A Statistical Snapshot of the Legal Profession
Lawyers seem endlessly fascinated with themselves and with each other - whether through the many peer evaluations for professional honors, countless blogs and social networking posts, print and broadcast advertising, or the many more ways of expressing uniqueness. As for the profession as a whole, our image of ourselves as expressed in hard data seems to be more elusive. However, one can draw fascinating conclusions from a "Lawyer Demographics" summary posted on the website of the American Bar association. It includes the demographic picture of the legal profession from the comprehensive American Bar Foundation 2012 Lawyer Statistical Report. The lag in compiling data means the numbers are not up-to-the-minute, but as reported by the ABA, the trends are significant.[1]
1) We are an aging profession. The median age of all lawyers in this country has risen from 39 in 1980 to 49 in 2005. In 1980, 15% of all lawyers were under the age of 29; in 2005 that had shrunk to 4%. Conversely, in 1980 12% of all lawyers were in the 55 to 64 age range; by 2005 that age bracket encompassed fully 21% of the profession.
2) We are gradually becoming more diverse. According to the American Bar Foundation, in 1980 males made up 92% of the profession, compared to 8% for females. By 2005 the lawyer population had shifted to 70% male and 30% female - and ABA figures show that for the past three academic years, females were 47% of total law school enrollment. Census and enrollment figures show less progress on minority representation, which has been holding at about 12% of the total lawyer population and 24% of law school admissions.
3) We are becoming a two-tier profession, split between solo firms and large ones. There are 1.245 million licensed lawyers in this country, and 47,560 law firms. In the 25 years since 1980, the number of lawyers in solo practice remained consistent at 49%. Yet during the same period of time the percentage of all lawyers working at firms with 100-plus practitioners has risen from a statistically negligible number to 16%.
These numbers confirm trends that many of us have found to be anecdotally true. The legal profession does not yet mirror society as a whole, but it is gradually moving in that direction. Longer term demographic trends are being impacted by the Great Recession, by the dramatic recent decline in law school enrollment, by technology and by the increasingly more complex demands of clients. The only thing that can be said for sure is that the profession's demographics will continue to change, and that every firm of every size will be impacted.
[1] ABA Lawyer Demographics 2012
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