The Red Velvet Lawyer

I graduated from law school in 1982.  At that time, 7.6 percent of new law graduates became solo practitioners;  40.3 percent entered small law practices (2-10 lawyers);  about 11 percent entered firms 51 to 100 lawyers in size;   only 15. 6 percent of new law grads entered large firms of 101 plus lawyers, and more women did that than men; and  NALP, the Association of Legal Career Professionals, did not keep a separate category for firms with more than 500 lawyers. See trend report here .  According to an earlier trend report , in 1982, about 10 percent of new law grads entered business and industry. About 23,000 students graduated from law school in 1982. Fast forward to 2007, the year of record employment among lawyers, NALP reports that: 3 percent of new law grads became solo practitioners (a 4 percent drop); about 33 percent entered small law practices (2-10 lawyers) (a 13 percent drop);  about 6 percent entered f...

Most of the news these days focuses on the alleged over-supply of lawyers.  I say "alleged" because the market considered by these journalists does not cover the needs of our rural populations or anyone who can not afford legal services at current prices. But, I'll leave that topic for another post. Today, I want to focus on the potentially odd likelihood that we will have a lawyer shortage in another five to ten years.  Here's why. The Washington state bar surveyed its lawyers asking about retirement plans.  The survey found that nearly one-quarter of the state's lawyers planned to retire in the next five years or about 1,440 per year.  Another 32 percent of its surveyed lawyers planned to leave the profession or cut back their practices.   See story here. The Washington bar report noted that a whopping 71 percent of the state's lawyers were aged 50 or older, with 21 percent being 61 or older. On the other hand, admission...