Starting Salaries: What New Law Graduates Earn — Class of 2003 Class of 2003 Summary Findings (PDF - free download)

Class of 2003 National Summary Report

Law Firm Opportunities and Population Change, 1991-2003 (NALP Bulletin, December 2004) — Provides a look at the correlation (or lack thereof) between job opportunities and changes in population between 1991 and 2003.

Law Firm Jobs Taken by New Graduates - Distribution by Race/Ethnicity - Class of 2003 (NALP Bulletin, August 2004) — NALP's employment data for the Class of 2003 show that more than half (57.8%) of employed graduates took jobs in law firms, and, of these jobs, almost half were taken in the 20 cities providing the most jobs to this class. However, among graduates taking jobs in law firms, minorities as a whole, and in particular Asian/Pacific Islander and African-American graduates, were more likely to take a job in one of the these cities.

Employment for New Law Graduates is Nearly Steady (July 21, 2004 Press Release) —NALP's 30th consecutive report on the experiences of new law graduates documents an employment rate — 88.9%, a figure that includes employment of all types — that is virtually unchanged from the 89% figure for the class of 2002.

Trends in Graduate Employment - 1982-2003 (NALP Bulletin, June 2004) — Despite some decline in the overall employment rate since 2000, the market for new law graduates has been quite strong in recent years, with overall employment close to or above 89% since 1997. More than half of employed graduates obtain their first job at a law firm — a fact that has not changed in the 30 years that NALP has compiled employment statistics.