The 2014 U.S. News Law School Rankings: Employment Data

Derek Muller (Pepperdine) has mined the employment data in the 2014 U.S. News Law School Rankings and created these Top 10 lists:

• Real Lawyers (Required bar passage, full-time, long-term)
• “Advantaged” Non-Lawyers (JD advantage, full-time, long-term)
• The Professionals (Professional, full-time, long-term)
• Career Baristas (Non-professional, full-time, long-term)
• The Temps (any employed position that’s part-time, short-term, or both)
• Giving Up (unemployed, not seeking)
• More Debt, Please (graduates pursuing a graduate degree full-time)
• Return to Sender (employment status unknown)

Real Lawyers (Required bar passage, full-time, long-term):

1. University of Virginia 94.7%
2. Columbia University 94.1%
3. Stanford University 90.6%
4. Harvard University 90.1%
4. New York University 90.1%
6. University of Chicago 88.2%
7. Yale University 87.8%
8. University of Pennsylvania 84.7%
9. Duke University 82.1%
10. George Washington University 81.3%
10. Louisiana State University 81.3%

“Advantaged” Non-Lawyers (JD advantage, full-time, long-term):

1. Catholic University of America 23.0%
2. University of Massachusetts—Dartmouth 21.6%
3. Northern Kentucky University 21.2%
4. University of Louisville 19.7%
5. Hamline University 19.0%
6. George Mason University 18.2%
7. Southwestern Law School 17.8%
8. Phoenix School of Law 17.6%
9. University of Richmond 17.5%
10. Michigan State University 15.9%

The Professionals (Professional, full-time, long-term):

1. University of North Dakota 13.6%
2. University of New Mexico 11.7%
3. William Mitchell College of Law 11.3%
4. Florida A&M University 11.2%
5. Phoenix School of Law 10.7%
6. North Carolina Central University 10.6%
7. Rutgers Newark 10.5%
8. Indiana University—Indianapolis 10.3%
9. Western State College of Law 10.0%
10. Southern University Law Center 9.8%

Career Baristas (Non-professional, full-time, long-term):*

1. University of Akron 7.8%
2. University of North Dakota 6.2%
3. University of Nevada—Las Vegas 4.7%
4. Northern Illinoi University 4.1%
5. University of Massachusetts—Dartmouth 3.9%
5. Willamette University 3.9%
7. Duquesne University 3.4%
7. University of Arkansas—Fayetteville 3.4%
9. Western State College of Law 3.3%
9. Western New England University 3.3%

* Caution is in order for any ordinal ranking, but in a category like this, where the percentages are low, small numbers may appear large. For instance, the University of Akron has just 9 graduates in this category but ranks first; the University of North Dakota, just 5 graduates but ranks second; the University of Nevada—Las Vegas, just 6 graduates, but ranks third.

The Temps (any employed position that’s part-time, short-term, or both):

1. Florida Coastal School of Law 32.8%
2. Golden Gate University 32.3%
3. Pennsylvania State University 31.2%
4. University of New Hampshire 30.7%
5. Brigham Young University 30.6%
6. University of the Pacific 30.4%
6. Northeastern University 30.4%
8. University of California—Davis 29.7%
9. Phoenix School of Law 28.4%
10. University of San Francisco 28.2%

Giving Up (unemployed, not seeking):

1. Santa Clara University 15.9%
2. Willamette University 11.6%
3. University of the District of Columbia 11.5%
4. Chapman University 11.3%
5. Charlotte School of Law 10.3%
6. Southwestern Law School 9.4%
7. University of Hawaii—Manoa 7.9%
8. Western State College of Law 7.8%
9. University of Washington 7.7%
10. Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School 6.8%

More Debt, Please (graduates pursuing a graduate degree full-time):

1. Gonzaga University 7.5%
2. Pennsylvania State University 7.3%
3. University of Mississippi 6.6%
4. Mercer University 6.2%
5. University of Arkansas—Fayetteville 6.0%
6. University of Montana 5.9%
6. Florida A&M University 5.9%
8. Golden Gate University 5.8%
9. American University 5.6%
10. University of South Dakota 5.5%

Return to Sender (employment status unknown):

1. Capital University 28.6%
2. Florida A&M University 27.6%
3. Thomas M. Cooley Law School 26.3%
4. Appalachian School of Law 23.9%
5. University of Memphis 15.5%
6. Texas Wesleyan University 15.2%
7. Southern Illinois University—Carbondale 13.6%
8. University of Mississippi 12.6%
9. Ave Maria School of Law 12.5%
10. Roger Williams University 12.0%

Update:

• ABA Journal, Want to Go to a ‘Real Lawyers’ Law School? Consider Louisiana State
• Above the Law, Which Law Schools Employed the Most Graduates as Real Lawyers Versus Real Baristas?
• American Lawyer, Top 10 Law Schools for Elitists, Bleeding Hearts, MIAs, and the Despondent
• TaxProf Blog, The 2014 U.S. News Law School Rankings: Employment Data (Part II)
• UNLV Law Blog, Rankings Study with Very Small Sample Size Acknowledges Problems