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Employment Statistics

The following statistics are designed to provide an overview of the work our students pursue. If you have questions about anything that follows or about your particular situation, please contact the Office of Career Services at  802-831-1243  and we will be glad to talk with you.

Overall Employment Rate

Pie Chart93 percent of the Class of 2009 were employed or in a degree program within 9 months of graduation. This figure excludes those recent graduates who were not actively seeking employment.

Employment by Job Type

Most VLS students begin their careers in full-time legal or law-related positions and, as the following chart illustrates, they are evenly spread across a range of positions, including law firm associates, judicial law clerks, legislative aides, government specialists and environmental advocates.



Class of 2009 Salary Data

 

% of Employer Type

Average Salary

Maximum Salary

Private Law Firms

29%

$64,000

$160,000

Judicial Clerkships

16.9%

$46,682

$65,000

Businesses

19.6%

$55,183

$80,000

Government

17.6%

$48,763

$79,280

Public Interest/Non-Profit

13.5%

$41,063

$65,000

Academic

3.4%

$49,000

$55,000

Overall

100%

$53,610

$160,000
 

Employment by Location

Pie ChartVLS students annually take the bar exam in 30 different states and, while the East Coast remains the most popular, there is considerable interest each year in the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountain states, the Bay Area, Alaska, and Chicago. Chances are quite good that wherever you are looking there is a VLS graduate already there paving the way.

Class of 2009Class of 2008Class of 2007
New England (CT,ME,MA,NH,RI,VT) 32.4.0% 34.0% 33.8%
Mid-Atlantic (NY,NJ,PA) 11.4% 19.4% 17.3%
East North Central (IL,IN,MI,OH,WI) 2.1% 3.5% 3.3%
West North Central (IA,KS,MN,MO,NE,ND,SD) 0.7% 0.7% 2.0%
So. Atlantic (DE,DC,FL,GA,MD,NC,SC,VA,WV) 25.7% 25.0% 22.8%
East South Central (AL,KY,MS,TN) 4.1% 2.1% 8.6%
West South Central (AR,LA,OK,TX) 0.7% 0.0% 0.7%
Mountain (AZ,CO,ID,MT,NV,NM,UT,WY) 6.0% 4.9% 2.4%
Pacific (AK,CA,HI,OR,WA) 15.6% 9.7% 8.4%
International 1.3% 0.7% 0.7%

More than just a statistic…

Here is a sample of where some of our graduates are working.

National and Regional Law Firms

  • Bernstein Shur, Portland, ME
  • Beveridge & Diamond, Washington, DC
  • Downs, Rachlin & Martin, Burlington, VT
  • McConnell Valdez, San Jaun, PR
  • Linowes & Blocher, Silver Spring, MD
  • Orr & Reno, Concord, NH
  • Robinson & Cole, Boston, MA
  • Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Boston, MA
  • Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, Washington, DC
  • Wilmer Hale, New York, NY

Judicial Clerkships

  • On the federal level, graduates are clerking with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel.
  • On the state court level, graduates are clerkingin in Alaska (8), Maine (3), Michigan (1), Montana Supreme Court (1), Nevada (1), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (3), Tennessee (1), VT Supreme Court and Environmental Court (3) and Washington Court of Appeals (1).

Fellowships/Honors Program

  • AAAS Fellow at US EPA, Washington, DC
  • Knauss Marine Policy Fellows Washington, DC (2)
  • Presidential Management Fellows Washington, DC (2)

  • Environmental Law Institute Fellow, Washington, DC

Public Interest/Non-Profit Organizations

  • Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, MT
  • Defender General Prisoners' Rights Office, VT
  • DNA-People's Legal Services, NM
  • Georgia Democratic Party, GA
  • Mental Disability Rights International, DC
  • Noisette Foundation, SC
  • In addition, graduates are working in legal services organizations in California and North Carolina, and in public defender offices in Montana, Vermont and Washington State.

Government

  • National Park Service, Bar Harbor, ME
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, KY
  • U.S. Army JAG (2)
  • U.S. EPA - Region 4, Atlanta, GA
  • California Coastal Commission, San Francisco, CA
  • Maryland Environmental Services, Annapolis, MD
  • Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, Lincoln, NE
  • Rockville Environmental Office, Rockville, MD
  • In addition, graduates are working at the local prosecutor's office in Colorado, New Hampshire, Maryland and Washington State.

On Campus Recruiting

  • Fall 2009 – 30 employers recruited on campus, including a number of regional and DC-based law firms, government agencies, and public interest organizations.
  • Spring 2010 – 25 employers from around New England interviewed on campus, including a number of local law firms, government agencies and public interest organizations.

JD and JD/MELP Class of 2009 Bar Exam Statistics

  • Our graduates took the bar exam in 30 different states last summer.The following table compares the 2009 pass rate of VLS graduates with that of all law students in the four states in which the largest number of VLS graduates sat for the exam.
StateVLS First-Time
Taker Pass Rate		Overall First-Time
Taker Pass Rate
VT 68% (19/28) 62%
NY 64% (18/28) 88%
MA 100%(17/17) 90.4%
NH 89% (8/9) 86.6%