A Profile of the Solicitors’ Profession

Numbers of solicitors with/without PCs and on the Roll % change With PCs82,76996, Without PCs21,76924, On the Roll104,538121,

Practising Certificate Holders

Average age of PC holders by gender Average age Men4344 Women3637

Ethnicity of PC holders In 2000, 2,170 (6%) of PC holders were from minority ethnic groups In 2004, this number had risen to 8,031 (8%)

Minority ethnic group solicitors as a % of PC holders

Minority ethnic group PC holders

PQE of PC holders ( ) Years of PQE % change

Category of employment ( ) 19.7% of PC holders in 2000 worked in the employed sector, in 2004 this figure had risen to 22% One third of employed solicitors in 2004 work in commerce and industry (33%) Warning: Data on employed sector solicitors should be treated with caution. The number of solicitors working in the employed sector is likely to be much greater, as employed sector solicitors are not required to hold a PC.

Employed solicitors (2004)

Solicitors in Private Practice ( ) 80% of PC holders in 2000 worked in private practice (66% male, 34% female) In 2004, 78% of PC holders worked in private practice (62% male, 38% female)

Position within private practice ( ) % change Partners Sole practice76 Ass/Associates Others59+4

Position within private practice by gender ( ) % of males % of females % of males % of females Partners Sole practice8473

Distribution of private practice solicitors by size of firm ( ) The number of solicitors working in large firms (11+ partners) increased by 11% from 2000 to 2004 The number working in firms with 5-10 partners dropped by 4% The number working in sole practices also dropped, by 3%

Distribution of private practice solicitors by size of firm ( )

Number of private practice firms ( ) Size of firm (partner count) Sole practice All 20003,4683, , ,1763, % change

Private practice firms and offices ( ) FirmsOffices Offices per firm 20009,77013, ,21112, % change over

Student enrolment ( ) % change Number of enrolments 7,7939,83126 % Male % Female % from Minority ethnic groups

Trainee registration ( ) % change Trainees5,2855,708+8 % Male % Female5762+5

Trainee registration by ethnicity (2004) 19% of trainees with known ethnicity, were from minority ethnic groups The minority ethnic group most highly represented was ‘Asian’, which accounted for 57% of ethnic minority trainees

Admissions ( ) % change Admissions6,0567, % Male % Female5357+4

RESEARCH FINDINGS

Career Choices in Law: A survey of Law Students and Trainee Solicitors January 2004

Students were asked what were their priorities in choosing a career: Base: 1,992 students % of Males% of Females Security of employment Plenty of jobs likely to be available High starting salary Financial cost of completing the necessary training Long term salary prospects Status of the profession Intrinsic interest in the work Value of the work to the community Impact of job/ work on social life Other1.70.4

Trainees were asked what were their priorities in choosing a career: Base: 1,522 trainees % of Males% of Females Security of employment Plenty of jobs likely to be available1.62 High starting salary Financial cost of completing the necessary training2.93 Long term salary prospects Status of the profession Intrinsic interest in the work Value of the work to the community Impact of job/ work on social life Other2.32

Students were asked to state their favoured area of practice Base: 1,992 trainees % of Males% of Females Business and commercial affairs Social Welfare Criminal Family and relationship problems Conveyancing and wills Human rights Civil litigation Don't know None of the above1.53.2

Trainees were asked to state their favoured area of practice Base: 1,552 trainees % of Males% of Females Business and commercial affairs Social Welfare Criminal Family and relationship problems Conveyancing and wills Human rights Civil litigation Don't know610.1 None of the above3.55.6

Students were asked what their career aspirations were: Base: 1,992 students Percentage of respondents (%) MaleFemale To become a solicitor To become a barrister To become a legal executive To work in the legal profession, although undecided in what capacity To work in a non-legal capacity in the private sector To work in a non-legal capacity in the public sector Other6.33.8

Business Survey 2003

2003 Salary Survey – Sources of fee income Fee Income from different types of work Single solicitors obtained most of their income (40%) from residential conveyancing Similar to single solicitors, excluding other matters, firms with 2–5 and 6-12 solicitors also gained most of their income from residential conveyancing (19% and 20% respectively). Larger firms (13 – 40 solicitors) gained most of their income from personal injury, accident and clinical negligence (21%) Firms with 41 – 170 solicitors derived most of their income (39%) from business and commercial affairs For those firms sampled, welfare benefits provided almost no fee income at all. Base: 1188 firms in England in Wales

2003 Salary Survey – Sources of fee income by region Business and commercial affairs provided 42% of the income for London firms, this is more than twice the proportion earned by firms in the North and the South (18% and 16% respectively). Firms in the Midlands and Wales also obtain most of their income (23%) from business and commercial affairs, though it is a far less important source of income for them than it is for London firms. Firms in the North received most of their income from personal injury, accident and medical negligence (23%) whilst firms in the south derived much of their income from residential conveyancing (20%). Base: 1188 firms in England in Wales

2003 Salary Survey – Sources of fee income by client type Firms with up to 40 solicitors tended to receive most of their income from non-legally aided private clients (between 47% and 69%). Large firms deviated from this trend and received the majority of their income (51%) from private sector firms. However, the second greatest source of income for firms of this size was non-legally aided private clients (19%) An important source of income for firms with 12 solicitors or less was legally aided private clients. For firms with 13 – 40 solicitors private sector firms were a more important source of income (33%) legally aided clients Base: 1188 firms in England in Wales

2003 Salary Survey – Future Trends Number of partners Just under three quarters of respondents anticipated that the number of partners would stay the same. However, 23% expected the number of partners to increase. It should be noted that larger firms tended to expect the number of partners to increase (57%) whilst almost all single solicitors (92%) expected the numbers to stay the same Number of fee earners (excluding partners) Just over half (51%) expected the number of fee earners to increase, whilst slightly fewer expected the number to stay the same. Again, larger firms were more likely to expect an increase. Number of non-fee earning staff Almost two thirds of respondents (63%) expected the number of non fee earning staff to stay the same Base: 1188 firms in England in Wales

2003 Salary Survey – Future Trends Number of partners Just under three quarters of respondents anticipated that the number of partners would stay the same. However, 23% expected the number of partners to increase. It should be noted that larger firms tended to expect the number of partners to increase (57%) whilst almost all single solicitors (92%) expected the numbers to stay the same Number of fee earners (excluding partners) Just over half (51%) expected the number of fee earners to increase, whilst slightly fewer expected the number to stay the same. Again, larger firms were more likely to expect an increase. Number of non-fee earning staff Almost two thirds of respondents (63%) expected the number of non fee earning staff to stay the same Base: 1188 firms in England in Wales

Salary Survey 2004

Satisfaction with opportunities to obtain partnership Replies from 344 Associate / Assistant Solicitors

Do you hope to become an equity partner? Just under half (49%) of the 344 Associate/ Assistant solicitors surveyed wanted to become an equity partner. 61% of males wanted to become an equity partner compared to 39% of females

When do you hope to become an equity partner? Replies from 158 Associate / Assistant Solicitors

How many years did you work as an associate solicitor before you became a partner? Replies from 296 partners

How many years did you work as an associate solicitor before you became a partner? Mean number of years as an associate or assistant solicitor before becoming a partner: Women: 0.82 years Men: 1.81 years Replies from 296 partners

Women’s Study 2003

Percentage of individuals that have considered leaving the profession

Non-renewal of PCs by gender and age 2002/ % of female non-renewers were aged between 31-40, compared to 23% of male non-renewers. 59% of male non-renewers were over 50 compared to 16% of females.