Insight into Cardozo Law School Career Outcomes
A significant consideration for many prospective law students is the employment outcomes and average salary for graduates of Cardozo. According to the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), 74% of Cardozo Law School graduates were employed within 10 months of graduation. Of those, a large number went on to secure full-time employment as attorneys, with 93.7% indicating they were in such positions. The remaining 6.3% were in part-time or other non-full-time positions. Of the positions secured, 61.1% of full-time positions were in the private sector, while a smaller portion was employed by the government at 13.3%. 8 . 5% of graduates went into public interest work in nonprofit organizations, and the remaining 4.7% went into academia as law professors or deans.
Cardozo Law School graduates earned a median salary of $73,238 in 2015, with the average starting compensation reaching $110,057. These numbers represent an increase of 5.1% over the previous year for median earnings, but a $2,000 decline for the average. As these figures indicate that more than half of the graduates were working in the private sector, which typically offers higher paying jobs than public sector or nonprofit employment, it is no surprise that lawyers with Cardozo training now earn salaries significantly in excess of those with only undergraduate degrees.
An Examination of Employment Statistics for Cardozo Law Graduates
For the law school class of 2016, Cardozo Law School reported that 66.5% of graduates were employed in full-time positions requiring bar admission. These figures were similar to those of neighboring law schools, such as New York Law School (68.1% of its 2016 graduates were bar-admitted) and Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center (66.9% for its 2016 graduates). Even those bar-admitted law school graduates who ended up in jobs-initiating salaries below the national average of $160,000 would have surpassed the average starting salaries of law school graduates at the nearby schools listed above (each around $80,000). Those figures, however, reflected only students who secured full-time work. Part-time jobs that did not require bar admission were available to approximately 15% of Cardozo Law graduates. Including these figures, the adjusted employment rate for the 2016 graduating class at the New York school was approximately 81%. The outcomes for the law school class of 2017 were slightly better than for 2016; the percentage of graduates finding full-time work that required bar admission increased from 66.5% to 68.7%. In general, if you are among the group of students with the top 25% of class rankings, your post-graduation job prospects should be bright. Graduates of a school with Cardozo Law clinic programs among the most prestigious in the country should expect employment at top firms, where starting salaries often meet or exceed the national average of $160,000. Those scoring within the 50-75% range should still anticipate a comfortable position. It will, however, likely be at a firm or organization where the starting salary commensurate with experience is lower than the national average. Finally, those who graduated from law school in the bottom quarter should be prepared to take lower-paying work at smaller firms or organizations, or even positions outside the field of law altogether.
Common Career Trajectories for Cardozo Law Alumni
Each academic cycle brings with it a new crop of graduates to the workforce. While the large majority of them will eschew traditional 9-to-5 jobs in favor of independent consulting positions, that doesn’t mean that every one of them found success outside of conventional career paths. Like many of their contemporaries at other law schools, numerous students will endure a minimum of two years of grueling hours and increasing deadlines, toiling under the employ of some of the most prestigious firms in the world. While this fairest of institutions sees many law students ascend to positions of the highest ranks, average law graduates can rest assured that they too will be afforded the opportunity to make a reputable career for themselves amongst the elite.
The most typical career paths for Cardozo Law alumni include those working in private practice, where about half (46%) of graduates spent five or more years as an associate. Law graduates also tend to gravitate toward public service and government (18%) along with corporate counsel (8%), as well as in private equity, management consulting, and compliance (8%), and as legal services counsel and judges (8%).
More than half (54%) of students pursuing clerkships, most often in federal courts, earned federal clerkships, with the remaining 46% working as clerks in state courts. Many students are also drawn to academia (7%), while others elect to begin solo practices (4%).
Those law graduates who have taken non-traditional routes and established themselves as independent consultants have enjoyed marginal success, with over half in good standing with their respective state bars after a decade. Although fewer than 3 in 10 alumni have gone into legal academia, many are thought leaders and leading voices at the forefront of their respective fields. More than 2 in 10 alumni from Cardozo Law also found employment in the judiciary, making Cardozo one of the top places to graduate from if you are interested in a career on the bench.
Some of the law firms that pursue CASA alumni most often include Cleary Gottlieb, Pillsbury, Simpson Thacher and Baker Hostetler, among others. A considerable number of students also find opportunities at government agencies such as the IRS, US Department of Justice, US Attorney’s Office, Equal Opportunity Commission, Federal Trade Commission, and the US Department of Labor.
Geographic Location of Cardozo Law Graduates
A significant factor in the success of a law school is the geographical mobility of its graduates. Some schools specialize in training local attorneys while others are more of a national force drawing talent from across the country.
Located in one of the largest legal markets in the world, Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law or Cardozo Law as it is commonly known, has a reputation for churning out experienced trial lawyers and business and transactional attorneys alike, having a finger on the pulse of the market.
It’s not just New York City that plays host to the majority of graduates, either. Cardozo has a diverse professional network having placed attorneys in Buckhead, Miami, Chicago, and San Francisco, among many other major cities across the United States.
Annual alumni reunions play a large role in Cardozo’s success according to Professor Amy C. Hardin. "We let [alumni] know they’re valued and supported not just at a reunion, but throughout the year," she explains. "That helps build a sense of national community because they’re aware that they are part of Cardozo’s national network."
Through Job Placement and Career Development at Cardozo, professors, advisors, and mentors help students know and choose what state they’d first like to practice. In 2018, this was their most popular state after New York with California coming up second. Texas, Florida, and Illinois rounded out the top five at 7.11%, 5.47%, and 3% respectively.
Even after graduation, Cardozo Law continues to help its graduates make their network connections and explore legal opportunities to the end.
Effects of Cardozo Law Special Program Participation on Employment
Within the highly competitive landscape of legal employment, it is fundamental for law school students to take advantage of all available programs that could facilitate their employability. Cardozo Law School has put in place a great number of initiatives, some of which are directly aimed at enhancing the skills and experience of its students in a way that fits with what law firms want from a new graduate. These include clinics and internships, in-house work as well as opportunities for volunteering and getting involved with a variety of institutions , which means that having access to a rich student life through which these skills can be developed is necessarily good news for students when it comes to employment. Cardozo Law School has been practicing these initiatives in order to get its students some benefits in terms of experience and individual development in their legal career. For law students, this means that being part of this type of academic community is good in terms of employment. The type of experience that a law school can provide simply by being a law school is very limited, therefore taking any opportunity in which the facilities, the professors and the worldwide academic relationships can be used to help its students improves the circumstances of the latter. This is the case with Cardozo Law School.
Alumni Profiles and Professional Achievements
While its bar passage and employment statistics may not be 100% of the story, each number represents a lawyer beginning the path to success. And while every job is its own success story, a number of Cardozo Law graduates have achieved accolades and started thriving careers straight out of law school.
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP is a top 20 international law firm with more than 2,200 attorneys in 14 countries. They recently appointed Marc E. Lazo as its new partner in charge of the Miami office. Lazo earned a reputation as one of the most sought-after private equity counsel in the world. He graduated from Cardozo Law in 1998, and boasts extensive international experience. The Miami Location was a natural fit for Lazo who speaks both English and Spanish.
Asia Thomas credits Cardozo Law School’s Education Discrimination Clinic for her recent position as staff attorney for the NAACP Legal & Educational Defense Fund (LDF) in New York. She began working for the organization while attending Cardozo, and was promoted shortly after graduating. She has helped file lawsuits in federal court against elite New York area universities for their handling of sexual assault allegations on campus, as well as other civil and criminal rights cases.
The New York Times reports that Molly McReynolds was recently appointed to the Queens Civil Court by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. McReynolds is a partner at Harris, Kinghorn & Breyer, and has worked in the New York legal community for nearly 20 years. She graduated from Cardozo Law in 1999, earning a full scholarship.
Support Services and Resources for Career Development
In addition to the employment statistics, Cardozo Law School offers comprehensive resources for career development. These include a dedicated Career Center which provides career counseling and coaching services to students as well as general employment services and resources for alumni. Career Counselors work one-on-one with students to help them create effective resumes, develop interviewing skills, and hone their networking abilities. This includes guidance on using social media sites such as LinkedIn and a separate guide for careers in Europe.
Career Services at Cardozo aims to facilitate and support the professional development of all members of the Law School community. Cardozo Law School offers three Career Fairs annually for law school students, alumni and employers . In 2015, 145 employers attended the summer fair, 31 attended the fall fair, and 112 employers attended the Spring Fair in February. Cardozo Career Services can also host on-campus interview sessions, and provide tips on how to find mentors through the Alumni association, and how to use alumni to help with networking.
Alongside the services offered by the Career Center, there are also opportunities for real-world experience on offer at the Law School which may be of interest to students. The Cardozo Informal Learning Program works with local law firms and nonprofits to find suitable opportunities for students to take on short-term, or internship work. Cardozo also has a dedicated Trade Secrets Institute which hosts conferences and summits and works with the private sector to offer events and training in a range of employment-related areas.