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The majority of recent law graduates say their law school career services offices are making the grade.

Nearly a quarter of the 417 new lawyers surveyed by Kaplan Bar Review give their career services offices an "A" when it comes to helping them find a job. Another 30% said their career services earned a "B," while 23% gave a "C." On the opposite end, 14% of respondents said their school career services earned a "D," while 11% doled out an "F."

Despite help from career services, many respondents said finding a job took more time than they expected. More than half—52%—said it was more time-consuming than they thought it would be, while just 11% said finding a job took less time than they anticipated.

"The job market for newly graduated lawyers has not been this strong since the start of the Great Recession, which is promising, but that doesn't mean that jobs are just going to fall into their laps," said Kaplan Bar Review vice president Tammi Rice. "It requires networking, starting the process early, and often passing the bar exam, as many employers won't hire you until you've secured your license."

Rice added that law graduates should avail themselves of all the programs and support their career services offices have to offer to alumni.

According to data from the National Association for Law Placement, the class of 2018 enjoyed the strongest job market in a decade, largely due to a major decline in the number of law graduates competing for jobs.

When queried about how their alma maters did in giving them the skills to transition from law students to practitioners, most survey respondents were pleased. Thirty-three percent awarded their schools an "A," and 45% gave them a "B."

"Overconfidence can sometimes get law school graduates into trouble, whether it's thinking that they have allocated enough time to the job hunting search to thinking they have the proper professional skills to easily transition into the workforce," Rice said. "One thing we often hear from employers is that they wish their new lawyer hires were more work ready. Law schools are increasingly looking at experiential training to fill that skills gap that employers are concerned about and we think that's a positive development for the legal field."