Statistics

‘The Law Society has published its annual statistics for 2003, which make fascinating reading … There are now 116,110 solicitors on the roll, of whom 92,752 have practising certificates and 6,924 were admitted to the roll in 2003. 44.8% of practices are sole practitioners, but this amounts to only 8.5% of the profession. However, 84.3% of firms have four or fewer partners and this amounts to 30.2% of our profession. In contrast, just 1.6% of firms have 26 or more partners, but these amount to 37.3% of practising solicitors. 21.8% of solicitors are not employed in private practice. 54.5% of solicitors currently practising have been qualified for 10 or fewer years. 56.8% of new admissions were women and 17.3% were from ethnic minorities.’