Catching up with the Class of 2017
BU Law’s young alumni make their mark on the legal world.
As the Boston University School of Law community prepares to celebrate its 145th Commencement and send off a new class of graduates, we took this occasion to check in on the success of our young alumni. We spoke with members of Class of 2017 about their first job after law school and how BU Law helped prepare them to practice.
Almost a year after their Commencement, the graduates of the Class of 2017 are already on their way to successful legal careers. As of March 15, 2018, 88 percent of the class was employed, with 86.6 percent in bar passage-required or JD advantage full- or part-time positions, working in government organizations, large and small firms, nonprofits, businesses, state and federal courts, as BU Law Public Service Fellows, and elsewhere. They are practicing corporate law, litigation, immigration and human trafficking law, and intellectual property law to name a few areas, as well as serving as prosecutors and public defenders. Ten graduates are serving as clerks for state and federal judges.
The diverse locations of the Class of 2017’s employers prove the value of a BU Law degree no matter where you end up: these alums are spread across the country, from Massachusetts, New York, and Washington, DC to Michigan, California, and Hawaii.
Boston University School of Law congratulates the Class of 2017 on all of their successes thus far—we look forward to keeping in touch as your careers advance!
Law Firm Associates
BU Law has a strong tradition of helping graduates obtain private practice positions with the nation’s leading national, regional, and local firms. Ten months after graduation, 91 (or 42 percent) of the Class of 2017 practice at firms with more than 100 attorneys, with 13.3 percent at firms of 10–100 attorneys. The alumni profiled below are employed in large firms in cities across the country.
Jonathan Ondrejko, Cooley LLP Boston, Massachusetts
Will Simpson, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, New York City, New York
Public Interest Attorneys
Many BU Law graduates choose to pursue work in public interest organizations across the US and abroad. These alumni contribute to the public good at organizations that concentrate on a specific issue (affordable housing, disability rights, human trafficking) or constituency (victims of domestic violence, immigrants), with a focus on helping underserved populations meet their legal needs. Read on for one such example of an alum working in public interest, who received a competitive Equal Justice Works Fellowship to support her work.
Hilary Chadwick, National Immigration Justice Center, Chicago, Illinois
Government Attorneys
State and federal governments offer rewarding professional opportunities for lawyers at any stage in their careers. Eighteen Class of 2017 graduates have joined various governmental organizations at both the federal and state levels, from the Department of Homeland Security to the US Government Accountability Office. Find an example of the work our new government attorneys are doing below.
Sean McCauley, Office of the Bronx District Attorney, Bronx, New York
Judicial Clerks
Judicial Clerkships offer excellent opportunities to experience the inner workings of the state and federal judicial system, while working closely with judges and other court personnel. Every year, BU Law graduates enter clerkships at the state, and federal level. The Class of 2017 has obtained 10 clerkships—two federal and eight at the state level. Read about one of our new clerks below.
Adrienne Langlois, Rhode Island Superior Court, Providence, Rhode Island
In-House and Beyond
TripAdvisor, CVS, and Liberty Mutual: these are just a few of the leading companies where BU Law Class of 2017 grads are working. To see a full list of Class of 2017 employers, visit the 2017 employment statistics. To read about an alum following her passion to find her perfect career, see below.
Malavika Lobo, General Electric, San Jose, California