The NALP Foundation and NALP Release Joint Study of Law School Alumni Employment and Satisfaction for the Class of 2021

The NALP Foundation and NALP today released their 12th joint study, Law School Alumni Employment and Satisfaction, for the Class of 2021. This annual study examines recent graduates’ employment status, compensation, and mobility, and their assessment of how well their legal education prepared them for practice.

This year’s study provides key insights into the experiences of the second class to graduate into and start work in the pandemic, with additional new queries on career shifts during law school, including when and why these occurred, post-graduate mentoring, student loan forgiveness, and additional services/outreach graduates want from their law schools. The study also continues to probe alumni on the efficacy of their law school preparation in professional identity formation, and the ongoing resources they turn to for this, providing important benchmarking for schools as they develop curricula and programming responsive to the Council’s mandate.

The new data provides unique insights into the careers of this second full pandemic class three years after graduation, including:

Career Shifts During Law School: 42% of graduates reported their initial career intentions shifted during law school, with 46% of those who experienced a shift indicating it occurred during or immediately after their second year. The overall leading reasons graduates cited for their career intention shifts during law school were “my interest changed” (62%) and “compensation” (38%).

High Mobility Albeit Lower: 65% of all graduates reported having held two or more positions by this point, a decrease from 70% the prior year. For the third year in a row, only a small percentage (13%) of graduates reported they were actively seeking a new job.

Educational Debt: While remaining substantial, the average debt load decreased slightly for the second year in a row, with graduates reporting they carried an average of $88,669 of debt three years after graduation. Graduates continued to report their debt impacted their job choices and major life decisions and had a negative effect on mental health and well-being.

Increased Hybrid Schedules: Over half (57%) of employed graduates worked in a hybrid model, up slightly from last year’s 54%. The rates for graduates working hybrid models increased progressively with firm size. Among those in hybrid arrangements, 39% of graduates were required to work in the office three days per week, while roughly another third (31%) reported their organization lacked formal policies on requirements for the set number of in-office days.

Work Location’s Impact on Job Satisfaction: Overall job satisfaction was strong across all platforms (fully remote, entirely in person, and hybrid); however, graduates working hybrid schedules reported the highest satisfaction levels with their jobs.

“The study’s new data on career trajectories, in concert with the ongoing results reflecting high mobility at this early career stage, provide important insights for law schools, law firms, and other organizations as they seek to prepare, launch, and recruit and retain these newly minted attorneys,” noted NALP Foundation President & CEO Fiona Trevelyan.

This year’s study reflects data collected from 1,235 Class of 2021 alumni from 27 U.S. law schools and two Canadian law schools. Data collection took place between November 2024 and January 2025. All Council-accredited law schools were invited to participate. The NALP Foundation and NALP received a generous grant from the AccessLex Institute® to support the participation of HBCU law schools and additional law schools with significant levels of students and alumni from groups underrepresented in the legal profession.

In addition to the topics noted above, the report also contains detailed information, segmented by gender identity, race/ethnicity, and law school rank, on:

• Employment Status
• Compensation
• Career Trajectory
• Efficacy of Law School Preparation
• Experiential Education
• Key Skills for Practice
• Post-Graduate Law School Engagement

The full PDF report for U.S. and Canadian law schools is available for purchase from The NALP Foundation at www.nalpfoundation.org/bookstore.