Women Lawyers Bristol

The Law Society Annual Statistics Report (ASR) has been compiled for over 30 years and provides a comprehensive picture of how the size and structure of the solicitors’ profession has evolved.

The ASR has tended to focus on private practice, which continues to employ most practising solicitors. However, in-house solicitors now make up almost one-quarter of the profession.

This year’s report expands on visually representing the distribution of practising certificate (PC) holders by:

• gender
• ethnicity
• region
• sector

Part one of the report looks at qualified solicitors, the sectors and the entities in which they work and analyses the diversity within the profession.

Part two covers the development and entry of new solicitors including numbers pursuing law degrees, training contracts and being admitted to the profession through various routes.

Key findings

Key findings from this year’s report (with a focus on gender) show that:

• In the 12 months to 31 July 2019, the number of solicitors with practising certificates (PC holders) reached 146,953 – the highest recorded so far
• There were 195,821 individuals on the Roll of solicitors in total, with year on year growth slowing to 3.7%
• For the third year running, female PC holders outnumbered male PC holders this year, by over 4,500. This gap has increased by more than 2,300 from the year before.
• Women made up close to two-thirds of new trainees, and 30% of all traineeships were in the City of London.
• The average age of male and female PC holders has decreased compared to those in 2018 (by 1.0 and 0.9 respectively). The median ages of male PCs has remained the same at 46 whilst for female PCs it has decreased to 39. Female solicitors remain younger on average and by median than male counterparts by more than a five year age difference.
• The position of a Partner or Partner equivalent (members, directors, shareholders), including salaried partners, is the highest proportion of positions held by male PCs at 40.2% (compared to 18.5% for women). For female PCs, the largest proportion is held by Associate Solicitors at 31.4%.

You can download a copy of the report here.

Legal mental health charity LawCare has announced a new ground-breaking research study ‘Life in the Law’.

The charity has teamed up with leading academics in the field Dr Emma Jones (University of Sheffield), Professor Richard Collier (University of Newcastle), Caroline Strevens (Reader in Legal Education, University of Portsmouth) and Lucinda Soon (Solicitor and PhD researcher) along with Nick Bloy (Executive Coach and founder of Wellbeing Republic) and Kayleigh Leonie (LawCare trustee and solicitor) to develop the research study which will look at the impact of work culture and working practices on the wellbeing of legal professionals. The research seeks to understand the day to day realities of life in the law and uses three academic research scales for burn-out, psychological safety and autonomy. Anyone working in the legal industry, including support staff, can complete the online questionnaire across the UK, Ireland, UK, ROI, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

We encourage as many members as possible to take part, as the results of this study will help improve the support available to people working in the legal profession. The data will help drive long-lasting cultural change in legal workplaces to benefit both the present and future generations of lawyers and staff.

The results will form the basis of an academic paper and will be announced next year. 

Take part at lifeinthelaw.org.uk

More About LawCare

• LawCare is an independent charity offering emotional support, information and training to the legal community in the UK and Ireland. We work to promote good mental health and wellbeing in legal workplaces.

• We’re here to help through our confidential helpline, email, webchat and one-to-one peer support network. The helpline number is 0800 279 6888 (1800 991 801 in Ireland) and you can access other support, information and resources at www.lawcare.org.uk (www.lawcare.ie)
  
• We help all branches of the legal profession: solicitors, barristers, barrister’s clerks, judges, Chartered Legal Executives, paralegals, trademark attorneys, patent attorneys, costs lawyers, and their staff and families.
  
• Our support spans the legal life from student to training to practice and retirement. 

During 2020, the Law Society has been working with the Ethnic Minority Lawyers Division on a programme of research on the career experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Lawyers.

To complement the report, they would like to collect the experiences of a wider group, to examine the prevalence of challenges identified through the roundtables and to collect views on how these challenges can be collectively addressed.

If you identify as a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic Lawyer please complete this survey.