NALP Bulletin+
June 2024
Although most lawyers typically make the move to in-house counsel positions after several years of private practice experience, a small percentage of law graduates obtain entry-level positions directly out of law school. For the first time, this article will explore how this group compares demographically to new law graduates overall, as well as to their peers working in the business sector more broadly.
For the Class of 2022, 9.8% of employed graduates obtained jobs in the business sector, and more specifically, 2.1% obtained in-house lawyer positions (representing 21.1% of all business jobs). This equates to 666 entry-level in-house roles for the Class of 2022. Both the percentage and total number of graduates working as in-house lawyers has been fairly stable since the Class of 2016, but these figures were comparatively higher from 2013-2015, which coincided with larger graduating class sizes. (See Chart 1 and Chart 2.)
The business sector includes a wide range of positions, from non-legal related service jobs to high-level management positions taken by graduates with extensive prior work experience. Business employment also comprises a large breadth of industries, including financial institutions, accounting and consulting firms, technology companies, and retailers, among others. For the Class of 2022, about 31% of business jobs were bar admission required jobs, 48% were JD Advantage jobs, and 21% were non-legal related positions (professional and other positions). In-house lawyer positions accounted for about two-thirds (66%) of all bar admission required jobs in business.
Table 1 compares trend data by gender for all employed graduates, graduates employed in business, and those specifically working as in-house lawyers over the past decade. As women have made up an increasing share of law graduates, they have also accounted for a larger proportion of employed graduates in each of these categories. However, women have consistently been underrepresented by about four to six percentage points within the business sector since 2013, while men have been overrepresented by the same margin.
When focusing on just in-house lawyers, women account for a higher percentage of these positions compared to their employment in business overall. However, there are no further discernable patterns as in some years they are underrepresented in these positions, but in other years they are overrepresented.
A similar comparison by race/ethnicity is provided in Table 2. Graduates of color collectively have consistently made up a larger share of graduates employed in business compared to their overall representation across all employment sectors, but the differential is smaller for in-house roles. Additionally, when these data are further disaggregated by race/ethnicity there are divergences in this overall employment pattern over the past decade.
For example, Asian graduates are overrepresented within the business employment sector, but even more so within in-house roles. Black graduates are also employed in business at higher rates, but in contrast to Asian graduates, they have been underrepresented until recently within in-house roles. There are also different patterns for Latinx graduates, the only racial/ethnic group other than White graduates to regularly be underrepresented within business, although this gap is usually much smaller for in-house positions. There are no discernible business employment patterns for Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, other Pacific Islander, or multiracial graduates.
By highest level of parental education, first-generation college students (defined as graduates who do not have at least one parent/guardian with a bachelor’s degree or higher degree) are more likely to work in both the business sector, as well as in-house roles specifically. For the Class of 2022, they made up almost 28% of all graduates employed in both business and in-house positions, while they comprised about 23% of all employed graduates. In contrast, continuing-generation JD students (graduates with at least one lawyer parent) are underrepresented in both business employment and in-house lawyer positions. Other NALP data shows that continuing-gen JD students are much more likely to go into private practice employment post-graduation as compared to their first-gen college peers. (See Chart 3 and Chart 4.)
LGBTQ graduates are generally employed at lower rates in business, but especially so as in-house lawyers where they are typically underrepresented by about two to six percentage points. (See Chart 5.) In contrast, graduates identifying as having a disability have consistently been more likely to be employed in business; however, they comprise a smaller share of all in-house lawyers. (See Chart 6.)
In total, trends from the past decade demonstrate that as compared to their peers, entry-level in-house lawyers are more likely to be Asian or first-gen college students, but they are less likely to identify as LGBTQ. Additional information about graduates working within the business employment sector and as in-house lawyers specifically, is available in NALP’s Jobs & JDs: Employment and Salaries of New Law Graduates, Class of 2022 — available for purchase in the NALP Bookstore. The Class of 2023 report will be available this fall.
To learn more about entry-level in-house lawyers, watch the recording of NALP and the ACC Foundation’s May 2024 webinar on “Impactful Initiatives: Understanding and Leveraging Entry-Level Law Graduate Diversity for Effective Pipeline Building.”
Source: NALP’s Jobs & JDs, Classes of 2013-2022
Source: NALP’s Jobs & JDs, Classes of 2013-2022
Table 1. Employed Graduates by Gender, Classes of 2013-2022
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| All Employed Graduates | ||||||||||
| Men | 54.1% | 53.0% | 52.1% | 51.1% | 50.3% | 50.2% | 48.0% | 46.7% | 46.3% | 44.5% |
| Women | 45.9% | 46.9% | 47.8% | 48.7% | 49.6% | 49.6% | 51.7% | 53.1% | 53.4% | 54.9% |
| Non-binary or chose to self-identify | NC | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.6% |
| Graduates Employed in Business | ||||||||||
| Men | 58.7% | 57.4% | 55.7% | 55.5% | 55.4% | 55.5% | 54.4% | 52.9% | 51.5% | 48.5% |
| Women | 41.3% | 42.5% | 44.2% | 44.4% | 44.4% | 44.3% | 45.4% | 46.9% | 48.4% | 51.0% |
| Non-binary or chose to self-identify | NC | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.5% |
| Graduates Employed as In-House Lawyers | ||||||||||
| Men | 54.6% | 52.1% | 53.7% | 51.1% | 48.9% | 52.2% | 48.9% | 44.1% | 44.7% | 46.0% |
| Women | 45.4% | 47.9% | 46.1% | 48.9% | 51.1% | 47.6% | 50.8% | 55.9% | 55.2% | 53.6% |
| Non-binary or chose to self-identify | NC | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
Source: NALP's Employment Report and Salary Survey, Class of 2013-2022.
Note: Prior to the Class of 2020, the "Non-binary or Chose to self-identify category" was labeled as "I do not identify as Male or Female." Beginning with the Class of 2022, this category also includes graduates who selected more than one gender identity. Figures only include graduates for whom gender was reported.
NC: Not collected
Table 2. Employed Graduates by Race/Ethnicity, Classes of 2013-2022
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| All Employed Graduates | ||||||||||
| Asian | 7.8% | 8.0% | 8.0% | 8.1% | 8.7% | 8.5% | 8.2% | 8.1% | 8.5% | 8.5% |
| Black or African American | 6.3% | 6.7% | 7.4% | 7.7% | 7.8% | 8.1% | 8.1% | 7.9% | 7.2% | 7.8% |
| Latinx | 6.2% | 6.2% | 6.7% | 9.0% | 9.3% | 10.9% | 11.6% | 11.0% | 10.7% | 11.0% |
| Native American or Alaska Native | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Multiracial | 3.0% | 4.0% | 4.7% | 2.9% | 3.1% | 3.3% | 3.1% | 3.6% | 3.8% | 3.7% |
| All Graduates of Color | 24.0% | 25.6% | 27.3% | 28.3% | 29.3% | 31.2% | 31.4% | 31.2% | 30.8% | 31.6% |
| White | 76.0% | 74.4% | 72.7% | 71.7% | 70.7% | 68.8% | 68.6% | 68.8% | 69.2% | 68.4% |
| Graduates Employed in Business | ||||||||||
| Asian | 9.2% | 8.3% | 8.2% | 9.1% | 9.7% | 9.2% | 9.8% | 9.8% | 10.4% | 9.2% |
| Black or African American | 8.5% | 8.6% | 9.8% | 10.2% | 10.2% | 11.2% | 11.5% | 11.5% | 11.3% | 10.6% |
| Latinx | 5.2% | 5.4% | 5.5% | 8.0% | 8.3% | 10.6% | 11.5% | 9.2% | 9.0% | 10.2% |
| Native American or Alaska Native | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Multiracial | 2.4% | 4.4% | 4.9% | 2.8% | 3.8% | 3.3% | 2.3% | 3.6% | 3.8% | 4.4% |
| All Graduates of Color | 26.2% | 27.3% | 28.9% | 30.7% | 32.6% | 34.8% | 35.4% | 34.7% | 35.1% | 35.2% |
| White | 73.8% | 72.7% | 71.1% | 69.3% | 67.4% | 65.2% | 64.6% | 65.3% | 64.9% | 64.8% |
| Graduates Employed as In-House Lawyers | ||||||||||
| Asian | 9.8% | 10.3% | 8.4% | 11.0% | 11.3% | 10.1% | 10.9% | 10.8% | 11.7% | 11.2% |
| Black or African American | 4.7% | 5.8% | 5.0% | 5.6% | 7.6% | 6.1% | 7.9% | 8.0% | 8.3% | 8.2% |
| Latinx | 4.9% | 5.4% | 5.9% | 9.4% | 7.7% | 11.1% | 11.6% | 10.4% | 9.8% | 9.7% |
| Native American or Alaska Native | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Multiracial | 2.3% | 3.8% | 4.2% | 2.7% | 4.1% | 3.6% | 2.1% | 2.4% | 3.3% | 4.1% |
| All Graduates of Color | 22.0% | 25.9% | 23.9% | 29.4% | 31.4% | 31.2% | 32.6% | 32.0% | 33.6% | 33.5% |
| White | 78.0% | 74.1% | 76.1% | 70.6% | 68.6% | 68.8% | 67.4% | 68.0% | 66.4% | 66.5% |
Source: NALP's Employment Report and Salary Survey, Class of 2013-2022
Note: Graduates of color include Asian, Black or African American, Latinx, Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, other Pacific Islander, and multiracial graduates. Figures only include graduates for whom race/ethnicity was reported.
Note: Only includes graduates for whom highest level of parental/guardian education was reported. First-generation college students are defined as graduates who do not have at least one parent or guardian with a bachelor’s degree or higher degree. NALP first began tracking parental/guardian education data with the Class of 2020.
Source: NALP’s Employment Report and Salary Survey, Classes of 2020-2022
Note: Only includes graduates for whom highest level of parental/guardian education was reported. Continuing-generation JD students are defined as graduates who have at least one lawyer parent. NALP first began tracking parental/guardian education data with the Class of 2020.
Source: NALP’s Employment Report and Salary Survey, Classes of 2020-2022
Note: NALP began tracking this demographic item with the Class of 2014. Prior to the Class of 2020, only graduates who identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual are included in these figures.
Source: NALP’s Employment Report and Salary Survey, Classes of 2014-2022
Source: NALP’s Employment Report and Salary Survey, Classes of 2013-2022
