Hiring disparities among new lawyers grew wider for 2025 graduating class
White law school graduates found jobs at a higher rate than their Black, Hispanic and Asian classmates in 2025, widening a long-standing employment gap. (Image from Shutterstock)
White law school graduates found jobs at a higher rate than their Black, Hispanic and Asian classmates in 2025, widening a long-standing employment gap, according to new figures from the National Association for Law Placement.
Reuters reported Wednesday that according to the NALP’s study, more than 94% of white law graduates had work within 10 months of graduation, while the share for graduates of color decreased to less than 91%. Black graduates fared worst, at 87%, a decline from close to 90% in 2024. Hispanic graduates experienced a small decrease, from more than 92% the previous year to slightly over 91% in 2025. Asian graduates stayed flat at about 92%. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander graduates, a small group, did the best, topping more than 96%.
Positions requiring a bar license, the most prized kind of legal work, followed a similar pattern. Only graduates of Middle Eastern or North African background kept pace with or beat white graduates there. Students who were first in their families to attend college also trailed those with college-educated parents.
“A law degree should open doors, but NALP’s latest report shows that those doors are not equally open to everyone,” said Nikia Gray, the executive director of the NALP, in a statement.
The class entered the workforce as the White House pressed an aggressive push against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Federal regulators have questioned large law firms about how they hire, and one prominent diversity-focused organization, Diversity Lab, closed its doors in June after drawing scrutiny from antitrust enforcers.
Roughly 50 firms that once supplied the NALP with data on their attorneys’ demographics chose not to this year, which the group blamed on the pressure campaign.
Separately, federal education officials are looking at whether to strip the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of its role overseeing law school accreditation, citing in part what they view as sluggishness in dropping diversity requirements.
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