According to the Office of Career Services, 97 percent of the students in the ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ School of Law's class of 2000 found jobs in the legal profession within six months of graduation, giving last year's class the highest employment rate of any in the history of the law school.
"These results speak volumes about the high quality of our students and faculty, as well as the dedication of our Office of Career Services," said Dean Harold Bruff.
The latest results, from the just completed "Employment Report and Salary Survey for the Class of 2000," continue a trend that began four years ago. In 1997, 89 percent of the graduating law class found work within six months, followed by 92.2 percent in 1998 and 94.6 percent in 1999.
Assistant Dean for Career Services, Anthony Bastone, also reports that 90 percent of the 2000 graduates who sat for the ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Bar Exam passed the exam. In addition, 13 ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ law graduates sat for the July 2000 California bar exam and all 13 passed, giving ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ a 100 percent pass rate on that exam.
The California and New York bar exams historically have been the most difficult to pass, said Bastone, "which makes our 100 percent ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Law pass rate for the Class of 2000 quite significant."
According to Bastone, no other ABA accredited law school -- in California or outside of California -- can boast a 100 percent pass rate on the California bar. The overall pass rate for the California bar exam in July 2000 was 55.3 percent. For first-time takers, ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ beat the California bar pass rate of prestigious California law schools such as Stanford (85 percent), UCLA (90 percent), Boalt Hall (94 percent) and USC (79 percent).
ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ also beat the California bar pass rate of prestigious out-of-state law schools, said Bastone. ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ graduates finished ahead of schools such as Columbia (91 percent), Cornell (78 percent), Duke (86 percent), Georgetown (78 percent), Harvard (87 percent), NYU (88 percent), University of Chicago (74 percent), University of Michigan (74 percent), University of Virginia (83 percent), University of Texas (89 percent), and Yale (96 percent).
Following is a breakdown for the class of 2000 survey.
Job Placement:
* Private practice: 46.3 percent
* Business and industry: 9.9 percent
* Government: 11.1 percent
* Judicial clerkships: 19.8 percent
* Military: 2.4 percent
* Public Interest: 6.2 percent
* Academic: 1.9 percent
* Job Category not given: 2.4 percent
Salary Data, Median Salaries:
* Private Sector: $72,000
* Business/industry: $58,000
* Government: $36,700
* Judicial clerkships: $34,080
* Military: $38,000
* Public interest: $40,000
Geographic data:
The mountain states attracted 82 percent of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥'s class of 2000 including Arizona, ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Pacific states got 11 percent of the class of 2000 law graduates including Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington.
Other geographic data may be found in the comprehensive Employment and Salary Survey available in the Office of Career Services.
For more information call (303) 492-5911, or visit their Web page at .