Employment Statistics for the Class of 2011
On March 15, 2012, the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University reported 9-month employment data for its Class of 2011 to the American Bar Association. The ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Standards Review Committee, recently approved changes to Accreditation Standard 509 which require that graduate employment data ‐‐ including employment status, employment type, whether employment is full or part‐time, long or short term, whether funded by the law school or university and employment location ‐‐ be displayed in a uniform chart provided by the Council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar (the “Council”) and in accordance with instructions and definitions which the Council approves.
The chart for the Class of 2011 appears below:
| CLASS OF 2011---- EMPLOYMENT REPORT AT 9 MONTHS AFTER GRADUATION | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FULL TIME | PART TIME | ||||
| Employment Status | Number | Long | Short | Long | Short |
| Employed – Bar Passage Required | 159/53.5% | 121 | 14 | 7 | 17 |
| Employed – JD Advantage | 39/13.1% | 20 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
| Employed – Professional Position | 19/6.4% | 10 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Employed – Non-Professional Position | 12/4% | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Employed – Job Category Undeterminable | 5/1.7% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Pursuing Graduate Degree Full-Time | 5/1.7% | ||||
| Unemployed – Start Date Deferred | 0/0% | ||||
| Unemployed – Not Seeking | 12/4% | ||||
| Unemployed – Seeking | 27/9.1% | ||||
| Employment Status Unknown | 19/6.4% | ||||
| Total Graduates | 297/100% | ||||
| Law School/University Funded Position | |||||
| Of Employed - Law School/University Funded Short Term | n/a | 9 | |||
| Full Time | Part Time | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment Type | Number | Long | Short | Long | Short | ||
| Law Firms | 130 | 93 | 9 | 5 | 15 | ||
| Solo | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2-10 | 68 | 43 | 4 | 5 | 15 | ||
| 11-25 | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 26-50 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 51-100 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 101-250 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 251-500 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 501+ | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Unknown | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Business & Industry | 56 | 29 | 8 | 6 | 12 | ||
| Government | 17 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Pub. Int. (inc. Pub. Def.) | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Judicial clerkships | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Federal | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| State & local | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Academia | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | ||
| Employer type unknown | 3 | ||||||
| Total | 234 | 154 | 21 | 14 | 40 | ||
The ABA has declined to require law schools to collect and publish salary data because, on a nationwide basis, fewer than 45% of law graduates contacted by their law schools report their salaries. The Council stated that it felt strongly that the current collection of such data is unreliable and produces distorted information. However, pursuant to the revised Standard 509, schools may voluntarily choose to report salary data, but must specify the number of respondents and the percentage of graduates the data represents. Hofstra Law has elected voluntarily to provide the following salary data for its Class of 2011.
Total Graduates in Class of 2011: 297
Total Number of Graduates Who Self-Reported Salary Data: 104
Percentage of Class Who Self-Reported Salary Data: 35% (104/297)
Percentage of Employed Students Who Self-Reported Salary Data: 44% (104/234)
Percentage of Graduates in Full-Time Positions Who Self-Reported Salary Data: 59% (104/175)
| Bar Admission Required 135 graduates, 86 self-reporting salary (64%) |
JD Advantage 25 graduates, 13 self-reporting salary (52%) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Median | $60,000 | $50,000 |
| Average | $70,295 | $58,046 |
| 25th Percentile | $50,000 | $36,000 |
| 75th Percentile | $75,000 | $59,000 |
| Low Salary | $23,000 | $25,000 |
| High Salary | $200,000 | $178,000 |
Based on low response rate, we are not reporting salary data for graduates working full-time in the categories entitled “Professional Position” or “Non-Professional Position”.
| Law Firms: 130 graduates 68 self-reporting salary (52%) |
Business or Industry: 56 graduates 13 self-reporting salary (23%) |
Government: 17 graduates 13 self-reporting salary (76%) |
Public Interest: 12 graduates 7 self-reporting salary (58%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median | $60,000 | $55,000 | $56,000 | $50,000 |
| Average | $73,582 | $70,000 | $57,888 | $43,545 |
| 25th Percentile | $50,000 | $49,000 | $46,000 | $25,000 |
| 75th Percentile | $80,000 | $85,000 | $68,519 | $53,105 |
| Low Salary | $35,000 | $30,000 | $32,000 | $25,000 |
| High Salary | $200,000 | $178,000 | $90,000 | $53,015 |
Based on low response rate, we are not reporting salary data for graduates working full-time in the categories entitled “Judicial Clerkship”, “Academic” and “Unknown.”
| 2-10 Lawyers 68 graduates, 26 self- reporting salary (38%) |
11-25 Lawyers 18 graduates, 9 self- reporting salary (50%) |
26 to 50 Lawyers 16 graduates, 12 self- reporting salary (75%) |
51 to 100 Lawyers 6 graduates, 5 self- reporting salary (83%) |
101 to 250 Lawyers 6 graduates, 6 self- reporting salary (100%) |
251 to 500 Lawyers 3 graduates, 3 self- reporting salary (100%) |
500+ Lawyers, 7 graduates, 7 self- reporting salary (100%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median | $50,000 | $55,000 | $51,000 | $70,000 | $97,500 | $160,000 | $110,000 |
| Average | $50,869 | $67,500 | $68,000 | $80,000 | $109,167 | $126,667 | $117,500 |
| 25th Percentile | $40,000 | $47,500 | $50,000 | $62,500 | $90,000 | n/a | $73,500 |
| 75th Percentile | $60,000 | $73,750 | $70,000 | $102,500 | $130,000 | n/a | $160,000 |
| Low Salary | $35,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | $60,000 | $90,000 | $60,000 | $68,000 |
| High Salary | $80,000 | $150,000 | $200,000 | $125,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 |
Salary figures vary from year-to-year based upon a number of factors, including, but not limited to, market conditions as well as the number of graduates reporting salary information to us. In addition, please note that these figures are based solely on information that is self-reported to us by our graduates, and the salary data provided above is based on the accuracy and completeness of the information provided by our graduates to us.
The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) defines a law school’s employment rate as the number of graduates employed divided by the number of graduates whose employment status is known (see http://www.nalp.org/uploads/Employment_Rate_Calc.pdf). For NALP purposes, Hofstra Law’s employment rate for the Class of 2011 is 84.2% (234 employed graduates/278 graduates for whom status is known).
If the number of graduates in the Class of 2011 who were enrolled in full-time degree programs (5) is added to the numerator, Hofstra Law’s percentage of graduates from the Class of 2011 who were either employed or enrolled in full-time degree programs is 86% (234 employed graduates + 5 graduates in full-time degree programs/278 graduates for whom status is known).
The ABA does not ask law schools to publish a 9-month employment rate and does not provide law schools with guidance regarding calculation of employment rates.
Other organizations and publications, such as US News & World Report, the Princeton Review and Barron’s, each define a law school’s employment rates and percentages differently.
For those graduates in the Class of 2011 employed within 9 months of graduation, more than 80% were working in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Members of our Class of 2011 also took positions in California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
The economy, including the legal economy, is constantly changing, and employment for past classes is not an accurate predictor of employment for future classes. In addition, a law degree from Hofstra Law or any other law school is not a guarantee of employment in the legal field.
