25th Percentile: $60,000
Median $61,200
75th Percentile: $65,750

Business and Industry: (22 out of 36 graduates provided salary data)
25th Percentile: $60,000
Median: $72,500
75th Percentile: $88,000

Public Interest: (6 out of 8 graduates provided salary data)
25th Percentile: $51,250
Median: $55,625
75th Percentile: $60,000

This data was collected and reported in March 2016 and uses the ABA’s definitions for the various categories, except where noted.

Overall, the employment status of 247 of the 248 members of the Class of 2015 (99.6%) was ascertained by the Career Development Office. As of March 15, 2016, 227 of these graduates were employed, 19 were still seeking employment, and 1 was unemployed but had a deferred start date with an employer. The placement rate as of March 15, 2016, for all graduates from the Class of 2015 (227/248) was 92%.

ABA Employment Summary - data submitted on placement for Class of 2015 (April 7, 2016)
NALP - data submitted on placement for Class of 2015 (report received September 2016)

Types of Employment
For graduates known to be employed, both full-time and part-time, the breakdown of their areas of employment is as follows:

Law Firms: 130/227 (57.3%)
Government: 40/227 (17.6%)
Business and Industry: 39/227 (17.2%)
Judicial Clerkships: 8/227 (3.5%)
Public Interest: 7/227 (3.1%)
Education: 3/227 (1.3%)

Employment Distribution by Size of Law Firms
For graduates working at law firms, the breakdown of firm size is as follows:

Solo: 0/130 (0.0%)
2 to 10 Attorneys: 42/130 (32.3%)
11 to 25 Attorneys: 21/130 (16.2%)
26 to 50 Attorneys: 19/130 (14.6%)
51 to 100 Attorneys: 12/130 (9.2%)
101 to 250 Attorneys: 7/130 (5.4%)
251 to 500 Attorneys: 7/130 (5.4%)
501+ Attorneys: 22/130 (16.9%)

Employment Breakdown

Employed Full-Time: 215/227 (94.7%)
Employed Part-Time: 12/227 (5.3%)

Terms of Employment

Long-Term Basis: 218/227 (96.0%)
Short-Term Basis: 9/227 (4.0%)

Bar Admission

Bar admission required/anticipated (includes judicial clerks): 180/227 (79.3%)
JD advantage (“A position in this category is one for which the employer sought an individual with a J.D., and perhaps even required a J.D., or for which the J.D. provided a demonstrable advantage in obtaining or performing the job, but which does not itself require bar passage or an active law license or involve practicing law.”) 33/227 (14.5%)
Professional Position (“A position in this category is one that requires professional skills or training but for which a J.D. is neither required nor a demonstrable advantage. Examples of persons in this category include a math or science teacher, business manager, or performing arts specialist. Other examples include professions such as doctors, nurses, engineers, or architects, if a J.D. was not demonstrably advantageous in obtaining the position or in performing the duties of the position.”): 7/227 (3.1%)
Non-Professional Position (“A position in this category is one that does not require any special professional skills or training.”): 3/227 (1.3%)

Law School/University Funded: 4/227 (1.8%)

Salary Data

Salary data is based on NALP definitions. 167 of 227 graduates employed full-time (73.6%) reported their salaries to the Career Development Office. Below is detailed salary data reported for full-time employment in major categories:

Law Firms: (95 out of 130 graduates provided salary data)
25th Percentile: $55,000
Median: $72,500
75th Percentile: $140,000

Government: (35 out of 40 graduates provided salary data)
25th Percentile: $60,000
Median $61,500
75th Percentile: $64,877

Business and Industry: (25 out of 39 graduates provided salary data)
25th Percentile: $70,000
Median: $80,000
75th Percentile: $90,000

Public Interest: (5 out of 7 graduates provided salary data)
25th Percentile: $49,250
Median: $55,906
75th Percentile: $58,000

This data was collected and reported in March 2015 and uses the ABA’s definitions for the various categories, except where noted.

Overall, the employment status of 257 of the 257 members of the Class of 2014 (100.0%) was ascertained by the Career Development Office. As of March 15, 2015, 231 of these graduates were employed, 1 was not seeking employment, 20 were still seeking employment, 3 were pursuing a graduate degree full-time, and 2 were unemployed but had deferred start dates with employers. The placement rate as of March 15, 2015, for all graduates from the Class of 2014 (231/257) was 90%. When full-time degree seekers and graduates not seeking employment are removed from the denominator, and graduates with deferred start dates are added to the numerator, our placement rate for the Class of 2014 (233/253) was 92.1%.

ABA Employment Summary - data submitted on placement for Class of 2014 (April 1, 2015; updated May 5, 2015)
NALP - data submitted on placement for Class of 2014 (August 12, 2015)

Types of Employment
For graduates known to be employed, both full-time and part-time, the breakdown of their areas of employment is as follows:

Law Firms: 135/231 (58.4%)
Government: 33/231 (14.3%)
Business and Industry: 46/231 (19.9%)
Judicial Clerkships: 5/231 (2.2%)
Public Interest: 8/231 (3.5%)
Academic: 4/231 (2.6%)

Employment Distribution by Size of Law Firms
For graduates working at law firms, the breakdown of firm size is as follows:

Solo: 2/135 (1.5%)
2 to 10 Attorneys: 49/135 (36.3%)
11 to 25 Attorneys: 23/135 (17.0%)
26 to 50 Attorneys: 18/135 (13.33%)
51 to 100 Attorneys: 17/135 (12.6%)
101 to 250 Attorneys: 6/135 (4.4%)
251 to 500 Attorneys: 5/135 (3.7%)
501+ Attorneys: 14/135 (10.4%)
Graduates reported working at law firm of undisclosed size: 1/135 (0.7%)

Employment Breakdown

Employed Full-Time: 201/231 (87.0%)
Employed Part-Time: 30/231 (13.0%)

Terms of Employment

Long-Term Basis: 222/231 (96.1%)
Short-Term Basis: 25/231 (3.9%)

Bar Admission

Bar admission required/anticipated (includes judicial clerks): 176/231 (76.2%)
JD advantage (“A position in this category is one for which the employer sought an individual with a J.D., and perhaps even required a J.D., or for which the J.D. provided a demonstrable advantage in obtaining or performing the job, but which does not itself require bar passage or an active law license or involve practicing law.”) 44/231 (19.0%)
Professional Position (“A position in this category is one that requires professional skills or training but for which a J.D. is neither required nor a demonstrable advantage. Examples of persons in this category include a math or science teacher, business manager, or performing arts specialist. Other examples include professions such as doctors, nurses, engineers, or architects, if a J.D. was not demonstrably advantageous in obtaining the position or in performing the duties of the position.”): 6/231 (2.6%)
Non-Professional Position (“A position in this category is one that does not require any special professional skills or training.”): 5/231 (2.2%)

Employment Funding

Funded by Employer: 226
Funded by St. John’s: 5 (1 long-term, 4 short-term)

Salary Data

Salary data is based on NALP definitions. 121 of 220 graduates employed full-time (55.0%) reported their salaries to the Career Development Office. Below is detailed salary data reported for full-time employment in major categories:

Law Firms: (73 out of 135 graduates provided salary data)
25th Percentile: $60,000
Median: $83,000
75th Percentile: $145,000

Government: (23 out of 33 graduates provided salary data)
25th Percentile: $55,500
Median $60,500
75th Percentile: $62,038

Business and Industry: (21 out of 46 graduates provided salary data)
25th Percentile: $65,300
Median: $80,000
75th Percentile: $80,000