Employment Numbers up for Third Year in a Row: University of Arizona Law Class of 2023 Breaks Record at More Than 90 Percent

For the third year in a row, recent graduates of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law have achieved record employment numbers.  

The class of 2023’s full-time, long-term, rate of employment of bar-passage required and JD advantage jobs was 90.35% (103/114), the highest ever, exceeding the class of 2022 rate of 88.3% and class of 2021 rate of 88.1%. 

The figure, which looks at employment rates ten months after graduation, also exceeds the national 2023 class rate of 85.6% reported to the American Bar Association. 

“I am thrilled for the Class of 2023 and its historically high-quality employment outcomes,” remarked Interim Assistant Dean for Career Development Leah Won. “This success is a testament to our graduates' hard work and the investment of our employer partners in the College of Law community.” 

Notably, more than half of the employment of the class of 2023 – 51% – is with a law firm. This is up ten percent from the prior year. Ten class members are employed by firms of 501 or more attorneys. 

Won highlights the individual attention to each member of the class given by the Career Development Office (CDO) before and after graduation. “We work individually with every single graduate to help them achieve their employment goals and that is borne out and supported by our employment numbers,” she said. She also noted the collaboration between the CDO and other student services, like Bar & Academic Success. 

Judicial clerkships have historically been a strong suit of University of Arizona Law graduates, and the class of 2023 is no different. The Class of 2023 reports a sold showing of six graduates in federal clerkships, as well as an increase in state judicial clerkships (10 in 2023, including four clerkships with justices on the Arizona Supreme Court, compared to eight total in 2022).  

The variety of outcomes for the class of 2023, including firms of all sizes and state and federal judicial clerkships, reflects the CDO’s breadth of experience. Counselors with employment history in public interest, firms and clerkships help them to guide students to achieve their own ideal outcomes. For example, Won noted that the CDO team hired Assistant Director Chantal Johnson in late 2023. Johnson has a strong public interest background, with years of experience as a tenants’ rights attorney in New York City.