A profession and practice in transition
By Caroline Nevin
When you are in the middle of a relatively slow evolution, it is sometimes difficult to see what’s changing – it takes a clear look back and an unbiased look around to understand what’s really been going on. In the case of the legal profession, demographic, social and economic changes have occurred that have affected the practice of law and the needs of those within it. Like the proverbial pot of boiling frogs, we don’t know that the water temperature has changed to any significant degree, we just know that the pot isn’t quite as comfortable as it was before.
At a recent meeting of the Law Society Benchers, staff presented current statistics on the demographics of the profession.
Many things we all know instinctively: the profession is aging, the proportion of women has increased, and more people are choosing careers outside of private practice. Other facts were more surprising: for example, the proportion of lawyers in rural versus urban areas has barely changed over the last ten years.
Here are a few highlights:
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The number of lawyers in B.C. who are 60 or older has almost tripled since 2003. The numbers on the younger end of the spectrum have remained stagnant or declined in each age category.
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The proportion of lawyers aged 65 or older in Kootenay County has grown from 2.5 per cent to 19.7 per cent since 2003. Nanaimo and Cariboo aren’t far behind, at 15.3 per cent and 14.8 per cent. Considering 65 used to be considered retirement age, this is extraordinary.
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The proportion of lawyers choosing government or corporate positions over private practice has more than doubled since 1986. Only 78 per cent of the profession is working in private practice now.
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Since 1986, the proportion of the profession that is female has doubled, from 18 per cent to 36 per cent.
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In 2010, half of all B.C. lawyers earned an income of under $107K. On the economic side of things (and here’s where we start taking the temperature in the pot), growth in the profession in B.C. has more or less kept pace with growth in the general population; 1.8 per cent vs. 1.6 per cent average over the last ten years. So, contrary to some people’s views, we are not actually “over-lawyered” in terms of the number of lawyers per 1000 adults. Growth in the profession has also generally kept pace with growth in our economy (1.8 per cent vs. 1.9 per cent). However, it turns out that neither number is truly relevant to the question of why the economic temperature is so much “hotter” now. The real number that matters is the dollar value of legal services accounted for in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – in the last five years, not only has it not kept up with growth in either the profession or the general population, in B.C. it actually shrunk from $1.69 billion in 2008 to $1.475 billion in 2012. To complete our analogy, everything feels hotter right now because there are more frogs in a smaller pot.
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At a recent meeting of law association executives from around the world, these facts were consistent across presentations from South Africa, Germany and Washington State, and I saw many nodding heads in the room. There is no question that the CBA and our international sister organizations are challenged to “step up” and be the best possible source of information and support to our members who are working hard to respond to the realities and challenges of practising law today. That is our goal, and I look forward to hearing from you at any time about your ideas for how we can help.