James Leipold is a senior advisor with the Law School Admission Council. Prior to joining LSAC, he worked as the executive director of the National Association for Law Placement in Washington, D.C., for more than 18 years. He is a leading expert on the employment market for law school graduates, and writes and speaks frequently on that topic. He earned his BA in English from Brown University and his JD at Temple University—James E. Beasley School of Law.
This year, employment gaps between white law graduates and minoritized individuals worsened. Hard work remains for law schools and legal employers to close these gaps.
Although law school graduate employment data is strong now, current law students may face a tougher job market when they graduate.
While the law school class of 2023 saw record-high employment numbers, this trend isn't likely to last, with lower overall employment rates predicted for those graduating law school in the next several years.
At the most successful law schools, responsibilities for academic support and advising, professional identity formation, career development, and employment outcomes are shared by the whole law school.
A deep dive into the demographic information for the incoming law school class of 2023 – the most diverse class in history
Legal employment outcomes are one important marker that we can look to, to measure progress on law school and legal employers’ efforts to diversity the profession.
The ABA recently voted to allow law students to earn up to 50% of their credits through distance learning. This expanded opportunity for online learning will increase access to legal education.
Because of lower birthrates during the Great Recession, the college-age population will shrink beginning in 2025. What does this mean for law schools?
LSAC has put in place a team of experts that offer a suite of individually tailored services designed to help law schools meet their institutional goals.
The legal employment and law school admission markets are closely intertwined. Fortunately, we have been enjoying a very strong job market for law school graduates for at least five years running, but that may be about to change.