More Class of 2023 Law Graduates Found Employment Prior to Graduation

NALP Bulletin+
December 2024

The timing of job offers to new law graduates can vary based on factors such as employment sector, job type, and broader economic conditions that influence hiring. Some employers routinely conduct most of their hiring well before graduation, as is common with large firms hiring associates, accounting firms hiring tax associates, and government agencies hiring as part of an Agency Honors Program. While other employers, such as small law firms, civil legal services organizations, and prosecutor offices, conduct a substantial share of hiring after graduation — and in some cases, after bar licensure. A more competitive job market for new law graduates can also influence timing, resulting in a higher percentage of graduates leaving law school with a job in hand.

As Chart 1 shows, prior to the Great Recession more than two-thirds of all job offers were received prior to graduation. This percentage declined during the recession and hovered between 52-54% for the classes of 2011-2015. Concurrently, bar passage rates in almost every jurisdiction also began to decline during this time; however, the effect on the timing of job offers is not precisely known. Except for the Class of 2021, the percentage of job offers that were received prior to graduation has increased in each year since 2016. Many employers took a cautious approach to hiring in 2020 and early 2021 due to the pandemic, likely causing delays in job offers for the Class of 2021 in some sectors.

However, those pandemic impacts were short-lived, and for the Class of 2023 nearly three-quarters (73.8%) of new law graduates received their job offer prior to graduation, an all-time high. This is not surprising given how competitive the job market was for the Class of 2023 as noted in NALP’s Selected Findings report, and these market conditions may have caused some employers to hire earlier than is typical.

As Table 1 and Chart 2 reveal, the Great Recession affected the timing of job offers across every employment sector, but some sectors were more greatly impacted than others. For example, within private practice, the percentage of job offers made prior to graduation dropped by nearly 19 percentage points from 2008 to 2011. This steep decline was also driven by shifts in the composition of law firm employment during this period — with firms of 1-10 lawyers growing from 32% to 43% of all law firm jobs, while firms of 501+ lawyers shrank from 25% to just 16% of law firm jobs.

Small firms are among the least likely to hire graduates before graduation, while large firms are among the most likely to hire. (See Table 2.) These changes to the composition of law firm employment accelerated the decline in job offers made prior to graduation within the sector. In contrast, for the Class of 2023, 78% of graduates employed in private practice received their job offer prior to graduation, an all-time high, and reflective of the fact that large firm employment is now at record levels — and these firms fill virtually all of their associate positions well in advance of law school graduation.

Business, government, and public interest are additional employment sectors that conducted more hiring prior to graduation for the Class of 2023 as compared to pre-Great Recession levels. Since 2008, the percentage of graduates who received their job offer before graduation has grown from 53% to 58% in business, from 59% to 65% in government, and from 50% to 68% in public interest. However, other employment sectors have seen an opposite trend emerge. For example, the percentage of graduates with a job offer prior to graduation has declined from 48% to 35% in education, and from 86% to 82% for judicial clerkships. The prevalence of law school funded positions in education may partially contribute to the decrease in the share of job offers made prior to graduation.

Table 2 explores trend information for more specific employers and job types. Although some employer types have historically been more likely to hire after graduation, over the past two years since the Class of 2021 graduated, many have shown a substantial increase in pre-graduation hiring. Firms of 1-10 lawyers have experienced a net increase of 10 percentage points in the share of graduates with a pre-graduation offer since the Class of 2021. Increases are even larger for public defenders (+14 points), positions in civil legal services organizations (+15 points), prosecutors (+17 points), and in-house lawyers (+18 points). It is possible that some of these employers moved up their recruiting timelines to compete for talent in a strong market for new law graduates.

What does this mean for the Class of 2024 and future law graduates? While a competitive market for new legal talent has contributed to the recent increase in the percentage of graduates finding employment by the end of law school, this growth may stall for the Class of 2024. This class entered law school with about 12% more students than the Class of 2023, and as a result, it may take longer for some of these students to find employment in a market that is more favorable to employers.

NALP data also shows that the recruiting cycle for 2024 law firm summer associate positions was the softest since the Great Recession. A decline in hiring by large firms, which make up a substantial share of pre-graduation offers, will likely impact pre-graduation offers for the Class of 2025 as well.

Additional data on the timing of job offers is available in Jobs & JDs: Employment and Salaries of New Graduates, Class of 2023 — available now in the NALP Bookstore.


Table 1. Percentage of Job Offers Received Prior to Graduation by Employment Sector, Classes of 2008-2023

Class Year All Jobs Education Business Law Firms Judicial Clerkships Government Public Interest
2023 73.8% 35.4% 58.1% 78.1% 82.3% 64.5% 67.6%
2022 71.2 40.2 54.0 76.4 80.9 61.0 61.0
2021 63.0 38.1 44.1 67.9 77.6 52.2 51.9
2020 65.3 39.4 49.2 69.2 80.5 56.2 53.8
2019 65.2 42.4 47.6 69.8 77.5 55.1 58.4
2018 62.9 42.4 47.1 68.1 78.3 50.1 51.9
2017 60.4 38.8 44.6 65.1 77.8 50.9 49.4
2016 59.4 33.1 44.8 63.9 78.2 49.8 48.8
2015 54.0 35.5 40.4 57.9 77.2 46.2 42.4
2014 52.1 34.5 39.4 56.7 75.7 42.4 40.9
2013 53.7 37.8 39.1 58.6 80.1 45.5 39.9
2012 52.4 41.5 41.2 56.2 78.6 43.9 37.9
2011 53.0 40.9 40.6 54.1 81.1 49.9 47.5
2010 57.4 42.3 44.7 60.8 81.6 50.9 45.1
2009 62.6 35.2 49.3 68.4 83.8 53.0 40.6
2008 67.8 47.6 53.0 72.7 85.8 59.1 49.6

Note: Jobs for which the timing of the job offer was not reported were not included in these calculations.
Source: NALP's Jobs & JDs, Classes of 2008-2023.


Table 2. Percentage of Job Offers Received Before Graduation for Select Employer/Job Types, Classes of 2008-2023

Employer/Job Type 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Law Firm Employment
Law Firm of 1-10 Lawyers 48.4% 44.5% 43.1% 39.6% 38.0% 39.3% 36.3% 36.1% 41.2% 42.2% 45.7% 48.8% 43.7% 47.5% 56.6% 58.3%
Law Firm of 501+ Lawyers 97.9 97.9 94.8 88.5 92.4 94.4 92.3 92.8 94.9 93.7 93.5 92.2 93.6 89.8 94.0 95.6
Business Employment
In-House Lawyers 56.2 53.4 46.6 42.3 43.4 38 42.9 44.5 46.2 48.2 54.7 55.0 51.9 52.1 67.2 69.7
Tax Associates NC NC NC NC NC NC NC 70.0 81.7 77.5 70.9 81.7 84.4 76.3 77.5 81.4
Government Employment
Agency Honors Program 97.9 97.9 94.8 88.5 92.4 94.4 92.3 92.8 94.9 93.7 93.5 93.5 93.5 93.5 93.5 93.5
JAG Corps Positions NC NC NC 88.0 88.0 86.4 83.8 85.8 88.7 86.6 92.8 92.8 92.7 92.6 89.9 89.8
All Prosecutors 57.4 44.2 35.9 37.3 34.8 37.2 37.0 40.5 43.3 44.8 43.4 52.8 54.6 49.1 62.6 65.6
     State Prosecutors 56.0 41.3 31.8 33.2 34.5 32.5 34.7 39.1 42.0 43.7 43.6 55.4 51.7 46.8 60.8 61.5
     Local Prosecutors 57.3 43.9 37.9 39.3 34.6 39.4 38.4 40.9 43.5 45.4 42.9 51.2 56.2 50.1 63.7 67.6
Judicial Clerkships
Federal 93.5 94.1 91.0 90.3 90.4 90.7 88.6 90.0 92.6 90.9 90.0 88.0 90.6 91.0 91.1 90.5
State 84.5 82.0 80.0 79.0 74.7 78.0 71.3 73.7 72.2 72.1 74.1 74.4 76.6 73.1 77.7 79.3
Local 66.4 55.4 50.2 51.8 51.4 46.9 42.4 36.7 43.0 42.1 41.9 43.4 51.4 38.6 50.6 59.6
Public Interest Employment
Public Defenders 58.1 43.7 43.1 51.0 40.3 43.4 45.3 42.5 50.4 51.2 55.5 64.5 59.3 55.7 67.4 73.3
Civil Legal Services 38.9 34.6 42.7 41.7 33.5 33.1 34.7 38.9 42.9 42.1 47.2 51.8 47.5 47.6 55.9 63.0

Note: Jobs for which the timing of the job offer was not reported were not included in these calculations.
Source: NALP's Jobs & JDs, Classes of 2008-2023.
NC: Not collected


Chart 1. Percentage of All Job Offers Received Prior to Graduation, Classes of 2008-2023


Note: Jobs for which the timing of the job offer was not reported were not included in these calculations.
Source: NALP's Jobs & JDs, Classes of 2008-2023.



Chart 2. Percentage of Job Offers Received Prior to Graduation by Employment Sector, Classes of 2008-2023


Note: Jobs for which the timing of the job offer was not reported were not included in these calculations.
Source: NALP's Jobs & JDs, Classes of 2008-2023.

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