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How accurate is ABA data?

I saw a thread on Nova (which a dear friend of mine is attending), and was curious about the schools numbers. I was surprised to see that 68.3% of their graduates are employed in law firms http://officialguide.lsac.org/SearchRes ... BA5514.pdf. Those numbers are better than U. of Florida, FSU, FIU, Miami, etc...

I realize some graduates of FSU/UF/Miami may work in PI, Judicial clerkships, business, etc... however, (I'm assuming here) that most law students intend to pursue the private sector (law firms).

I guess my question would be as follows: How accurate is the ABA data? -and how does the ABA obtain said data?

TIA!

ps. I do not have spellcheck

probably about as accurate as the schools' employment stats pages (eg - FAMU claiming 100% employment)

The data isnt always accurate. For instance the data says that 68.3% of NOVA graduates work in law firms, but what the data doesnt tell you is 1) if those jobs are permanent 2) How "easily" grads came across those jobs 3) How much they're being compensated 5) Does that 68.3% correspond to the entire class or to a subset of the class, etc etc. The list goes on.

Legal employment is what you make of it. If you feel content working at a local DA's office making $40,000 a year, thats great. Nothing wrong with that at all. However, be well aware that you'll have a huge amount of debt hanging over you and that you probably could've found a $40,000 a year job without going to law school.

Good luck!

gdane5 wrote:The data isnt always accurate. For instance the data says that 68.3% of NOVA graduates work in law firms, but what the data doesnt tell you is 1) if those jobs are permanent 2) How "easily" grads came across those jobs 3) How much they're being compensated 5) Does that 68.3% correspond to the entire class or to a subset of the class, etc etc. The list goes on.

Legal employment is what you make of it. If you feel content working at a local DA's office making $40,000 a year, thats great. Nothing wrong with that at all. However, be well aware that you'll have a huge amount of debt hanging over you and that you probably could've found a $40,000 a year job without going to law school.

Good luck!

I'm not going to Nova, but thanx...

I was surprised to see that 68.3% of their graduates are employed in law firms

"Law firms" can mean a lot of things.

Working for a law firm could be:
Making 160k at a large law firm
Making 80k at a relatively high-end boutique firm
Making 40k at a low-end small firm firm
Making $10/hr as a temp at a low-end law firm
Losing money as you try your hand at solo practice

Most Nova graduates are probably in the latter 3 categories