NALP Bulletin, July 2005 

According to the ABA, over the past 11 years, the enrollment of both women and minorities in law school has increased fairly steadily, with the enrollment of women rising from 43% to 49%, and minority enrollment increasing from about 15% to about 20%. Most recently, while the overall graduating classes have been nearly evenly split between men and women, white men have outnumbered white women, but minority women have outnumbered minority men.

NALP’s employment data for the classes of 1994-2004 reflect these changing demographics; however, as the table on the opposite page shows, in some job categories women and minorities continue to be significantly under-represented, while in others women and minorities are over-represented.

• In firms of 2-10 lawyers, the proportion of jobs obtained by white men has declined (from 55% to 46%), while the proportion of jobs taken by minorities, particularly minority women, has increased. Nonetheless, relative to their numbers among employed graduates, white men continue to obtain a disproportionate share of these jobs, while minorities obtain a smaller share.

• In contrast, the share of jobs in large firms obtained by minority women has increased in most years since 1994; the share obtained by minority men has declined somewhat in recent years. The share of jobs taken by white men has decreased from about 49% in 1994 to 42% in the past two years.

• Prosecutorial positions at all levels of government have consistently been a good source of employment for minorities, particularly minority women, and, to a lesser extent and not as consistently, white women.

• Jobs in the military present a unique demographic profile. In 1994, two-thirds of these jobs were obtained by white men. After dropping to about 57% in 1997 and 1998, this figure has returned to over 60% in all of the past six years except 2002. Thus, white men continue to be over-represented among graduates obtaining these jobs. (It is worth noting that in 1991 and 1992, not shown because of space limitations, the representation of white men was even higher C over 70%.) This is true for minority men as well, although fluctuations are evident. Conversely, despite a modest gain overall, women, particularly white women, remain under-represented among those obtaining jobs in the military.

• The representation of white women among federal judicial clerks generally has been slightly more than proportional, whereas the opposite is true of minority women in most years. Minority men have generally been under-represented.

• The percentage of state judicial clerkships obtained by women has consistently exceeded their representation among employed graduates as a whole, whereas white men have been under-represented. Minority men are also under-represented; the presence of minority women, however, mirrors that among employed graduates as a whole.

Demographic Profile of Selected Job Types — 1994-2004

(percent of jobs obtained by each demographic group)

Source: NALP employment data for the classes of 1994-2004.
* Includes Native Americans, Blacks, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics of any race.
** Jobs with complete demographic information only.