What Yale Law School Grads Make In Their First Jobs

What can you expect to make if you were fortunate enough to get into Yale Law School, consistently the top school in U.S. News’ rankings? Salaries for Yale Law graduates vary widely depending on career path.

Salary Overview

The average pay for a JD from Yale was $115,160 in 2016, an 8.4% increase from the previous year’s average of $106,211. The median starting pay was $70,000, up slightly from $68,665 in 2015.

Pay by Career Path

• Private Practice: The highest starting salaries went to graduates entering private practice. For the Class of 2016, the median starting salary was $180,000, up $20,000 from the previous year’s median of $160,000. The average private practice salary was $175,947, up from $157,663. These figures are consistent across top law schools like Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Chicago, and UPenn.
• Judicial Clerkships: Graduates entering judicial clerkships earned a median salary of $64,562.
• Government or Public Interest: Median pay for these roles was $53,500 (public interest roles reported a median of $45,000).
• Academic Positions: Starting pay for graduates entering academia was a median of $47,000.

The Yale employment report was based on data from 194 employed graduates, with 187 providing salary information.