This is the fourth time in five years the university has beaten out contemporaries like Harvard
For the fourth time in five years, the University of Chicago Law School has sent the highest number of 2024 graduates into federal clerkships compared to big-name contemporaries like Yale and Harvard, reported Reuters.
As per law school employment data obtained from the American Bar Association, over 28 percent of 2024 University of Chicago juris doctor graduates wound up clerking for federal judges. Yale Law School came in second, with slightly over 26 percent of its graduates netting such clerkships.
Harvard Law School sent a little over 18 percent of its graduates into federal clerkships, while Stanford Law School sent 17.59 percent. The University of Notre Dame Law School sent 17.11 percent.
Harvard sent 112 JDs out of a class of 622 into federal clerkships – almost double the number from 2023. University of Chicago had 199 in its 2024 graduating class while Yale had 215.
Federal clerks help judges with tasks like research and drafting opinions. These clerkships are regarded as prestigious positions for law graduates, according to Reuters; credentials gained from the year-long assignments aid in netting judgeships and law professorships. As per the ABA, only 3.36 percent of 2024 JD graduates become federal clerks – thus, 38,937 graduates battled for 1,310 clerkships.
In January, the Trump administration either terminated or halted over 2,000 law student internships and entry-level lawyer positions at the US justice department and other federal agencies. Nonetheless, these actions did not extend to the federal judiciary or federal clerkships.
While it came in ninth when it came to sending graduates into federal clerkships, Duke Law School topped the list when it came to most graduates sent into full-time law jobs in 2024, according to the ABA. Almost 98 percent of Duke’s 2024 JD graduates transitioned into roles that required them to pass the bar exam – the highest percentage among the 195 ABA-accredited law schools in the US, Reuters reported.
Cornell Law School sent 96.43 percent of graduates into permanent legal roles, while Baylor University School of Law sent 95.45 percent. Washington University in St. Louis School of Law sent 95.09 percent; the University of Virginia School of Law, which led the list for two years, sent 94.65 percent.
