A record 92% of Seattle University School of Law’s Class of 2024 students found employment in the 10-month period after graduation, according to data recently released by the American Bar Association. It is the highest rate ever in the history of the law school, and represents a 4% increase compared to last year, when Seattle U Law was named a national Employment Leader by the National Jurist’s preLaw Magazine.
“This phenomenal rate shows that we as a law school are doing an excellent job of educating and preparing our students to become practice ready lawyers immediately after graduation,” said Dean Anthony E. Varona. “Both in the region and around the country, they are serving as leaders in law and outstanding members of the legal profession.”
The percentage of employed graduates holding roles that require bar exam passage also jumped significantly, by 9 percentage points, to 87%. Another 9% hold JD-advantage jobs, positions in which it is helpful to have the knowledge and expertise gained in law school. Seattle U Law came in ahead of the national average for the overall employment rate (which includes graduates in bar-required and JD-advantage jobs).
Staff at the law school’s Center for Professional Development (CPD) gather this information by personally contacting each of the nearly 200 graduates in the months following Commencement, which is a time-consuming process. Matt Etter, assistant dean for CPD, noted that he and his colleagues started enlisting faculty to help much earlier this year, as they tend to stay in contact with their former students.
Seattle U Law’s preLaw ranking last fall — placing in the top 25 law schools nationwide for employment — came after the school’s employment rate grew nearly 10% between the periods of 2017-2019 and 2021- 2023.
CPD has implemented several new events for students and recent graduates in the past few years that have contributed to rising employment rates, especially during the busy legal hiring seasons of fall and winter, so that students can meet with potential employers after receiving their summer bar results. The new programming includes on-campus interviews with employers, panels with alumni discussing legal job opportunities, and more. Read more about CPD’s new initiatives here.