In April 2020, Colorado Law reported post-graduation employment data for its class of 2019 to the American Bar Association (ABA) and the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). A detailed description of the employment outcomes and salaries for the class of 2019 as of ten months after graduation, March 16, 2020, appears below.

You may view the class of 2019 ABA Employment Summary听here听and the class of 2019 NALP Employment Report听here.

How Many Graduates from the Class of 2019听Are Employed?

Consistent with transparency in reporting, we calculate overall employment percentages by dividing the number of employed graduates by the total number of graduates.

  • 91% (142/156) of graduates reported employment ten months after graduation (March 16, 2020)
    • 85% (132/156) of graduates reported a full-time, long-term (defined as a position that does not have a definite term of less than one year), non-school funded听job for which bar passage was required or a JD degree was an advantage.
    • 80% (124/156) of graduates reported a full-time, long-term, non-school funded听job for which bar passage was required.
    • 87% (135/156) reported full time jobs. This represents 95% of employed graduates.
    • 86% (134/156) reported long-term jobs.听This represents 94% of employed graduates.
  • 72% (112/156) of graduates reported employment at graduation.

Class of 2019 graduates ten months after graduation

  • Employed = 142*
  • Pursuing additional degree = 2
  • Working as volunteer = 2
  • Unemployed and seeking employment = 2
  • Unemployed and not seeking employment = 4
  • Unknown = 4

* Two of the 142 employed graduates are receiving funding from Colorado Law's post-graduate fellowship program for work with judges.

U.S. News Employment Statistics

On March 17, 2020 U.S. News & World Report released its current law school rankings, which include employment statistics from the class of 2018. For both the 鈥渆mployed at graduation鈥� and 鈥渆mployed ten months after graduation鈥� categories, U.S. News gives maximum weight only to those graduates with full-time jobs that last at least one year for which bar passage was required, or a JD degree was an advantage, and which are not funded by the law school or university.

Employment statistics utilizing the U.S. News formula听at graduation:

  • 62.8% (98/156) for the class of 2019
    • 58.5% for the class of 2018
    • 53.6% for the class of 2017
    • 52.2% for the class of 2016
    • 53.5% for the class of 2015

Employment statistics utilizing the U.S. News formula听ten months after graduation:

  • 84.6% (132/156) for the class of 2019
    • 85.0% for the class of 2018
    • 83.9% for the class of 2017
    • 73.4% for the class of 2016
    • 81.1% for the class of 2015

Employment Categories

  • 42%听(60/142) of employed graduates are working in听law firms:
    • 93% (56/60) of these graduates are in full-time, long-term positions for which bar passage is required.
    • 25 of those 60 grads reported employment at a National Law Journal 500 law firm ten months after graduation, while six additional grads will join an NLJ 500 firm after their judicial clerkships.听These 31 graduates account for听22%听of all employed 2019 graduates, compared to 14% for class of 2018 graduates, 16% for class of 2017 graduates, and 17% for class of 2016 graduates.
  • 20%听(28/142) of employed graduates are working in听government:
    • 93% of these graduates are working in full-time positions for which bar passage was required, or a JD degree was an advantage.
  • 20%听(28/142) of employed graduates are working in听judicial clerkships:
    • Six are in federal court clerkships, 9 are in state appellate court clerkships, and 13 are in state trial court clerkships.
  • 9%听(13/142) of employed graduates are working in听business:
    • Nine of these graduates are in full-time jobs that last at least one year for which bar passage was required, or a JD degree was an advantage.
    • These businesses include BellCo Credit Union, Life Time Fitness, Medtronic, Molson Coors, and Woodward.
  • 8%听(11/142) of employed graduates are working in听public interest:
    • Seven of these graduates are working for the Colorado State Public Defender.
  • 1%听(2/142) of employed graduates are working in Law School-funded听fellowships with judges.

Salaries

  • 95% (135/142) of all employed graduates reported a salary:
    • These salaries represent 131 long-term jobs and 4 short-term jobs.
  • The median salary was $67,956 and the mean was $83,560.
  • The private practice (law firm) mean salary was $111,632, the private sector mean salary was $106,462, and the public sector mean salary was $60,300.
  • Twenty-five percent of the graduates reporting salaries earn $105,000 or more per year.
  • Twenty-five percent of the graduates reporting salaries earn $59,208 or less per year.

To maintain consistency with the 2019 NALP employment report, we report only salaries from full-time, long-term positions held by members of the class of 2019 as of March 16, 2020.听We received salaries from 98% of graduates employed in full-time, long-term positions (130/133).

With respect to salaries, our public service-focused programs, including criminal defense, are strong. The听Loan Repayment Assistance Program听(LRAP) is available for many graduates working in public service jobs, and the program awarded 61 qualified applicants with $5,500 awards for the 2019 award year.

Salary Summary by Employment Sector

Sector # of grads FT/LT FT/ST PT/LT PT/ST % FT/LT w/ Salary Median Mean 25th Percentile 75th Percentile
Private Sector 73 68 0 1 4 97% $102,000 $106,462 $70,000 $130,000
笔耻产濒颈肠听厂别肠迟辞谤 69 65 2 0 2 98% $60,000 $60,300 $49,646 $67,239

Salary Summary by Employment Category

Category # of grads FT/LT FT/ST PT/LT PT/ST % FT/LT w/ Salary Median Mean 25th Percentile 75th Percentile
Law Firms 60 58 0 1 1 97% $110,000 $111,632 $76,000 $140,000
Judicial Clerk 30 28 1 0 1 100% $59,208 $57,948 $49,584 $62,641
Government 28 26 1 0 1 96% $61,500 $62,597 $50,000 $70,000
Business 13 10 0 0 3 100% $78,000 $78,028 $71,250 $83,750
Public Interest 11 11 0 0 0 100% $64,260 $59,893 $64,260 $64,260
Academic 0 - - - - - - - - -

Salary Summary by Employment Type

Type # of grads FT/LT FT/ST PT/LT FT/ST % FT/LT w/ Salary Median Mean 25th Percentile 75th Percentile
Bar Required 127 124 1 1 1 98% $69,000 $85,266 $59,502 $110,000
JD Advantage 12 8 1 0 3 100% $49,400 $52,788 $45,526 $60,980
Other Professional 2 1 0 0 1 100% - - - -
Non-Professional 1 - - 听 - - - - - -

Bar Admission Required/Anticipated: This job requires the graduate to pass the bar, before or after being hired, and be licensed to practice law. These jobs may be in a law firm, business, government, non-profit setting, or judicial clerk.

JD Advantage: This job does not require bar passage, an active law license, or involve practicing law, but your JD provides a demonstrable advantage in obtaining or performing the job. Examples of this job type are varied and numerous.

Other Professional: This job requires professional skills or training but a JD is neither required nor particularly applicable. Examples include teachers of non-law topics, real estate agents, performing arts specialists, doctors, nurses, engineers, or architects.

Non-Professional: This job does not require any professional skills or training such as a barista, server, or hairstylist.

Employment Summary by Location

Of the 116 graduates reporting employment in the Mountain region, 112 are employed in Colorado. This represents 78% of employed graduates.

Region # Student Reported % of Reported
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) 1 0.7%
Mid-Atlantic (NJ, NY, PA) 2 1.4%
North East Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) 2 1.4%
North West Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) 1 0.7%
South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) 8 5.7%
South East Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) 1 0.7%
South West Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) 2 1.4%
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, UT, WY) 116 81.7%
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) 6 4.2%
Foreign 3 2.1%
Unknown 0 -

Timing of Post-grad Jobs

The timing of Colorado Law students accepting post-graduate employment has followed a distinct pattern over the last five years. By spring break, one-third or more of students had reported a post-graduate position. By graduation, at least one half of graduates were employed. While some graduates found positions over the summer, it was more common for graduates to report accepting jobs in September and October. By mid-December (seven months after graduation), approximately 90 percent of our graduates had found jobs.

April 1, 2019 54%
April 15 56%
May 1 69%
May 15 72%
June 1 74%
June 15 76%
July 1 79%
July 15 79%
August 1 79%
August 15 81%
September 1 83%
September 15 85%
October 1 86%
October 15 87%
November 1 88%
November 15 88%
December 1 91%
December 15 91%
January 1, 2020 92%
January 15 92%
February 1 93%
February 15 93%
March 1 92%
March 15 91%

Post-Graduate Employers of the Colorado Law Class of 2019

Duplicate employers have been removed. Out of state employers have been marked. Any employers whose name could in some way identify a graduate have also been removed.

  • 12th Judicial District Attorney's Office
  • 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office
  • 18th Judicial District Court
  • 1st Judicial District Attorney's Office
  • 1st Judicial District Court
  • 20th Judicial District Court
  • 2nd Judicial District Attorney's Office
  • 2nd Judicial District Court
  • 2nd Judicial District Court (NV)
  • 4th Judicial District Court
  • 8th Judicial District Court
  • 8th Judicial District Court
  • Advocates for Children
  • Alaska State District Court (AK)
  • Anchorage Superior Court (AK)
  • Armstrong Teasdale
  • Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
  • Baker Botts L.L.P. (CA)
  • Bellco Credit Union
  • Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti, LLP
  • Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
  • Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
  • Canna Advisors
  • Catchpoint Systems (NY)
  • Chilean Embassy to the Unites States (Chile)
  • Chipman Glasser
  • City of Philadelphia, Office of the District Attorney (PA)
  • Clarion Associates
  • Colorado Attorney General's Office
  • Colorado Civil Rights Division
  • Colorado Court of Appeals
  • Colorado Department of Education
  • Colorado Department of Labor & Employment
  • Colorado Office of the Attorney General
  • Colorado State Public Defender's Office
  • Colorado Supreme Court
  • Cooley LLP
  • Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP
  • Day Carter & Murphy LLP (CA)
  • Dentons US LLP
  • Denver City Attorney's Office
  • DLA Piper (TX)
  • Faegre Baker Daniels LLP
  • Federal Communications Commission (DC)
  • Fortis Law Partners LLC
  • Fox Rothschild LLP
  • Gordon Rees Scully Mansuhkani, LLP
  • Haight Law
  • Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman, P.C.
  • Holland & Hart LLP
  • Hoskin Farina & Kampf, PC
  • Icenogle Seaver Pogue, P.C.
  • Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe, PC
  • Jackson Lewis P.C.
  • Johnson, Brennan & Klein, PLLC
  • Joseph & Hall P.C.
  • Katrina S. Jones, P.C.
  • Katz, Look & Onorato, P.C.
  • Keller Law LLC
  • Kids in Need of Defense (TX)
  • Killmer, Lane & Newman, LLP
  • Kutak Rock LLP
  • Legal Aid of Wyoming (WY)
  • Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie (CA)
  • Life Time Fitness
  • McKinley Law Group LLC
  • Medtronic
  • Merchant & Gould
  • Messner Reeves LLP
  • Milgrom & Daskam
  • Molson Coors
  • Montrose County Attorney
  • Moses Wittemeyer
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory
  • Nixon Shefrin Hensen Ogburn, P.C.
  • Office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge
  • Otten, Johnson, Robinson, Neff + Ragonetti, P.C.
  • Polansky Law Firm
  • Rosette, LLP (MI)
  • Senn Visciano Canges PC
  • Sheridan Ross P.C.
  • Sierra Club
  • Snell & Wilmer
  • Somach Simmons & Dunn
  • Squire Patton Boggs LLP
  • SRS Acquiom
  • SSRE, Inc.
  • Stinson Leonard Street
  • The Law Firm of Haden & Colbert (MO)
  • Timberline Law LLC
  • TRELORA, Inc.
  • Tschetter Hamrick Sulzer PC
  • U.S. Army JAG (International)
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (NM)
  • U.S. Department of Interior (DC)
  • U.S. Department of Justice, Environment & Natural Resources Division (DC)
  • U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office of Immigration Review, San Francisco Immigration Court (CA)
  • U.S. Department of State (DC)
  • U.S. District Court, District of CO
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of WV (WV)
  • U.S. Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission
  • U.S. Navy JAG (FL and RI)
  • Welker Holbert Gray & Moore, LLP (GA)
  • Wellborn Sullivan Meck & Toohey
  • White & White (AL)
  • Willkie Farr & Gallagher (DC)
  • Woodward (Germany)
  • Wyoming Attorney General's Office (WY)