The number of solicitors on the roll has reached a record high - with figures set to soar, according to comprehensive statistics designed to provide an authoritative picture of the profession.

The Law Society’s latest annual statistics report shows that there were 209,215 solicitors on the roll as at 31 July 2021, up nearly 7,000 on the previous year.

The report states that graduates from first degree law courses represent a key stream of potential solicitors. Although a minority of graduates go on to become solicitors, the pipeline has made up around half of those admitted to the profession in recent years.

The number of students graduating in first degree law courses has steadily increased over the past decade – from 14,859 in 2011 to 18,927 in 2021. Of the 18,927 people awarded a law degree last summer, 81% achieved a first or upper second.

Meanwhile, the number of women with practising certificates continues to rise – from 78,256 in 2020 to 80,881 in 2021. Women made up 47% of the profession in 2013. They now make up 53% of the profession. Women represented 8,930 of the 27,364 partners in the profession.

The number of Asian and black solicitors is slowly increasing. There were 19,016 Asian solicitors on the roll and 14,281 with practising certificates, up from 18,235 on the roll and 13,613 PC holders in 2020. There were 4,396 black solicitors on the roll and 3,346 with a practising certificate, up from 4,218 on the roll and 3,196 PC holders in 2020.

Other findings show that the in-house sector is continuing to grow and now represents a quarter of the profession. The number of private practice firms in England and Wales fell from 9,109 in 2020 to 9,020 in 2021.

Society president I. Stephanie Boyce said more work needed to be done to increase the number of black, Asian and minority ethnic solicitors, as well as solicitors from low socio-economic backgrounds and the number of women in the higher echelons of the profession.

The decreasing number of firms highlighted ‘the need for widespread investment in our justice system including legal aid rates to ensure lawyers are there when needed’, she said.

 

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