Pepperdine Caruso Law Receives Number 1 National Ranking for Class of 2025 Job Placement
The Pepperdine Caruso School of Law community is celebrating a historic milestone as the school is ranked #1 for Class of 2025 job placement (tied with Cornell Law School, SMU Dedman School of Law, and Texas A&M University School of Law). The prestigious ranking, recently highlighted by dean Paul Caron on the Association of American Law Schools TaxProf Blog, reflects a 100% placement rate for the class at the ten-month mark following graduation.
The American Bar Association each year requires all 197 accredited law schools to submit a detailed Employment Summary Report and to post the report on their websites (see Pepperdine University Employment Summary for 2025 Graduates). In its law school rankings methodology, U.S. News & World Report gives “maximum credit” to “the most in-demand jobs — namely those that are long-term, full-time and requiring (or taking advantage of) bar passage. Graduates with full-time, long-term, school-funded fellowships earned maximum credit if the role required bar passage or a J.D. Maximum credit was also assigned to law school graduates pursuing additional graduate studies.”
This #1 national ranking in job placement is a testament to Pepperdine Caruso Law’s unwavering commitment to its mission of preparing students for lives of purpose, service, and leadership, ensuring their rigorous and transformative educational experience leads to impactful and fulfilling professional careers.
The success of the Career Development Office and the graduate employment team is driven by a collaborative spirit led by dedicated professionals Alexis Joyce (JD ‘14) and Selina Farrell (JD ‘92). Their philosophy centers on the idea that career development is a team effort involving students, faculty, and staff working in unison toward a shared goal of student achievement.
“Reaching this historic achievement validates our mission,” said assistant dean for career development Alexis Joyce. “It reflects the students’ hard work, the strategic investments we’ve made to ensure every student succeeds, and the unwavering dedication of our career team.”
“We enjoy working with students and recent graduates to learn about their career goals and connecting them with attorneys and professionals in their fields of interest,” said associate director of graduate employment Selina Farrell. “We are proud that our career team helps students develop personalized job-search strategies that lead to meaningful legal careers.”
Beyond the statistics, the culture of career success at Pepperdine Caruso Law is deeply personal and communal. This is best exemplified by the beloved bell ringing ceremony, a tradition where students who have secured post-graduate employment or graduate school admission are invited to ring the jobs bell outside the Dean’s Suite. A student’s family and friends join the public celebration of individual achievement and collective strength. As in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, every time the bell echoes through the Pepperdine Caruso Law halls, it signals another student getting his or her job wings. More than just a job placement; the bell ringing celebrates the fruits of a student’s hard work and the beginning of a life dedicated to the service of others.
By combining world-class career resources with a supportive Christian community, Pepperdine Caruso Law continues to set the standard for excellence in legal education, student flourishing, and graduate placement.