For the first time, the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) has measured the law school employment outcomes for graduates who do not have at least one parent/guardian with a bachelor’s degree or higher degree and the new data show that these students fare less well than their peers in the competition for jobs. Graduates with a parent or guardian who held a JD degree had a higher employment rate and were employed in bar passage required jobs at a rate 11 percentage points above that of first-generation college students. Outcomes on these measures were also higher, but to a lesser degree, for continuing-generation college students (students with at least one parent or guardian with a bachelor’s degree or higher but lacking a JD degree) as compared to first-generation college students. In addition, stark and persistent disparities in outcomes by race/ethnicity continued to be evident this year. Notably, Black and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander law school graduates had the lowest overall employment rates and were employed in bar passage required jobs at rates 16 and 21 percentage points below that of white graduates. …
NALP today released its Jobs & JDs, Employment and Salaries of New Graduates, Class of 2020. Jobs & JDs is NALP’s hallmark annual research report that presents a comprehensive analysis of the types of employment and salaries obtained by the Class of 2020, with data on nearly 97% of Class of 2020 graduates from ABA-accredited law schools.
“It’s exciting to be able to begin to quantify the impact that parental education has on law school employment and salary outcomes,” said James Leipold, NALP’s Executive Director. “It is sobering but perhaps not surprising that law graduates with a least one parent with a JD degree find considerable advantage in the job market, and graduates who do not have at least one parent/guardian with a bachelor’s degree fare less well. Significantly, a higher percentage of graduates of color were reported as first-generation college students, and distressingly we continue to see that the lowest overall employment rates were measured for Black and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander law school graduates. It is incumbent upon law schools to put in the hard work necessary to close these gaps.”
- ABA Journal, First-Generation College Grads Find Fewer Jobs After Law School Than Their Peers, New NALP Data Says
- Above the Law, First-Generation Lawyers Faring So Much Worse In Employment Outcomes Should Be An Outrage
- Above the Law, The Stark Employment Difference For Black And White Law School Graduates
- Law.com, First-Generation Law Students Struggle in Post-Grad Market Compared With Peers, Study Shows
- Reuters, Having Lawyer Parents Boosts Job Prospects, Salaries For Law Grads
