An Improving Employment Trend for 2012 Law Grads
Some qualified good news. Overall employment for 2012 law grads suggests an improving trend. The 2012 grads obtained more jobs than 2011 grads, but the class also had more graduates in it. Accordingly, the percent of employed fell to 84.7% from 85.7% the previous year. The 2012 grads entered law school in the fall of 2009, and so the larger class size apparently indicates the choice of many college graduates to attend graduate school rather than face a job market deep in recession. The NALP Executive Director, James Leipold, stated: "I continue to believe that the Class of 2011 represented the absolute bottom of the curve on the jobs front . . . ." Many of the stories about job prospects for law school grads compare current employment rates to the pre-recession rate of 2007. This comparison misrepresents the situation because employment that year represented a 24-year high of 91.9% according to NALP. I compute the 20-year average (from 1988 to 2007), as 88.7%, wh