Career Services: Students

Employment Status	Full- & Part-time Total		Full-time Salary*
	No.	% of Class	No.	25%	50%	75%	High
Employed – Total	284	88.2%
Employed – Bar Passage Req'd	240	74.5%	133	50,000	67,500	90,000	160,000
Employed – JD Preferred	22	6.8%	11	44,500	50,000	96,200	200,000
Employed – Other Professional	12	3.7%	4	41,250	51,300	59,200	64,000
Employed – Other Non-professional	5	1.6%	0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Employed – Job Type Unknown	5	1.6%	1	68,000	68,000	68,000	68,000
Pursuing Graduate Degree FT	9	2.8%
Unemployed – Not Seeking Job	15	4.7%
Unemployed – Seeking Job	4	1.2%
Employment Status Unknown	10	3.1%
Total Graduates	322	100%

Total Reported = 312

 

LAW SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY FUNDED POSITION	Number
USD Law Public Interest Fellows	4
USD Law Research Fellows	6
USD Law Clinic Staff Attorneys	7
USD Legal Writing Fellow	1
Of Employed – Law School/University Funded Short Term	18

Employment Type	Full- & Part-time Total		Full-time Salary*
	No.	% of Class	No.	25%	50%	75%	High
Law Firms (below)	148	52.1	87	60,000	75,000	101,000	160,000
Solo	5	1.8	0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2-10	72	25.4	33	50,000	62,000	72,000	102,000
11-25	9	3.2	7	50,375	54,600	62,500	95,000
26-50	7	2.5	6	72,500	85,000	90,000	90,000
51-100	10	3.5	9	68,000	75,000	85,000	155,000
101-250	11	3.9	10	76,250	90,000	100,000	160,000
251-500	11	3.9	11	99,100	140,000	152,500	160,000
501+	11	3.9	11	145,000	160,000	160,000	160,000
Size Unknown	12	4.2	0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Business & Industry	54	19	23	47,500	70,000	102,000	200,000
Government	33	11.6	22	38,075	42,410	51,050	81,000
Public Interest (incl. Public Defender)	22	7.8	3	53,422	56,843	58,422	60,000
Judicial Clerkships	9	3.2	7	57,500	60,000	62,000	64,251
Federal	9	3.2	7	57,500	60,000	62,000	64,251
State & Local	0	0	0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Academia	16	5.6	2	46,000	52,000	58,000	64,000
Employer Type Unknown	2	0.7	0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total employed	284

EMPLOYMENT LOCATION	STATE	NUMBER
State# – largest employment	California	243
State# – 2nd largest employment	Illinois	5
State# – 3rd largest employment	Mass., N.Y., D.C.	4
# employed in foreign countries		2

Source of Job by Employer Type	Number of Graduates	% Reporting on Job Source
Letter/Self-Initiated	64	27.8
Fall or Spring On Campus Interviews	38	16.5
USD Job Listing	62	27
Job Fair, Commercial Postings, or Self-Employed	16	7
Referral	31	13.5
Returned to Pre-Law School Employer	17	7.4
Other	2	0.9
Total	230	100

Data above reported to the American Bar Association (ABA)  and  National Association of Legal Career Professionals (NALP) .  We regularly collect employment information from our most recent graduating class, following guidelines established by NALP and the ABA.

* Salary numbers based on 151 full-time salaries reported (53% of employed graduates reporting).

 

For questions about this page, please e-mail Careers Services.