NALP Bulletin, January 2007 

According to NALP’s employment information for the Class of 2005, more than half (55.8%) of employed graduates took jobs in law firms, and of those jobs, almost half were taken in the 20 cities providing the most jobs to this class. However, as Tables 1 and 2 show, among graduates taking jobs in law firms, racial/ethnic minorities as a whole (Black/African-Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and multi-racial graduates), and in particular Asian/Pacific Islander and Black/African American graduates, were more likely to take a job in one of those cities than were non-minorities.

Within these 20 cities, Table 2 shows that the proportion of law firm jobs taken by minorities ranged from a high of almost half in Miami, to a low of 11% in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. In some cities, one specific group dominated the minority graduates. In Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle, it was Asian/Pacific Islanders; in Miami it was Hispanics; and in Atlanta it was Black/African-American graduates. In Washington, DC, Asian/Pacific Islanders and Black/African-Americans were equally prevalent. In San Diego, Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic graduates took law firm jobs in about the same proportions. In other cities, such as Dallas and Houston, the mix was relatively more even.

TABLE 1. Geographic Distribution of Law Firm Jobs Taken by the Class of 2005

* Defined as racial minorities as well as Hispanics.

Note: All counts exclude law firm jobs for which location was not reported. Also, all counts, except the overall count, exclude law firm jobs taken by graduates for whom race/ethnicity was not reported. The Asian/Pacific Islander category includes East Indian/Pakistani graduates.

Table 2. Distribution of Law Firm Jobs by Race/Ethnicity in 20 Cities Class of 2005

Note: Law firm jobs taken by graduates for whom race/ethnicity was not reported are excluded from this table. The Asian/Pacific Islander category includes East Indian/Pakistani graduates.