Bar Passage Rates and Employment Statistics

Bar Passage Rates

Maryland:

  • Statewide average for first time takes: 82%
  • GW Law passage rate: 94.29%

New York:

  • Statewide average for first time takes: 86%
  • GW Law passage rate: 93.84%

Virginia:

  • Statewide average for first time takes: 81.55%
  • GW Law passage rate: 92.86%

Employment Report for 9 Months after Graduation

List of employers of GW Law graduates in 2008, 2009, and 2010 [pdf]

Class of 2010  Class of 2009 Class of 2008 

Total Graduates

 512          556          529        

Employed

 484  542  514

Bar Passage Required

 417  482  464

J.D. Preferred

 40  28  21

Other Professional

 21  20  28

Non-Professional

 5  3  0

Unknown

 1  9  1
Pursuing Graduate Degree  14  4  8
Unemployed - Not Seeking  6  3  1
Unemployed - Seeking  6  6  5
Employment Status Unknown  2  1  1

Employment Types of Employed Graduates 

Class of 2010       Class of 2009 Class of 2008 

Law Firms

(216) 45%  (327) 60%         (337) 66%        

Solo

(3) 1%  (2) 1%  (1) 0% 

2-10

(27) 13%  (22) 7%  (26) 8% 

11-25

(6) 3% (7) 2%  (12) 3% 

26-50

(9) 4%  (18) 5%  (10) 3% 

51-100

(10) 5%  (12) 4%  (21) 6% 

101-250

(14) 6%  (29) 9%  (27) 8% 
251-500 (32) 15%  (57) 17%  (57) 17% 
500+ (102) 47%  (170) 52%  (183) 54% 
Unknown (13) 6%  (10) 3%  (0) 0% 
Business & Industry (69) 14%  (41) 8%  (35) 7% 
Government (105) 21%  (71) 13%  (60) 12% 
Public Interest (23) 5%  (24) 4%  (21) 4% 
Clerkship  (42) 9%  (34) 6%  (49) 9% 
Federal  (27) 64%  (22) 65%  (23) 49% 
State & Local  (15) 36%   (12) 35% (24) 50% 
Other  --  --  (2) 1% 
Academia  (28) 6%  (32) 6%  (11) 2% 
Other/Unknown  (1) 0%  (13) 2%  (1) 0% 

Geographic Distribution of Graduates 9 Months Out

Class 
of 2010 
Class of 2009 Class
of 2008
 

Northeast (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)

3% 3%         3%     

Mid-Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA)

17% 16% 17%

East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)

2% 3%  3% 

West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, SD, ND)

1% 1% 0%

South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, ME, NC, SC, VA, WV)

65%  63% 65% 

East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN)

0% 1%  1%

West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX)

1% 1%  1%
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) 3% 3% 2%
Pacific (AK, CA, WA, HI, OR) 6% 8% 7%
Foreign 2% 0% 1%

Most Popular Employment Locations

Class of 2010  Class of 2009 Class of 2008 

Washington, DC

(219) 45%       (251) 46%         (248) 48%        

New York

 (65) 13% (70) 13% (63) 12%

California

(23) 5% (32) 6% (31) 6%

Full-time Salaries of Employed Graduates

 

Class of 2010

 Class of 2009

Class of 2008

Total Employed Graduates

484

542

514

Number of Salaries Reported

188

325

359 

25th Percentile 

$80,500

$125,000

$123,750

Median

$160,000

$160,000

$160,000 

75th Percentile

$160,000

$160,000 

$160,000

Mean

$127,567

$136,995 

$136,643 

Judicial Clerk

 

 

25th Percentile

$45,000 $48,000

$50,972 

Median 

$50,384 $54,494

$55,000

75th Percentile

$60,500 $60,000

$56,750 

Mean  $53,117  $54,418  $49,384 
Private Practice       
25th Percentile $145,000  $160,000  $145,000 
Median $160,000  $160,000  $160,000 
75th Percentile $160,000  $160,000  $160,000 
Mean  $147,589  $150,818  $151,910 
Government      
25th Percentile  $60,000  $50,000  $55,000 
Median  $63,734  $71,000  $58,000 
75th Percentile  $75,661  $90,000  $74,625 
Mean  $72,146  $71,044  $67,447 
Public Interest*      
25th Percentile    $40,000  $27,750 
Median    $40,000  $37,250 
75th Percentile    $40,000  $44,375 
Mean    $40,000  $34,875 

First Post-Clerkship Job Choices

Class of 2010  Class of 2009 Class of 2008 

Law Firm

87.5%      81%         83.3%        

Government

12.5% 9.5% 14.3%

Public Interest

0% 4.8% 2.4%
Academia  0% 0%  0% 
Business & Industry  0% 4.8%  0% 

Please note: Employment and salary information is taken from a variety of sources, including: student self-reporting, alumni surveys, employer information, published salary data, and electronic resources.

*In 2009, only one salary of $40,000 was reported for public interest. In 2010, no public interest salaries were reported.


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