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Today’s Job Market
Competition for entry-level legal jobs remains stiff in the wake of the national economic downturn that has affected every profession.
Data collected by the National Association of Legal Career Professionals (NALP) measures the national employment rate of law graduates nine months after their May 2010 graduation. As of February 2011, that employment rate was “87.6%, the lowest it has been since 1996, when the rate stood at 87.4%.” Using the same formula, the NDLS employment rate was 92% for that time period.
The following charts show the employment status, job types, law firm size, and starting salaries for NDLS graduates nine months after their May graduation. The information reported below was last reviewed and updated on February 13, 2012.
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Among the twenty-one short-term positions are positions funded by the NDLS Public Service Initiative. The Public Service Initiative provides eligible graduates with a modest stipend while they perform legal work in a nonprofit or government organization to gain additional practical and professional experience, references, and contacts. NDLS alumni fund the program because they know it helps participating graduates find permanent legal positions. Examples of employers participating in the PSI program include judges, prosecutors, public defenders, nonprofit organizations, and NGOs. Prior to the recession, when jobs were relatively plentiful, only a handful of NDLS graduates utilized post-graduate bridge employment while seeking permanent positions. Since the recession, those numbers have increased.
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A National Law School
The Class of 2010 reported finding jobs in 30 states and the District of Columbia.
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For more information about employers who hire Notre Dame graduates, the NDLS Career Development Office provides a sampling of employers by state.
More information about the national legal job market can be found at the links collected about the Class of 2010 on NALP’s website.
The Value of a Law Degree
While potential and median starting salaries are important considerations when deciding whether a law degree is a good investment, total career earnings also matter. A study released in August 2011 by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce concluded that “those with Professional degrees (mainly doctors and lawyers) have the highest earnings, making over $3.6 million over the course of a lifetime ($91,200 per year; $44 per hour). This is a 61 percent increase (nearly 1.4 million) over Bachelor’s degree holders.”
Turning specifically to law degrees, the Georgetown study put a J.D. holder’s median lifetime earnings at $4,032,000.
At the outset of a professional career, however, the extra earning potential provided by a law degree may not be obvious. The Georgetown study showed, for example, that the differences among median earnings by education level are much smaller at the beginning of an individual’s career (25-29 years old) than later in an individual’s working life. Earnings at ages 40-44 are considerably higher for all workers, independent of educational attainment, but “by far, the biggest gain over the early years of one’s career involves those with Professional degrees. Workers with Professional degrees earn 100 percent more in their 40’s than they do in their initial years in the workforce.”
Thus Notre Dame lawyers need not wait until the end of their careers to recognize the value of their degrees. Indeed, according to a 2011 study by Forbes, NDLS is No. 10 in mid-career compensation among the 98 law schools surveyed.
On the other hand, pay is only one of several measures of return on investment. Other important factors include the graduate’s debt burden and quality of life.
The average law school debt carried by graduating members of the NDLS Class of 2010 who took out at least one education loan in law school was $92,310, a very substantial amount but less than that of any other top 30 private law school, and even less than the average debt of students at all private law schools, which the ABA has determined is over $100,000.
Notre Dame accomplishes this by doing everything it can to minimize student indebtedness. First, before an NDLS law student even applies for a loan, the Law School’s Office of Admissions makes sure they have all the tools they need to establish a budget, estimate costs, and understand their repayment options.
Law students also benefit from the deep resources provided by the University of Notre Dame Office of Financial Aid. This office provides mandatory entrance counseling for new law students that is designed to make sure all understand their rights, responsibilities, and payment schedules. University financial aid experts and counselors also come to the Law School to assist admitted students at a spring open house prior to enrollment and to make additional presentations shortly after the start of school. These counselors explain why the University favors federal loan programs over private programs, and they work closely with each student to ascertain their true financial needs to ensure no student borrows any more than necessary.
In this regard, the low cost of living in South Bend has not only proven to be a real plus to students while attending law school, but it also pays benefits for years to come in the form of lower loans. Indeed, after weighing median starting salaries, average debt payments, estimated federal and state taxes and cost of living, National Jurist ranked NDLS at No. 13 on its list of Best Law Schools as measured by law graduates’ standard of living.
Moreover, for students interested in public service careers, NDLS offers support through an alumni-funded Loan Repayment Assistance Program that enables graduates who accept public interest or public service employment to be relieved from a significant portion of their law school loans. Through the LRAP program, NDLS first loans its participating graduates money with which to pay off their qualifying federal and private law school educational loans. NDLS then forgives its LRAP loans over a three-year period, provided the graduates remain in public interest or public service employment. NDLS graduates may receive assistance for up to ten years after graduation. For participants with adjusted incomes under $45,000, the program covers 100 percent of monthly law school loan repayments. For participants with adjusted incomes between $45,000 and $55,000, the program covers a portion of monthly loan payments.
Career Development at NDLS
The Career Development Office (CDO) provides a wide range of services designed to help NDLS students obtain the jobs they seek while developing their own career goals and the skills and knowledge necessary to achieve them.
CDO counselors come from outstanding academic backgrounds and have years of experience in the career development field and a wide variety of experience practicing law. The CDO offers self-assessment tools, conducts one-on-one counseling sessions with every law student, and provides extensive career-related educational programming throughout the year. CDO services include interview skills training, advice on business etiquette, assistance with résumé preparation, and counseling on all aspects of the job search process.
The Career Development Office coordinates on-campus interviews with employers from across the country, representing law firms large and small, government and military employers, and public interest organizations. In addition, for employers who are unable to interview Notre Dame students on-campus, the CDO coordinates off-site interviews in cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and Washington D.C. These off-site interviews allow NDLS students to meet with employers to whom they might not otherwise be exposed.
One of the most valuable assets that Notre Dame Law School offers its students is access to the vast Notre Dame alumni network. Notre Dame lawyers – including both Notre Dame Law School alumni and those who attended Notre Dame as undergraduates but received a law degree elsewhere – provide unparalleled support for NDLS students in their job searches. The CDO assists students in locating Notre Dame lawyers in cities throughout the country, and in reaching out to those lawyers for support. Notre Dame lawyers are fiercely loyal to their alma mater, and the CDO works closely with them, along with the Notre Dame Alumni Association and its extensive database. Through the alumni network, the CDO is able to make students aware of jobs that might otherwise be unadvertised or unavailable.
Notre Dame Law School’s mission is to educate a different kind of lawyer. The Career Development Office supports that mission by providing skills training, education, and interviews both on-campus and off-site, and by introducing students to the resources of the Notre Dame alumni network. The CDO provides the opportunity for “a different kind of lawyer” to obtain a satisfying position upon graduation, and to develop and manage a meaningful and successful career afterward.
