Salaries for the KU Law Class of 2010

We have yet to receive national salary data for the Class of 2010. We can, however, discuss the number of students and the corresponding percentage of students in the KU Law Class of 2010 reporting salaries for jobs requiring bar passage and JD-preferred jobs.

Job Type # Reporting Salary % of Employed Reporting Salary Median Mean 25th percentile 75th percentile
All Reported 102 78% $55,000 $61,888 $45,000 $71,000
Bar Passage Required 83 86% $57,000 $66,042 $48,000 $80,000
JD-preferred 15 63% $40,000 $45,405 $30,000 $58,000

The bar passage required mean of $66,042 for the Class of 2010 is down from $70,754 for the Class of 2009. 86 percent of 2010 grads with bar passage required jobs reported a salary, compared to 94 percent of the Class of 2009.

Here are the salaries of 2010 KU Law grads working in the public and private sectors:

Job Type # Reporting Salary % of Employed Reporting Salary Median Mean 25th percentile 75th percentile
Private sector 71 78% $60,000 $66,743 $48,000 $86,000
Public sector 31 78% $48,000 $50,768 $44,500 $57,000

The private sector mean of $66,743 for the Class of 2010 is down from $72,660 for the Class of 2009. 78 percent of 2010 grads with jobs in the private sector reported a salary, compared to 81 percent of 2009 grads.

The public sector mean of $50,768 is up slightly from $50,666 for the Class of 2009. 78 percent of 2010 grads with jobs in the public sector reported a salary, compared to 88 percent of 2009 grads.

Finally, here are Class of 2010 KU Law salaries in a number of additional employment categories:

Job Type # Reporting Salary % of Employed Reporting Salary Median Mean 25th percentile 75th percentile
Business 9 64% $45,000 $45,533 $35,000 $58,000
Judicial Clerk 3*
Private Practice 62 81% $60,000 $69,821 $50,000 $100,000
Government 18 78% $52,520 $54,567 $45,000 $62,000
Public Interest 8 80% $45,500 $46,500 $38,000 $51,000
*To calculate salary information, NALP requires at least five salaries in a category. The three KU Law judicial clerk salaries reported in 2010 were between $48K-$55K.

The private practice mean fell from $79,259 in 2009 to $69,821 in 2010, partially reflecting a decrease in the number of jobs accepted at large (101+ attorney) firms — from 23 reported in 2009 to 19 reported in 2010. Also, jobs reported at small (2-10 attorney) firms rose from 24 in 2009 to 31 in 2010.

Todd Rogers, Assistant Dean for Career Services