What do our graduates do?
There were 183 students in the Colorado Law class of 2010. At graduation, as reported to US News in December 2011, our employment outcomes were:
- Employed = 105*
- Unemployed = 66
- Unknown = 12
*Six of these graduates received funding from Colorado Law through a fellowship program to participate in a post-graduate public service fellowship program. None of these six graduates held school-funded fellowships nine months after graduation.
- Employed = 151
- Unemployed = 27
- Unknown = 5
Under the current US News formula, the employment percentages are:
105 / 183 = 57.4 % employed at graduation
151 / 183 = 82.5 % employed nine months after graduation
These employment statistics will appear in the April 2012 US News law school rankings issue.
Employment Overview
At nine months, 91 percent of the 151 members of the 2010 class reporting employment have full time jobs, and 85 percent of those reporting employment secured long-term jobs (defined as a position that does not have a definite term of less than one year). 83 percent of the jobs require a law degree. An additional 11 percent have jobs in which a JD is a preferred qualification. 4 percent of the jobs are considered non-professional jobs.
Salaries
Of the 151 employed graduates from the class of 2010, 72 reported a salary. This represents 48 percent of employed graduates and 39 percent of all graduates. We do not know if the reported salary information is representative of the unreported salary information. The median salary reported was $56,000 and the mean was $70,709. 25 percent of the graduates reporting salary data earn $80,000 or more per year, and 25 percent of the graduates reporting salaries earn $50,000 or less per year. With respect to salaries, we note that our public service-focused programs, including criminal defense, are strong, and many of our alumni enthusiastically serve in offices such as the Office of the Public Defender, which currently pays less than $50,000 per year to recent law school graduates. The Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) is available for some graduates working in public service jobs, such as the Office of the Public Defender, and the program awarded an average of $7,200 to five graduates during the 2010-2011 academic year.
Employment Categories
74 of the 151 employed graduates in the class of 2010 (49%) were working for law firms in private practice nine months after graduation, and 72 percent of these law firm jobs were in law offices of 50 or fewer attorneys.
26 of the 151 employed graduates (17%) accepted judicial clerkships. Three of these were federal court clerkships, 12 were state appellate court clerkships, and 11 were state trial court clerkships. 12 percent were working for government, and another five percent were in public interest positions such as with public defender offices. Finally, 22 of the 151 employed graduates accepted positions with businesses other than law firms, including Liberty Media, Deloitte Consulting, Crocs, Zayo Group and Grooveshark.
Statistical Summary
The following charts provide more detailed information about the employment outcomes for the Colorado Law class of 2010, including the number of graduates working in the private sector versus the public sector, the employment categories in which graduates were working nine months after graduation and finally, the number of graduates working in positions that require a law degree.
In each chart, you will find information about the number of graduates who reported employment, whether that employment was long or short term (long term defined as a position that does not have a definite term of less than one year), full or part time and the relevant salary data. Salary medians, means and percentiles are based on data reported to the ABA and US News.
Note: One student who reported employment did not provide any additional information, so the number of employed students in each chart totals 150, not 151.
JD Required jobs require that the graduate pass the bar and be licensed to practice law. These jobs may be in a law firm, business, government or non-profit setting. This category also includes judicial clerks and positions that require the graduate to pass the bar after being hired.
JD Advantage jobs include those for which the employer sought an individual with a JD, and perhaps even required a JD, but the job itself does not require bar passage, an active law license or involve practicing law.
An "other professional" position is one that requires professional skills or training but in which a JD is neither required nor particularly applicable, such as accountant, teacher, business manager, nurse, etc.
A "nonprofessional" position is one that does not require any special professional skills or training.
East North Central: IL, IN, MI, OH, WI
West North Central: IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD
South Atlantic: DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV
East South Central: AL, KY, MS, TN
West South Central: AR, LA, OK, TX
Mountain: AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY
Pacific: AK, CA, HI, OR, WA
