Law Schools

The Law Schools With The Most Underemployed Graduates (2020)

Working in retail after getting a law degree? You're not the only one.

By  
on

Most law students dream of passing the bar exam after graduating from law school and finding a job in the legal industry as a lawyer. They don’t dream of only being able to put the “bar” in “barista” because their law school pedigree is limiting them in the job market. They especially don’t dream of their job searches being made pointless because of an ongoing pandemic. When you’ve got up to six figures of nondischargeable debt to service after graduation, you want to know that your résumé will make it to a hiring partner’s desk — not the nearest garbage pail.

How can you be certain that the school your law degree is from won’t be a hindrance in your job search — either in good times, or especially turbulent times? Are graduates of your school capable of being hired for law jobs and putting their degrees to use, even during worldwide crises? Sadly, these questions must be asked.

Law.com produced several helpful charts based on law school employment data for the class of 2020. Today, we will highlight one of the more concerning charts, the law schools with the highest percentage of underemployed graduates. These law school graduates are either unemployed, employed in temporary or part-time work, or working in nonprofessional jobs. Here are the top 10 law schools that have helped graduates land rather underwhelming positions:

1. Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico: 66.42%
2. North Carolina Central University: 65.25%
3. Inter American University of Puerto Rico: 50.27%
4. Western State College of Law: 43.68%
5. University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth: 42.37%
6. Golden Gate University: 41.94%
7. California Western School of Law: 41.55%
8. University of Puerto Rico: 41.24%
9. Charleston School of Law: 38.25%
10. Western Michigan University: 38.17%

If you think that’s bad, then look just further down the list. There are actually 22 law schools where 30% of more of 2020 graduates are considered “underemployed” by Law.com’s methodology. It’s not a good look, even during the COVID era.

Click here to see the rest of the law schools with the highest percentage of underemployed graduates, plus other informative charts detailing the schools with the highest percentage of graduates working in Biglaw and in state and federal clerkships, as well as the schools with the most unemployed graduates.

Are you a recent law school graduate who hasn’t been able to find a full-time legal job or a job in the legal profession? What has your law school done to help? We’re interested in learning about your experiences — good or bad — and may anonymously feature some of your stories on Above the Law. You can email us, text us at (646) 820-8477, or tweet us @atlblog. Best of luck in your job search!

Sponsored

Law Grads Hiring Report: Job Stats for the Class of 2020
 [Law.com]

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Sponsored

Topics

, , ,