Solicitor numbers still rising...

Law graduates no longer losing ground to non-law graduates

There seems to be a widespread fallacy abroad that there is an inexorable increase in the proportion of non-law graduates becoming solicitors in England and Wales – this analysis of recent trends from the Summer 2005 issue of Directions reveals this is not so.

The overall number of admissions to the Solicitors Roll continues to grow. It is true that there was a significant shift in the route-way to becoming a solicitor in the early 1990s. Between 1992 and 2002 there was an overall increase of 137% in the total number of direct entrants (direct entries exclude those transferring from overseas or other professions (for example the Bar, FILEX). Between those dates law graduates entering the profession only increased by 25%, compared with a 113% increase in non-law graduates.

Overall however the recent trends in graduate entry admissions to the Solicitors Roll show remarkable stability. As the graph below confirms, the law degree is growing as the preferred route to entry in both the overall number and the proportion of those admitted. Top-up fees are likely to increase this trend, as would-be entrants tot up the cost of qualification.

Source: Trends in the Solicitors’ Profession annual statistical reports, 1998-2003

The overall number of those admitted to the Roll continues to rise. This rise is attributable to a combination of law degree direct entrants and those transferring from overseas or other professions. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most significant increase has been the number and proportion of overseas lawyers being admitted. These have risen from 766 in 1997-98 (13.5%) to 1,250 in 2002-03 (18.1%).

Last Modified: 4 June 2010