Law Schools

The Top Law Schools For Government And Public Interest Work

The law schools that will help graduates fight for justice in America.

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Every year, tens of thousands of students enroll in law school, each with a dream in their hearts of saving the world. Whatever their public-interest cause may be, only a select few will go on to accept a position that goes hand-in-hand with their do-gooder career goals.

Some law schools are better than others when it comes to getting their graduates a leg up on the competition for one of these coveted jobs. The American Bar Association recently released new employment data for the Class of 2023, and thanks to an analysis made by Reuters, we now know which law schools sent the highest percentage of graduates into government and public interest work.

Altogether, 11.1% of the class of 2023 went into government jobs (e.g., positions with local, state, and federal entities as well as the military), and 8.9% found public interest roles (e.g., those working as public defenders, on behalf of labor unions, or in Legal Services Corp.-funded jobs).

If you’re a service-minded future lawyer, these are the employment statistics you need to see. Here are the top 10 (technically 11 thanks to a tie) law schools on the list:

1. CUNY: 55.34%
2. UDC: 43.75%
3. Albany: 36.36%
4. Northern Kentucky: 34.58%
5. Buffalo: 33.12%
6. Florida A&M: 33.04%
7. Cincinnati: 32.28%
8. UC Davis: 32.02%
8. Wisconsin: 32.02%
9. Penn State Dickinson: 32.00%
10. Creighton: 31.97%

You can access the full list by clicking here.

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Congratulations to all of these schools on helping their graduates secure public service jobs. Check back with us next year to see if CUNY is able to maintain its place as a pipeline to public interest work.

For government and public interest jobs, these law schools are tops [Reuters]

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 X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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