The proportion of practising solicitors working in the employed sector continues to rise, latest figures have shown.

The Law Society's annual statistical report found that 21.8% of practising solicitors were working outside private practice as at 31 July 2003, compared with 20.7% a year before and 17.6% in 1993. It equates to 20,207 solicitors not working at law firms.


The report said that the number of solicitors working in the employed sector is likely to be greater than the figures suggest because they are not required to hold practising certificates.


Women are far more likely to be practising outside private practice than men: 26.8% of women do, compared with 18.5% of men.


According to the report, some 7.1% of practising solicitors work in commerce and industry (equating to 6,541 people), followed by 3.5% in local government (3,221) and 2% in the Crown Prosecution Service (1,884). The next biggest sector is advice services, where 354 solicitors (0.4% of all practitioners) work.


The public sector is a more popular location for women than the private sector, the figures suggest. While 44% of solicitors in commerce and industry are women, the figure is 56% for local government and 52% for the Crown Prosecution Service.


More than three-quarters of solicitors working in the National Health Service are women, the highest of any sector.


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