Law Class of 2022 Employment Summary
The Class of 2022 from Washington and Lee University School of Law shows another year of strong performance in employment. The Office of Career Strategy reports that 94 percent of the Law Class of 2022 secured a long-term, full-time job that either required bar passage or for which a J.D. degree was an advantage. The overall employment rate for the class is 98.3 percent.
Law Firms
Each year a large portion of our graduating class finds employment at law firms of varying sizes, including Big Law (defined as law firms with over 500 attorneys), where 23 percent of the Class of 2022 is employed. Below are some of the Am Law 100, Am Law 200, and regionally prominent firms where our students will be working:
- Baker Botts
- Bradley
- Brown Sims
- Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
- Covington
- DLA Piper
- Eversheds Sutherland
- Holland & Knight
- Hunton Andrews Kurth
- Latham & Watkins LLP
- McGuire Woods
- Moore & Van Allen, LLC
- Nelson Mullins
- Schulte
- Sheppard Mullin
- Simpson Thacher
- Steptoe & Johnson
- Sullivan & Cromwell
- Troutman Pepper
- Vinson & Elkins LLP
- Weil Gotshal & Manges
- Williams Mullen
- Woods Rogers
Judicial Clerkships
One particular area of strength for W&L Law has always been placement in federal and state clerkships. For our Class of 2022, twenty-three members of that class are clerking in state and federal courts, including eleven in federal district courts in Virginia, New York, Maryland, Michigan, Indiana, Nevada, Louisiana, and Vermont. Two members of that class will also be clerking for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Federal Circuit. Our graduates are clerking at courts across the country, including:
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- United States Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey
- United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- United States District Court for the District of Nevada
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
- United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
- United States District Court, Eastern Virginia
- United States District Court, Maryland
- United States District Court, Western District of New York
- United States District Court, Western District of Virginia
- Court of Appeals of Virginia
- D.C. Court of Appeals
- Montana Supreme Court
- Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
- State trial courts in Virginia, Maryland, Indiana and Delaware
Government & Public Interest
Approximately 14 percent of the Class of 2022 are working for a variety of government agencies, not-for-profits, and public interest employers, including:
- disAbility Law Center of Virginia
- Immigrant Justice Corps
- Legal Aid Society of New York
- Maryland Office of the Public Defender
- Miami-Dade Public Defender
- New Mexico Public Defender
- Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York
- U.S. Army JAG Corps
- U.S. Navy JAG Corps
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Business & Industry
Lastly, members of our Class of 2022 are working for a variety of business & industry employers, including work in policy and finance:
- AAA (Auto Club Group)
- Deloitte
- Price Waterhouse
Geographic Locations
Graduates of the Class of 2022 have full-time employment in 33 states and territories. The top geographic areas for employment are:
- Virginia
- Washington D.C.
- New York
- Texas
- Maryland
Graduates also accepted employment in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia.