Law Class of 2018 sees uptick in employment

More than 80 percent of the 2018 graduates from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and Notre Dame Law School were employed in a full-time, long-term bar passage required or J.D. advantage jobs roughly 10 months after finishing their studies, according to statistics from the American Bar Association.

IU Maurer had 84.5 percent of its Class of 2018 securing full-time, long-term jobs that either required bar passage or gave an advantage to having a J.D. degree, while Notre Dame had 87.3 percent of its 2018 graduates in similar positions. 

The graduates of the two Hoosier schools outperformed the national outcome for the entire law Class of 2018, which boasted a 78.6 percent employment rate in full-time, long-term bar passage required or J.D. advantage jobs.

This topped the Class of 2017, which reported 75.3 percent of its graduates holding similar full-time, long-term jobs. However, the ABA attributed the uptick in 2018 stats to a modest increase in jobs and a 2 percent decline in the size of the graduating class. The number of full-time, long-term bar passage required or J.D. advantage jobs available rose by 2.72 percent year-over-year, going from 26,293 in 2017 to 27,007 in 2018.

Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law saw 68.5 percent of its 2018 graduates gain employment in full-time, long-term bar passage required or J.D. advantage jobs.

The ABA did not report the employment data for Valparaiso Law School, even though the educational institution did award J.D. degrees in 2018. Valparaiso stats were not provided because the ABA only required the law schools that are accredited and enrolling students to submit their employment outcomes.

The northwest Indiana law school, which also did not offer any job data to the Indiana Lawyer, stopped enrolling students in 2018 and plans to close in 2020.

Of IU Maurer’s 2018 graduates, about half got full-time, long-term jobs in law firms. Comparatively, 55.1 percent of Notre Dame’s Class of 2018 and about a third of IU McKinney’s 2018 graduates secured similar employment in private practice.

ABA reported that nationally, 46.6 percent of the Class of 2018 obtained positions in law firms, but whether the jobs were all full-time, long-term is unclear.

IU Maurer sent 17.4 percent of its 2018 graduate into full-time, long-term employment in either the government or public interest sectors. Likewise, Notre Dame saw 17.1 percent enter into full-time, long-term jobs in the same sectors, while IU McKinney sent 21.8 percent. 

  Overall, 17 percent of the 2018 law graduates went to work for either governmental or public interest entities.

Notre Dame’s 2018 graduates beat the national stats for clerkships. The Fighting Irish had 10.7 percent of last year’s class earn a clerkship at either federal or state and local courts, which edged the overall rate of 9.8 percent.

IU Maurer sent 5.8 percent of its 2018 graduating class into clerkships, and IU McKinney sent 2.1 percent.