The Red Velvet Lawyer

LSAC Applicant/Applications Data by Geographic Region --Fall 2012 to Fall 2013 -- As I mentioned in my last posting, Joan Van Tol, General Counsel for the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), gave a presentation at the conference of the Midwest Association of Pre-law Advisors (MAPLA) about trends in law school applications.  I described the LSAC data on the historic cycles in applications here . I discussed the conference generally here . Today, I'll describe the LSAC data presented on two maps of the U.S. divided into ten regions: Where are ABA Law School Applicants Coming From?  YTD Change Fall 2012 to Fall 2013; and, Where are ABA Law School Applications Going To?  Percent Change Fall 2012 to Fall 2013. LSAC Geographic Regions for Reporting: The ten LSAC regions are: New England (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island); Northeast (New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania); ...

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...