Recent Law School Grads Reach Historic Job, Salary Outcomes – But Future Law Grads May Be In Trouble

Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.

Graduate salary figures hit new highs. For the fifth year in a row, the national median salary increased, growing to $90,000, with the median law firm salary reaching $165,000, a 10% increase over the prior year and the ninth consecutive year that figure has increased. The Class of 2023 did indeed do well. However, even with these incredible outcomes there are suggestions in the data that the market is starting to contract and that future classes may not fare as well. In sum, the Class of 2023 graduates are likely to be the final benefactors of the talent wars.

— NALP Executive Director Nikia Gray, in comments given concerning the organization’s employment and outcomes report on the Class of 2023. The overall employment rate for the Class of 2023 was 92.6%, the highest ever recorded by NALP. The Class of 2023 also saw the lowest unemployment rate since the Class of 2007, at just 5.8%. But these good times may not continue to roll for subsequent graduating classes, cautioned Gray, likely due to the fact that the Class of 2024 is larger than its predecessor and recruiting activity among Biglaw firms recently reached an 11-year low.

Staci 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.