Cornell Law School posted the highest legal employment rate among U.S. law schools for its 2025 graduating class, according to new data published by the American Bar Association on April 22.
Of Cornell Law’s 197 juris doctor graduates in 2025, all but one secured full-time, long-term employment requiring or anticipating bar passage within 10 months of graduation. That placed the school’s legal employment rate at 99.49%, the highest among U.S. law schools in the latest ABA figures.
“Our outcomes for the Class of 2025 reflect both the extraordinary talent of our students and Cornell Law School’s deep commitment to preparing graduates for long-term professional achievement,” said Aka Akyea, associate dean for career development at Cornell Law School. “Our goal has always been to ensure that every graduate leaves Cornell positioned not just for their first job, but for lasting success in the profession.”
Cornell Law surpassed Duke Law School, which held the top spot last year and ranked second in the 2025 data with a 98.7% legal employment rate. Vanderbilt University Law School followed at 98.21% , while New York University School of Law and the University of Virginia School of Law rounded out the top five at fourth and fifth, respectively.
The data comes amid broader signs of strong employment outcomes for recent law graduates. 83% of 2025 law graduates nationwide obtained jobs requiring bar admission, suggesting that most new JDs entered attorney-track positions shortly after graduation. However, the national increase may be attributable to a smaller graduating class rather than an expansion in legal jobs. The Class of 2025 had 2,731 fewer graduates nationally, and the number of graduates in full-time, long-term bar-passage jobs fell by over 1,700 students compared to 2024.
That national explanation does not apply to Cornell Law, whose graduating class size increased from 196 students in 2024 to 197 students in 2025.
Cornell Law’s placement rate was also aided by an increase in school-funded positions, a category which includes law school-supported fellowships, stipends, or subsidized post-graduate legal jobs. The number of such positions rose from one in 2024 to six in 2025.
Cornell Law recently ranked first for “Law Schools With the Most Graduates at Big Law Firms” and tied for 13th in a ranking of best law schools in the U.S., according to the U.S. News and World Report’s 2026-2027 rankings.
