Harvard Law School Employment Statistics by Position, Term, and Location

Employment Summary and Comparison

For the 594 graduates from Harvard Law School, 574 were hired including 572 full-time and 2 part-time positions. Among them, 567 students employed as long-term contract and 7 students employed as short-term contract.
515 graduates got a job where bar passage required and 14 got J.D. advantage (or J.D. preferred) jobs where it does not require passage of the bar exam. 15 graduates got professional positions.
Compared to all law schools in U.S., Harvard Law School' rate of employed is much higher than the average rate of 90.60%. Compared to law schools in Massachusetts, its rate of employed is much higher than the average rate of 92.40%.
Total Graduates% of EmployedTotal EmployedFull-timePart-time
Harvard Law School59496.63%5745722
All Law Schools35,52990.60%32,18831,1641,024
Public13,85291.04%12,61112,223388
Private21,67790.31%19,57718,941636
Massachusetts Law Schools2,09192.40%1,9321,88052
Public8682.56%71656
Private2,00592.82%1,8611,81546

Employment by General Category

The below table summarizes the employment statistics by general position categories and employed stats for 594 graduates. The category definition can be found at ABA's employment protocol
TotalPercentage (%) Full-timePart-time
Long-termShort-termLong-termShort-term
Total Graduates594
Bar Passage Required51586.70%510500
J.D. Advantage142.36%13010
Professional Position152.53%13110
Other00.00%0000
Undeterminable00.00%0000
Enrolled in Graduate Studies91.52%
Start Date Deferred00.00%
Unemployed - Not Seeking71.18%
Unemployed - Seeking30.51%
Employment Status Unknown10.17%

Employment by Position Types

The below table summarizes the employment statistics by company and job position types for 594 graduates from Harvard Law School.
TotalPercentage (%) Full-timePart-time
Long-termShort-termLong-termShort-term
Total Employed574-5657 20
Law Firms34558.08%345000
Solo0- 0000
1-100- 0000
11-2561.05% 6000
26-5061.05% 6000
51-10071.22% 7000
101-25030.52% 3000
251-500244.18% 24000
More than 50029952.09% 299000
Unknown Size0- 0000
Business and Industry213.66% 20010
Government213.66% 21000
Public Interest6912.02% 68100
Clerkships - Federal8715.16% 85200
Clerkships - State, Local, and Territorial213.66% 18300
Clerkships - Tribal0- 0000
Clerkships - International40.70% 4000
Education61.05% 4110
Employer Type Unknown0- 0000

Employed at Law schools/Universities Funded Position

The below table summarizes the graduated who employed law school or its parent university funded position by term and working status atHarvard Law School.
TotalPercentage (%) Full-timePart-time
Long-termShort-termLong-termShort-term
Total Graduates574-5657 20
Total Employed by Law School or University305.05%29100
Bar Passage Required223.70% 22000
J.D. Advantage61.01% 6000
Professional Position20.34% 1100
Other0- 0000

Employed Location

The most graduates (183) are employed by law firms or companies in New York. The following table shows the top three state that graduates got employed with number of employed.
StateNumber Employed% of Employed
Largest EmploymentNew York18331.88%
2nd Largest EmploymentDistrict of Columbia10618.47%
3rd Largest EmploymentCalifornia6611.50%