The Best Law Schools for BigLaw Jobs – $190,000 a year

In the wake of the great recession, there has been a ton of media coverage breathlessly declaring that law schools and, indeed, the entire legal profession, was in a state of “crisis.” And yes, there are still plenty of lousy law schools out there (I’m looking at you, Cooley), but today I want to take a look at the other end of the spectrum.

Nearly 10% of the Forbes 400 have law degrees, and at least one lawyer became a billionaire by practicing law…

And although you probably aren’t going to be the next attorney to win over $13 billion in settlements throughout your career, there are still plenty of lawyers earning a very nice salary, even as a first-year attorney.

According to NALP, 1 in 6 new graduates from the class of 2020 (6103 out of 34420 total grads) were working in lucrative BigLaw jobs.

What is Biglaw?

The term “BigLaw” is used to refer to the largest law firms in the country. For this article, let’s focus exclusively on the very largest BigLaw firms: the mega-firms that employ 251 or more attorneys.

The table below details the distribution of starting salaries for the class of 2020. BigLaw jobs are highlighted in blue.

The median BigLaw starting salary is $190,000 – which is just over THREE TIMES more than the $62,000 median starting salary at small firms of 1-10 attorneys.

Starting Salary By Firm Size

Firm Size (# of Lawyers)	Median Starting Salary
1-10	$62,000
11-25	$75,000
26-50	$83,000
51-100	$98,000
101-250	$125,000
251-500	$180,000
501+	$190,000

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Interestingly, most lawyers in private practice end up at one extreme or the other. The table & graph below illustrates just how polarized the legal market is.

The bimodal salary distribution results in two large clusters at either end of the salary/firm size spectrum, with relatively few jobs in between.

Private Practice Jobs by Firm Size

If you want to break into BigLaw, you’ve gotta go to the right school.

The table below ranks law schools strictly based on how successful the schools were at landing students jobs in BigLaw jobs or federal clerkships. I’ve included federal clerkships here since they are often even more prestigious and competitive than BigLaw jobs, which will likely be waiting for these students after their clerkship is over.

Biglaw Rank	% Biglaw	Name	# Biglaw Bound	# Total Grads	USNews Rank	City	State
1	85.71%	University of Chicago	174	203	4	Chicago	IL
2	81.54%	Columbia University	349	428	4	New York	NY
3	80.32%	University of Virginia	253	315	8	Charlottesville	VA
4	78.04%	Duke University	167	214	12	Durham	NC
5	75.90%	Cornell University	148	195	13	Ithaca	NY
6	74.81%	University of Pennsylvania	193	258	7	Philadelphia	PA
7	73.44%	Northwestern University	188	256	9	Chicago	IL
8	68.68%	Stanford University	125	182	2	Stanford	CA
9	68.42%	Harvard University	390	570	3	Cambridge	MA
10	65.06%	University of Michigan—Ann Arbor	216	332	9	Ann Arbor	MI
11	64.95%	University of California—Berkeley	215	331	9	Berkeley	CA
12	62.75%	Yale University	128	204	1	New Haven	CT
13	61.55%	New York University	293	476	6	New York	NY
14	59.19%	Georgetown University	409	691	14	Washington	DC
15	56.11%	Vanderbilt University	101	180	18	Nashville	TN
16	55.56%	University of Southern California (Gould)	105	189	18	Los Angeles	CA
17	51.92%	University of California—Los Angeles	162	312	15	Los Angeles	CA
18	50.00%	University of Texas—Austin	161	322	16	Austin	TX
19	49.79%	Washington University at St. Louis	118	237	17	St. Louis	MO
20	46.85%	Fordham University	186	397	27	New York	NY
21	44.00%	University of Notre Dame	88	200	22	Notre Dame	IN
22	41.85%	Boston University	95	227	20	Boston	MA
23	39.43%	Boston College	97	246	31	Newton	MA
24	34.43%	George Washington University	147	427	23	Washington	DC
25	31.58%	University of Iowa	42	133	27	Iowa City	IA
26	31.21%	Emory University	88	282	24	Atlanta	GA
27	31.16%	University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill	62	199	27	Chapel Hill	NC
28	30.52%	Washington and Lee University	47	154	31	Lexington	VA
29	29.37%	University of California — Irvine	42	143	27	Irvine	CA
30	28.57%	Howard University	36	126	107	Washington	DC
30	28.57%	William and Mary	52	182	31	Williamsburg	VA
32	28.19%	University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign	42	149	31	Champaign	IL
33	27.56%	University of Alabama	35	127	31	Tuscaloosa	AL
34	26.32%	Southern Methodist University (Dedman)	55	209	56	Dallas	TX
35	25.86%	University of Houston	60	232	56	Houston	TX
36	25.63%	University of Minnesota—Twin Cities	51	199	21	Minneapolis	MN
37	25.27%	University of Georgia	46	182	31	Athens	GA
38	25.00%	Wake Forest University	38	152	42	Winston-Salem	NC
39	24.18%	Indiana University—Bloomington (Maurer)	37	153	38	Bloomington	IN
40	24.04%	Ohio State University (Moritz)	50	208	38	Columbus	OH
41	21.85%	University of California—Davis	33	151	38	Davis	CA
42	21.70%	Tulane University	46	212	54	New Orleans	LA
43	21.14%	University of California (Hastings)	63	298	59	San Francisco	CA
44	20.20%	Brigham Young University (Clark)	20	99	37	Provo	UT
45	19.20%	St. John’s University	48	250	74	Queens	NY
46	19.01%	University of Pittsburgh	27	142	76	Pittsburgh	PA
47	18.87%	University of Washington	30	159	42	Seattle	WA
48	18.81%	University of Florida (Levin)	57	303	24	Gainesville	FL
49	18.52%	Yeshiva University (Cardozo)	65	351	53	New York	NY
50	18.34%	Villanova University	31	169	62	Villanova	PA
51	18.29%	Brooklyn Law School	60	328	83	Brooklyn	NY
52	17.65%	Case Western Reserve University	21	119	76	Cleveland	OH
53	17.29%	Temple University (Beasley)	37	214	56	Philadelphia	PA
54	16.77%	Seton Hall University	28	167	62	Newark	NJ
55	16.23%	Baylor University	25	154	50	Waco	TX
56	16.07%	University of Mississippi	18	112	111	University	MS
57	16.04%	University of Maryland (Carey)	30	187	47	Baltimore	MD
58	15.52%	University of Richmond (Williams)	18	116	54	University of Richmond	VA
59	15.42%	Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago-Kent)	35	227	83	Chicago	IL
60	15.41%	Loyola Marymount University	51	331	62	Los Angeles	CA
61	15.06%	American University (Washington)	58	385	76	Washington	DC
62	15.03%	George Mason University	26	173	42	Arlington	VA
63	14.85%	University of Miami	53	357	67	Coral Gables	FL
64	14.69%	University of Colorado—Boulder	26	177	46	Boulder	CO
65	14.41%	University of Tennessee—Knoxville	17	118	70	Knoxville	TN
66	14.29%	University of Arkansas—Fayetteville	16	112	90	Fayetteville	AR
66	14.29%	University of Missouri	12	84	67	Columbia	MO
68	13.99%	University of Wisconsin—Madison	20	143	38	Madison	WI
69	13.92%	Loyola University Chicago	33	237	70	Chicago	IL
70	13.73%	University of Kansas	14	102	70	Lawrence	KS
71	13.54%	Florida State University	26	192	50	Tallahassee	FL
72	13.39%	Arizona State University (O’Connor)	34	254	24	Phoenix	AZ
73	13.04%	University of Utah (Quinney)	12	92	45	Salt Lake City	UT
74	12.68%	Wayne State University	18	142	83	Detroit	MI
75	12.66%	St. Louis University	20	158	90	St. Louis	MO
76	12.50%	Northeastern University	25	200	67	Boston	MA
76	12.50%	University of San Diego	30	240	83	San Diego	CA
78	12.21%	LSU — Baton Rouge (Hebert)	21	172	96	Baton Rouge	LA
79	12.12%	Cleveland State University	12	99	102	Cleveland	OH
80	11.96%	Santa Clara University	25	209	107	Santa Clara	CA
81	11.70%	University of Cincinnati	11	94	83	Cincinnati	OH
82	11.59%	Pepperdine University	16	138	47	Malibu	CA
83	11.54%	Texas A&M University	15	130	60	Fort Worth	TX
84	11.48%	University of Missouri—Kansas City	14	122	133	Kansas City	MO
85	11.43%	West Virginia University	12	105	111	Morgantown	WV
86	11.36%	Duquesne University	15	132	129	Pittsburgh	PA
87	11.22%	Suffolk University	34	303	136	Boston	MA
88	10.81%	University of Kentucky	12	111	70	Lexington	KY
89	10.69%	Drexel University	14	131	93	Philadelphia	PA
90	10.63%	New York Law School	34	320	129	New York	NY
91	10.42%	Hofstra University (Deane)	25	240	102	Hempstead	NY
92	10.40%	University of Louisville (Brandeis)	13	125	99	Louisville	KY
93	10.31%	Catholic University of America	10	97	111	Washington	DC
94	10.00%	Albany Law School	14	140	118	Albany	NY
95	9.77%	Syracuse University	17	174	111	Syracuse	NY
96	9.48%	DePaul University	22	232	118	Chicago	IL
97	9.47%	Nova Southeastern University–Shepard Broad College of Law	18	190	151	Fort Lauderdale	FL
97	9.47%	University of Detroit Mercy School of Law	18	190	151	Detroit	MI
99	9.45%	Florida International University	12	127	90	Miami	FL
100	9.38%	Florida Coastal School of Law	6	64	151	Jacksonville	FL
101	9.34%	Seattle University	17	182	129	Seattle	WA
102	9.02%	Stetson University	23	255	105	Gulfport	FL
103	9.02%	Pennsylvania State University Park	11	122	60	University Park	PA
104	8.57%	University of Connecticut	12	140	50	Hartford	CT
105	8.51%	University of Arizona (Rogers)	8	94	47	Tucson	AZ
106	7.96%	University of South Carolina	16	201	96	Columbia	SC
107	7.92%	Rutgers—Newark	29	366	76	Newark	NJ
108	7.69%	Georgia State University	15	195	76	Atlanta	GA
109	7.46%	University of Wyoming	5	67	133	Laramie	WY
110	7.25%	University of Montana	5	69	122	Missoula	MT
111	7.14%	Samford University (Cumberland)	10	140	151	Birmingham	AL
111	7.14%	University of New Hampshire	5	70	88	Concord	NH
113	6.82%	University of Memphis (Humphreys)	6	88	141	Memphis	TN
114	6.78%	Indiana University—Indianapolis (McKinney)	16	236	122	Indianapolis	IN
115	6.56%	University of Nebraska—Lincoln	8	122	76	Lincoln	NE
116	6.49%	Regent University School of Law	5	77	151	Virginia Beach	VA
117	6.47%	Lewis & Clark College (Northwestern)	11	170	93	Portland	OR
118	6.45%	University of San Francisco	8	124	151	San Francisco	CA
119	6.42%	Capital University Law School	7	109	151	Columbus	OH
120	6.32%	Drake University	6	95	105	Des Moines	IA
121	6.30%	Texas Tech University	8	127	111	Lubbock	TX
122	6.25%	Michigan State University	15	240	93	East Lansing	MI
123	5.93%	John Marshall Law School	14	236	140	Chicago	IL
124	5.92%	South Texas College of Law	17	287	151	Houston	TX
125	5.91%	University of Denver (Sturm)	13	220	74	Denver	CO
126	5.33%	Loyola University New Orleans	9	169	126	New Orleans	LA
127	5.26%	Ave Maria School of Law	4	76	151	Naples	FL
127	5.26%	Texas Southern University–Thurgood Marshall	11	209	151	Houston	TX
129	5.00%	Mercer University (George)	6	120	126	Macon	GA
130	4.85%	Florida A&M University College of Law	8	165	151	Orlando	FL
131	4.84%	University of Nevada—Las Vegas	6	124	62	Las Vegas	NV
132	4.79%	SUNY Buffalo Law School	7	146	99	Buffalo	NY
133	4.65%	Marquette University	8	172	102	Milwaukee	WI
134	4.48%	University of North Dakota	3	67	151	Grand Forks	ND
135	4.42%	Pace University	8	181	136	White Plains	NY
136	4.35%	University of St. Thomas	6	138	118	Minneapolis	MN
137	4.11%	Penn State Dickinson	3	73	62	Carlisle	PA
138	4.03%	University of Oklahoma	6	149	76	Norman	OK
139	4.00%	Belmont University College of Law	4	100	151	Nashville	TN
140	3.95%	University of Akron	6	152	141	Akron	OH
141	3.92%	New England Law— Boston	6	153	151	Boston	MA
141	3.92%	University of South Dakota	2	51	141	Vermillion	SD
143	3.86%	California Western School of Law	8	207	151	San Diego	CA
144	3.85%	Gonzaga University	4	104	118	Spokane	WA
144	3.85%	University of the District of Columbia	3	78	151	Washington	DC
146	3.83%	Barry University	7	183	151	Orlando	FL
147	3.57%	St. Mary’s University	8	224	151	San Antonio	TX
148	3.39%	University of Massachusetts–Dartmouth	2	59	151	North Dartmouth	MA
149	3.33%	Southern University Law Center	5	150	151	Baton Rouge	LA
150	3.23%	University of Toledo	3	93	136	Toledo	OH
151	3.08%	University of Oregon	4	130	88	Eugene	OR
152	3.06%	Washburn University	3	98	107	Topeka	KS
153	3.05%	University of Baltimore	5	164	126	Baltimore	MD
154	2.86%	Southwestern Law School	6	210	151	Los Angeles	CA
155	2.65%	University of Arkansas—Little Rock (Bowen)	3	113	151	Little Rock	AR
156	2.63%	University of Maine	2	76	122	Portland	ME
157	2.59%	Northern Kentucky University	3	116	151	Highland Heights	KY
158	2.34%	Quinnipiac University	3	128	122	Hamden	CT
159	2.10%	Vermont Law School	3	143	141	South Royalton	VT
160	2.09%	Mitchell Hamline	7	335	141	St. Paul	MN
161	2.08%	Creighton University	2	96	133	Omaha	NE
162	2.02%	Widener University Commonwealth	2	99	151	Harrisburg	PA
163	2.00%	Ohio Northern University (Pettit)	1	50	151	Ada	OH
164	1.94%	Chapman University (Fowler)	3	155	111	Orange	CA
165	1.80%	Mississippi College School of Law	2	111	151	Jackson	MS
166	1.69%	North Carolina Central University School of Law	2	118	151	Durham	NC
167	1.65%	University of New Mexico	2	121	99	Albuquerque	NM
168	1.61%	Golden Gate University School of Law	2	124	151	San Francisco	CA
169	1.55%	University of the Pacific (McGeorge)	2	129	151	Sacramento	CA
170	1.49%	Touro College–Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center	2	134	151	Central Islip	NY
171	1.43%	Campbell University	2	140	151	Raleigh	NC
171	1.43%	University of Dayton	1	70	141	Dayton	OH
173	1.30%	Widener University Delaware	2	154	151	Wilmington	DE
174	1.25%	Northern Illinois University College of Law	1	80	151	DeKalb	IL
175	1.23%	Lincoln Memorial University	1	81	151	Knoxville	TN
176	1.09%	University of Tulsa	1	92	111	Tulsa	OK
177	1.02%	University of Idaho	1	98	136	Moscow	ID
178	0.99%	Southern Illinois University Carbondale	1	101	151	Carbondale	IL
179	0.93%	Elon University School of Law	1	108	151	Greensboro	NC
179	0.93%	Willamette University (Collins)	1	108	141	Salem	OR
181	0.84%	Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School	1	119	151	Atlanta	GA
182	0.80%	Oklahoma City University	1	125	151	Oklahoma City	OK
183	0.75%	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, School of Law	1	134	151	Ponce	PR
184	0.68%	CUNY	1	147	107	Long Island City	NY
185	0.56%	University of Puerto Rico	1	177	151	San Juan	PR
186	0.00%	Appalachian School of Law	0	52	151	Grundy	VA
186	0.00%	Charleston School of Law	0	217	151	Charleston	SC
186	0.00%	Faulkner University	0	52	151	Montgomery	AL
186	0.00%	Inter American University School of Law	0	183	151	San Juan	PR
186	0.00%	Liberty University School of Law	0	57	151	Lynchburg	VA
186	0.00%	Roger Williams University School of Law	0	142	151	Bristol	RI
186	0.00%	University of Hawaii—Manoa (Richardson)	0	94	96	Honolulu	HI
186	0.00%	Western Michigan University (Cooley)	0	317	151	Lansing	MI
186	0.00%	Western New England University	0	88	151	Springfield	MA
186	0.00%	Western State College of Law at Argosy	0	87	151	Irvine	CA

My alma mater, UChicago, tops the chart at #1 with an impressive 88% of the class of 2020 working in BigLaw.

The drop-off is pretty sharp as we make our way down the rankings, however. Only 18 law schools send at least half of their class into BigLaw jobs, and fewer than 40 schools send more than 25% of their class into BigLaw jobs.

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Most attorneys practice law because it gives them a grand and glorious feeling. You give them a grand – and they feel glorious.

MILTON BERLE 

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