ABA Releases Its Profile of the Legal Profession 2024
The American Bar Association recently released its 2024 ABA Profile of the Legal Profession. This year’s report focuses on the growing influence and involvement of women in the profession. The report is a compilation of information about lawyers, judges and law students.
The report reveals a shift from the traditionally male-dominated profession. Here are some of the statistics that exemplify this shift:
- 56.2% of law school students are women.
- Since 2020, a majority of the 44,000 general lawyers in the executive branch of the federal government have been women.
- In 2023, 28% of law firm partners were women, but that percentage is slowly growing every year.
- There are 484 female federal judges.
- 50.3% of law firm associates are women.
The report also disclosed some interesting information about the 1.3 million lawyers in the United States:
- 25% of all the lawyers in the country are in New York and California.
- North Carolina has 26,515 lawyers.
- The percentage of lawyers of color in the United States nearly doubled in the past decade. It is now 23%.
- Lawyers are older than in other professions. The median age for all lawyers is 46 years old. The median age for all U.S. workers is 42.1. This is partially due to the fact that lawyers don’t start working until a later age because of law school. In 1980, the median age for lawyers was 39 years old. The oldest working U.S. citizens are farmers, ranchers and agricultural managers.
- The number of new law students going to work in private practices is growing. The number getting jobs in the business sector has been falling.
- The average pay for U.S. lawyers has increased by 19.2% from 2021 to 2023. The average pay is now $176,470. Lawyers are now ranked 28th in pay among all professions. The average pay for all U.S. workers is $65,470. If you want the highest pay, move to San Jose, California where the average pay is $268,570.
