The University of Michigan Law School

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Comprehensive Employment Statistics

For the graduating class of 2012, 93 percent were employed or continuing their education. The employment data below is generated by NALP, the Association for Legal Career Professionals. The tables below have been formatted for readability; you may also view the original 2009 [PDF], 2010 [PDF], and 2011 [PDF] NALP Summary Reports (partially redacted for privacy). The Summary Report for 2012 will be released by NALP in the summer of 2013, and we will add it to the website as soon as it becomes available.

In addition, we provide the ABA Employment Summary for 2012 [PDF] and 2011 grads [PDF]. This includes data other than that reported to NALP—e.g., law school/university funded positions. (The ABA data for previous years mirrored that of NALP, and so we do not include it separately here.)

General Employment Information
  Latest National NALP Data Available (2011) Michigan Law Data
    Class of 2011 Class of 2010 Class of 2009
Graduating Class Size 44,495 379 374 412
Employment status known 41,623 378 371 410
Bar passage required 27,224 299 325 389
# for which salary is known 15,999 178 211 325
% for which salary is known 59% 60% 65% 84%
25th %ile of salary $48,996 $62,467 $110,000 $120,000
50th %ile of salary $61,500 $147,500 $160,000 $160,000
mean salary $81,050 $118,950 $134,501 $134,408
75th %ile of salary $110,000 $160,000 $160,000 $160,000
JD Advantage† 5,214 44 14 3
Other Professional 2,199 11 4 2
Nonprofessional 805 1 1 2
Job type unknown 211 4 2 1
Pursuing advanced degree 936 2 12 7
Unemployed—not seeking 1,044 4 9 4
Unemployed—seeking 3,990 13 4 2
Employment Status Unknown† 2,872 1 3 2

†"JD Advantage" includes management consulting, investment banking, real estate, legal jobs overseas, etc.

Employment by Category
  Latest National NALP Data Available (2011) Michigan Law Data
    Class of 2011 Class of 2010 Class of 2009
Graduating Class Size 44,495 379 374 412
Academic 1,052 9 7 1
Business 6,442 38 16 11
Bar passage required 1,866 5 10 5
JD Advantage 2,396 23 3 3
Other Professional 1,406 9 2 1
Nonprofessional 714 1 1 2
Judicial Clerk 3,315 57 38 54
# for which salary is known 2,750 41 27 47
% for which salary is known 83% 72% 71% 87%
25th %ile of salary $43,437 $57,408 $58,519 $56,411
50th %ile of salary $52,000 $60,681 $62,401 $60,072
mean salary $51,761 $60,007 $61,609 $59,038
75th %ile of salary $60,000 $62,401 $62,909 $61,667
Private Practice 17,666 169 212 288
# for which salary is known 9,913 122 171 269
% for which salary is known 56% 72% 81% 93%
25th %ile of salary $55,000 $145,000 $160,000 $145,000
50th %ile of salary $85,000 $160,000 $160,000 $160,000
mean salary $97,821 $146,362 $151,889 $150,455
75th %ile of salary $160,000 $160,000 $160,000 $160,000
501+ attorneys 2,856 82 129 215
251–500 attorneys 891 27 31 28
101–250 attorneys 1010 20 20 20
51–100 attorneys 888 6 6 7
26–50 attorneys 1,085 2 3 4
11–25 attorneys 1,847 8 6 4
2–10 attorneys 7,570 19 3 0
Solo practitioner 1,059 0 1 1
Unknown size 460 5 13 9
Government 4,255 34 34 10
# for which salary is known 2,442 12 9 5
% for which salary is known 57% 35% 26% 50%
25th %ile of salary $42,999 $62,467 $62,467 $47,904
50th %ile of salary $52,000 $62,467 $62,467 $49,544
mean salary $54,742 $60,884 $60,353 $54,068
75th %ile of salary $62,038 $62,467 $62,467 $60,989
Public Interest 2,687 47 37 32

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