E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R ’ S M E S S A G E J o h n F . K y n e s – H i l l s b o r o u g h C o u n t y B a r A s s o c i a t i o n
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Regarding gender representation in the law , Smith noted that women now constitute 39 % of the legal workforce , which is a 5 % increase over the past decade .
Additionally , Smith said that while law schools have seen a surge in female applicants — with women now comprising 56 % of the student population — a wide gap remains in the number of women holding senior law firm positions .
A chapter on demographics said that there are now more than 1.3 million lawyers in the U . S ., which is a 5 % increase from 2013 to 2023 .
Over the past decade , Florida ’ s lawyer population was the fastest growing in the nation , with the number of active lawyers increasing 24 %, followed by North Carolina at 20 %, and Texas and Georgia both at 17 %.
According to the report , Florida has 84,594 active lawyers , which makes it the state with the fourth largest lawyer population overall , behind New York ( 188,341 ), California ( 170,959 ) and Texas ( 96,827 ), respectively .
The report also devotes a full chapter to lawyer well-being . Disturbingly , it states that lawyers are twice as likely as non-lawyers to think about suicide . Other highlights from the ABA report :
• In the past five years , the wages for the average lawyer in the U . S . rose 15.4 % — from $ 141,890 in 2017 to $ 163,770 in 2022 .
• Lawyers , on average , are older than the general working population .
• Roughly 1 in 12 lawyers said they have a “ virtual law practice .”
• Nearly 9 out of 10 lawyers ( 89 %) said their firms use social media networks , such as LinkedIn .
• To protect themselves from computer security breaches , nearly half of all attorneys ( 46 %) said their firms have cyber liability insurance , which is up significantly from 34 % in 2018 .
• Law schools reported that 38,020 students began JD studies in 2022 , a drop of 11 % from the previous year .
• Unemployment among new law school graduates remained at the lowest level in at least a decade in 2022 , at about 5 %.
• The number of new law graduates joining law firms right after graduation is higher than ever , at about 50 %. The rest got jobs in government , courts , business , public interest , and other settings . The full American Bar Association report can be found at www . abalegalprofile . com . n
LAWYER GENDER 2013
LAWYER GENDER 2023
10 States with the most lawyers 2023
New York 188,341
California 170,959
Texas 96,827
Florida 84,594
Illinois
62,201
Pennsylvania 48,174
Massachusetts 42,635
New Jersey 40,078
Ohio 37,717
Michigan 34,577
J a n - F e b 2 0 2 4 | H C b a L a W Y e R
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