Feel like you’re the only one without a job offer?
Don’t worry — you’re not.
There are some employers — notably large law firms, judges hiring judicial clerks and JAG Corps — that extend offers before graduation. More than 70 percent of state and federal judicial clerkship positions are hired before graduation. Law firms with more than 100 lawyers make three-quarters of their job offers before graduation, while even larger firms make an even greater percentage of offers early in the year, according to the NALP “Class of 2014: Jobs & JDs” report.
But other employers, such as prosecutor offices and small law firms, do a substantial portion of their hiring after graduation.
| Timing of job offer by employment type | |||
| Employer/Job type | Before graduation, % | After graduation, but before bar results, % | After graduation and after bar results, % |
| All employers | 52.1 | 20.5 | 27.4 |
| Business | 39.4 | 28.2 | 32.4 |
| Government | 42.4 | 24.6 | 33 |
| Judicial clerkships | 75.7 | 14.1 | 10.2 |
| Private practice: 1-10 lawyers | 36.3 | 25.9 | 37.8 |
| Private practice: 11-25 lawyers | 47 | 22.6 | 30.4 |
| Private practice: 26-50 lawyers | 57.7 | 20.3 | 22 |
| Private practice: 51-100 lawyers | 65.2 | 15 | 19.8 |
| Private practice: 101-250 lawyers | 76.5 | 10.9 | 12.6 |
| Private practice: 251-500 lawyers | 88.5 | 6.7 | 4.8 |
| Private practice: 501+ lawyers | 92.3 | 4.5 | 3.2 |
| Public interest | 40.9 | 24.3 | 34.8 |
