Key points:
- Overall employment for 2024 law grads reached 93.4%, the highest in recent history.
- White graduates’ employment rate was nearly five points higher than Black graduates’.
- Bar-passage-required job gaps widened between white and Black graduates.
- Trump administration efforts to curb DEI programs could further affect hiring trends.
The NALP’s 2024 employment report shows that 93.4% of Juris Doctor recipients were employed 10 months after graduation—a record level. Yet beneath that topline figure, racial disparities persisted. Employment for white graduates stood at 94.7%, while rates for Latino, Asian, and Black graduates were 92.3%, 92%, and 89.7%, respectively. Native American or Alaska Native graduates had the highest rate, at 94.8%.
When focusing on jobs that require bar passage—the profession’s benchmark employment category—those gaps grew wider. Eighty-six and a half percent of white graduates secured such positions, compared with 83.8% of Asian, 83.4% of Latino, 79.4% of Native American or Alaska Native, and just 74.3% of Black graduates. The gap between white and Black graduates’ bar-required employment rose to 12 percentage points, up from 11 the previous year.
NALP Executive Director Nikia Gray said the findings “provide a vital reference point for assessing how changes in employer policies and practices will affect future graduates — particularly graduates of color.”
The data arrives amid a broader political shift that could reshape diversity initiatives across the legal profession. Since his return to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has pursued an aggressive rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs across federal agencies, universities, and private employers, including law firms. According to Reuters, executive orders have targeted firms accused of discriminatory diversity policies and past political affiliations.
In March, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) warned 20 major firms that certain DEI-oriented hiring practices could violate federal law, requesting detailed employment data. Many firms have since scaled back or rebranded their diversity programs. A Reuters review found that 46 of the 50 top-grossing U.S. firms have removed or modified DEI-related language on their public websites.
While the class of 2024 benefited from strong post-pandemic hiring demand, NALP’s report suggests that market strength alone will not resolve structural inequities in the profession. With ongoing political and regulatory scrutiny of diversity initiatives, future graduates—particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds—may face an even more uneven path into the industry.
