Cornell, Duke and NYU Lead 2025 US Law School Hiring Rankings: ABA Data

All but one of Cornell Law School’s 197 Juris Doctor graduates in 2025 secured full-time, long-term jobs requiring bar passage within 10 months of leaving campus, according to new data from the American Bar Association.

That gave the Ivy League law school the highest proportion of new graduates in such positions, at 99.49 per cent, the ABA employment data showed.

Duke Law School — which held the top spot last year — had the second-highest proportion of 2025 graduates in legal jobs at 98.7 per cent, while Vanderbilt University Law School was third at 98.21 per cent. New York University School of Law and the University of Virginia School of Law rounded out the top five at 98.08 per cent and 98.05 per cent, respectively.

Cornell increased its number of school-funded positions from one in 2024 to six in 2025, which helped bolster its legal employment rate.

The ABA data show that the class of 2025 enjoyed record-high employment, with 83 per cent landing jobs that require bar admission. However, their success was largely due to 2,713 fewer students competing for jobs than last year, rather than expanding job opportunities. The total number of 2025 graduates in full-time, long-term bar passage jobs was more than 1,700 fewer than in 2024, even though the employment rate was slightly higher.

Four Texas law schools featured in the top 15 for legal employment in 2025. Texas A&M University School of Law sent 95.97 per cent of last year’s graduates into positions requiring bar passage, followed closely by the University of Texas School of Law at 95.97 per cent. Baylor University School of Law and Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law also made the top 15.

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