NALP Bulletin+
December 2022

While disability status is likely to be underreported by law graduates, the percentage of graduates self-reporting a disability has grown in recent years, increasing from 4.1% for the Class of 2019 to 5.5% for the Class of 2021, according to the latest data from NALP's Employment Report and Salary Survey. Disability reporting is even more limited within law firms, but it has likewise increased, albeit growing from just 0.6% of all lawyers reporting a disability in 2019 to 1.2% in 2021, according to NALP's 2021 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms.

Graduates with disabilities from the Class of 2021 were more likely to identify as women or gender non-binary as compared to the class overall; however, they were less likely to be graduates of color. They were also more than twice as likely to identify as LGBTQ and were slightly older compared to their peers (see Table 1).

At 85.8%, the employment rate for graduates with disabilities was about 6 percentage points lower than the overall rate for the Class of 2021, and the employment rate in bar passage required jobs was 9 percentage points lower at 69.2%. Employed graduates with disabilities were almost twice as likely to take a job in public interest (15.4% vs. 8.7% for all graduates), but their rate of employment in private practice was more than 7 percentage points below the class overall (49.8% vs. 57.0%). For those employed in private practice, more than half of all graduates with disabilities took a job in a firm with 25 or fewer attorneys, including working as a solo practitioner (see Table 2 and Chart 1).

Chart 2 compares median salaries for graduates reporting a disability to the Class of 2021 overall. Across all employer types, the median salary for graduates with disabilities was $7,500 less compared to the class overall ($72,500 vs. $80,000). This differential is driven in part by the differences in the share of graduates within public interest and private practice. By employer type, private practice was the only sector in which a large gap in median salaries between graduates with disabilities and their peers existed, largely due to the higher percentage of jobs in small firms — which tend to pay less — for graduates reporting a disability.

Additional data on graduates with disabilities are included in Jobs & JDs: Employment and Salaries of New Graduates, Class of 2021 — now available for purchase in the NALP Bookstore.

Table 1. Demographic Profile of Graduates with Disabilities Compared with All Graduates — Class of 2021

Source: NALP's Class of 2021 Employment Report and Salary Survey
* Figures based on graduates for whom the appropriate demographic information was reported.
** The gender non-binary category also includes graduates who chose to self-describe their gender.

Table 2. Employment Outcomes for Graduates with Disabilities Compared with All Graduates - Class of 2021

Source: NALP's Class of 2021 Employment Report and Salary Survey
*Figures based on graduates for whom employment status was known.
**Figures based on employed graduates. Percentages do not add up to 100% because the unknown employer type is not shown.

Chart 1. Private Practice Employment for Graduates with Disabilities Compared with All Graduates — Class of 2021

Source: NALP’s Class of 2021 Employment Report and Salary Survey
*Includes graduates working for a solo practitioner (e.g., as a law clerk or paralegal).

Chart 2. Median Starting Salaries for Graduates with Disabilities Compared with All Graduates — Class of 2021

Source: NALP’s Class of 2021 Employment Report and Salary Survey
Note: All salary figures are based on salaries reported for full-time jobs lasting at least one year.