The NALP Foundation and NALP Release Joint Canadian Alumni Study

The NALP Foundation and NALP today released their seventh joint study, Law School Alumni Employment and Satisfaction, for Canadian alumni of the Class of 2020. This year’s report added new queries about the number of days graduates are required to be in the office as well as their satisfaction with leadership transparency and communication within their current organizations, while retaining recent questions on professional identity formation and graduates’ motives for job changes.

The data provides unique insights into the careers of this first full pandemic class three years after graduation, including:

Mobility: Overall mobility remains high, with 53% of alumni reporting they have already held two or more positions since graduation, down slightly from the Class of 2019’s 65%. A historically low rate (11%) of employed alumni reported they were actively seeking a new job.

Reasons for Job Changes: For those who have held more than one post-graduate position, “attitude or ‘fit’ concerns” (49%), “better support for well-being/mental health” (49%) and “pursuit of specific practice interests” (48%) emerged as the leading reasons for job movement, with female graduates citing “attitude or ‘fit’ concerns” and “better support for well-being/mental health” as the driver for their job change at rates twice that of their male peers.

Satisfaction: 35% of Class of 2020 alumni reported being “extremely satisfied” with their current job, declining from the Class of 2019’s 38%; 43% reported they were “somewhat satisfied” – a decrease from the Class of 2019’s 45%.

In-Office Days Requirements (New): Nearly one half of graduates working hybrid schedules were required to spend three days per week in the office (48%).

Educational Debt: The average amount of educational debt was $33,118 (down from the Class of 2019’s $37,255), with debt loads ranging broadly. Notably, the overwhelming majority of educational debt is attributable directly to law school (89%).

Mental Health and Well-Being: Not surprisingly, as debt load increased, so did the impact on graduates’ job choices and major life decisions, as well as the negative effect on their mental health and well-being. Troublingly, although the pandemic has waned, the majority (54%) of graduates continue to report an effect on their mental health and well-being.

There were also some intriguing divergences in the Canadian vs. U.S. results, particularly in areas such as Work Location – Canadian graduates worked hybrid schedules at notably higher rates than did their U.S. peers (75% vs. 54%) and solely in the office at lower rates (18% vs. 36%), and Satisfaction – Canadian alumni reported being “extremely satisfied” with their current positions at notably lower rates than U.S. graduates (35% vs. 47%).

“While Canadian graduates as a whole are quite satisfied professionally,” noted NALP Foundation President & CEO, Fiona Trevelyan Hornblower, “the declining rates of those reporting the highest satisfaction levels, coupled with high mobility and the pandemic’s ongoing negative mental health impacts, merit attention from those in law schools as well as legal employers, as we all look to ensure this cohort of young lawyers is not only supported but thrives as they advance in the profession.”

“The need for greater support for lawyer mental health and well-being is a clear theme in this year’s report that’s worthy of industry-wide attention,” stated NALP’s Executive Director Nikia L. Gray. “Not only were challenges to graduates’ mental health and well-being a common response to questions regarding both the pandemic’s ongoing effects and the effect of their educational debt, but the data showed that the search for greater support in this area was a driving factor for nearly half of all graduates who changed positions at this early stage in their careers.”

This year’s study reflects data collected from 166 Class of 2020 alumni from 4 Canadian law schools. Data collection took place between November 2023 and January 2024.

In addition to the topics noted above, the report also contains detailed information, segmented by gender identity and race/ethnicity, on Employment Status, Compensation, Career Trajectory, Efficacy of Law School Preparation, Experiential Education, Key Skills for Practice, and Post-Graduate Law School Engagement.

The full PDF report for Canadian law schools is available for purchase from The NALP Foundation online Bookstore at https://www.nalpfoundation.org/bookstore. The comparable report for U.S. law school alumni is also available for purchase.