New law school graduates dominated the entry-level job market in 2023, achieving record-high employment rates and salaries, according to data from the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). However, NALP officials warned last week that subsequent classes are unlikely to repeat those strong numbers. The red-hot market for lawyer talent in 2022 and early 2023 has already cooled, with recent data showing law firms dialing back new associate recruiting.
NALP Executive Director Nikia Gray noted in a report released Thursday, “The Class of 2023 graduates are likely to be the final benefactors of the talent wars.” Many 2023 law graduates secured jobs in 2021 and 2022, when busy law firms competed fiercely for new associates and lateral attorney hires. In 2022, starting associate pay at many large firms rose from $205,000 to $215,000, and firms offered multiple bonuses to retain associates.
However, law firm recruiting activity hit an 11-year low this fall as firms extended fewer summer associate offers to law students amid lower demand for transactional practices, NALP reported in March. The average number of summer associate offers from law firms dropped from 28 in 2022 to 22 in 2023. Firms collectively extended 19% fewer offers to summer associates last year compared to 2022, NALP found. As a result, fewer law students recruited for summer associate jobs in 2023 will likely translate to fewer full-time positions when they graduate in 2025.
The law class of 2024 is also about 12% larger than its predecessor, meaning significantly more newly minted J.D.s are now competing for jobs. This increased competition may push down employment rates for 2024. Data on their employment rate will be available in the spring of 2025.
Among 2023 J.D. graduates, 92.6% landed jobs within 10 months of graduation, up half a percentage point from 2022 and the highest figure since NALP began tracking that statistic in 1974. More than 82% of graduates secured jobs that require bar passage. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.8%, the lowest since 2007, according to NALP.
The national median salary for new law graduates reached an all-time high of $90,000 in 2023, up from $85,000 the previous year. For graduates working in private practice, the median law firm salary jumped from $150,000 in 2022 to $165,000 in 2023.
