The 11 Law Schools With The Worst Employment Rates

Melissa Stanger
law school graduates

Photo: maveric2003 at www.flickr.com

Just 85.6 per cent of law students who earned a law degree in 2011 were employed nine months later. It’s the lowest rate of employment since 1994.For those graduates lucky enough to find themselves employed, only 55 per cent of them secured “full-time, long-term jobs” that require a law degree.

And yet the law schools keep churning out students …

We’ve identified some of the schools with the highest rates of unemployment and underemployment, based on data from the Wall Street Journal. We also looked at the percentage of students who passed the bar exam the first time and compared it to the average state bar passage rates.

Click here to see the schools >
This is part of our comprehensive ranking of The Best Law Schools in America.

#11 Western New England University School of Law, Springfield, Mass.

Unemployed, seeking employment: 20.92%

Employed in jobs requiring a JD: 30%

Passed the bar exam the first time: 66%

Average State Bar Passage Rate: 88%

Tuition: $38,116

Methodology: Tuition represented does not include the cost of living. The employment statistics represent law students from the graduating classes of 2011 nine months after graduation. Data was collected from the Wall Street Journal and the American Bar Association/Law School Admissions Council.

#10 University of Oregon School of Law, Eugene, Ore.

Unemployed, seeking employment: 21.26%

Employed in jobs requiring a JD: 41%

Passed the bar exam the first time: 75%

Average State Bar Passage Rate: 75%

Tuition: $28,348 for Oregon residents; $35,368 for non-residents

Methodology: Tuition represented does not include the cost of living. The employment statistics represent law students from the graduating classes of 2011 nine months after graduation. Data was collected from the Wall Street Journal and the American Bar Association/Law School Admissions Council.

#9 Pepperdine University School of Law, Malibu, Calif.

Unemployed, seeking employment: 23.14%

Employed in jobs requiring a JD: 43%

Passed the bar exam the first time: 87%

Average State Bar Passage Rate: 72%

Tuition: $44,920

Methodology: Tuition represented does not include the cost of living. The employment statistics represent law students from the graduating classes of 2011 nine months after graduation. Data was collected from the Wall Street Journal and the American Bar Association/Law School Admissions Council.

#8 Villanova University School of Law, Villanova, Penn.

Unemployed, seeking employment: 23.41%

Employed in jobs requiring a JD: 52%

Passed the bar exam the first time: 89%

Average State Bar Passage Rate: 83%

Tuition: $38,910

Methodology: Tuition represented does not include the cost of living. The employment statistics represent law students from the graduating classes of 2011 nine months after graduation. Data was collected from the Wall Street Journal and the American Bar Association/Law School Admissions Council.

#7 Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn, New York

Unemployed, seeking employment: 23.74%

Employed in jobs requiring a JD: 47%

Passed the bar exam the first time: 89%

Average State Bar Passage Rate: 85%

Tuition: $49,976

Methodology: Tuition represented does not include the cost of living. The employment statistics represent law students from the graduating classes of 2011 nine months after graduation. Data was collected from the Wall Street Journal and the American Bar Association/Law School Admissions Council.

#6 University of Maine School of Law, Portland, Maine

Unemployed, seeking employment: 25.56%

Employed in jobs requiring a JD: 42%

Passed the bar exam the first time: 87%

Average State Bar Passage Rate: 89%

Tuition: $22,290 for Maine residents, $33,360 for non-residents

Methodology: Tuition represented does not include the cost of living. The employment statistics represent law students from the graduating classes of 2011 nine months after graduation. Data was collected from the Wall Street Journal and the American Bar Association/Law School Admissions Council.

#5 Liberty University School of Law, Lynchburg, Va.

Unemployed, seeking employment: 26.67%

Employed in jobs requiring a JD: 31%

Passed the bar exam the first time: 71%

Average State Bar Passage Rate: 80%

Tuition: $30,396

Methodology: Tuition represented does not include the cost of living. The employment statistics represent law students from the graduating classes of 2011 nine months after graduation. Data was collected from the Wall Street Journal and the American Bar Association/Law School Admissions Council.

#4 Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, Calif.

Unemployed, seeking employment: 31.36%

Employed in jobs requiring a JD: 27%

Passed the bar exam the first time: 55%

Average State Bar Passage Rate: 72%

Tuition: $42,000

Methodology: Tuition represented does not include the cost of living. The employment statistics represent law students from the graduating classes of 2011 nine months after graduation. Data was collected from the Wall Street Journal and the American Bar Association/Law School Admissions Council.

#3 Barry University's Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law, Orlando, Fla.

Unemployed, seeking employment: 32.06%

Employed in jobs requiring a JD: 39%

Passed the bar exam the first time: 74%

Average State Bar Passage Rate: 78%

Tuition: $34,300

Methodology: Tuition represented does not include the cost of living. The employment statistics represent law students from the graduating classes of 2011 nine months after graduation. Data was collected from the Wall Street Journal and the American Bar Association/Law School Admissions Council.

#2 University of La Verne College of Law, Ontario, Calif.

Unemployed, seeking employment: 33.62%

Employed in jobs requiring a JD: 33%

Passed the bar exam the first time: 53%

Average State Bar Passage Rate: 72%

Tuition: $39,900

Methodology: Tuition represented does not include the cost of living. The employment statistics represent law students from the graduating classes of 2011 nine months after graduation. Data was collected from the Wall Street Journal and the American Bar Association/Law School Admissions Council.

#1 Whittier Law School, Costa Mesa, Calif.

Unemployed, seeking employment: 40.65%

Employed in jobs requiring a JD: 17%

Passed the bar exam the first time: 53%

Average State Bar Passage Rate: 72%

Tuition: $40,310

Methodology: Tuition represented does not include the cost of living. The employment statistics represent law students from the graduating classes of 2011 nine months after graduation. Data was collected from the Wall Street Journal and the American Bar Association/Law School Admissions Council.

Want more on law schools?

These are the 10 Most Expensive Law Schools in the U.S. >
Here are 10 great and affordable law schools >
See our definitive list of The 50 Best Law Schools In America >

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