LSB September 2017

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN LEGAL PROFESSION:
A SNAPSHOT
The Conference of Law Societies recently released its 2016
National Profile on Solicitors, which provides a detailed
picture of what the modern legal profession looks like and how
it is changing. The report builds on similar surveys conducted in
2011 and 2014.
The survey revealed some interesting data about the profession
in South Australia. There are almost as many female practitioners
as male practitioners, and given the rapid increase in young female
practitioners, it is inevitable that women will outnumber men in
the very near future in SA. Nationally, female practitioners have
already overtaken male practitioners, making up 50.1% of the
profession.
The study also shows that the SA profession is ageing, with SA
practitioners being the oldest in the country.
Below is an infographic which summarises some of the key
findings in the report about the South Australian profession.
SIZE OF THE PROFESSION
The South Australian profession has grown the least in the past five years (as at October 2016), recording a net increase of
6% in the profession since 2011.
RATE OF GROWTH IN THE
PROFESSION SINCE 2011
ACT 50%
WA 34%
QLD 29%
VIC 23%
NSW 23%
TAS 22%
NT 7%
SA 6%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
ACT WA QLD VIC NSW TAS NT SA
Series 1
GENDER
There has been a 10.8% increase in female practitioners since 2011, compared with a 1.7% increase in male practitioners.
GENDER PROFILE OF SA LAWYERS
NUMBER OF PRACTITIONERS UNDER
40 YEARS OF AGE
1009 669
50.8% 49.2%
NUMBER OF PRACTITIONERS AGED
60 AND OVER
130 441
20 THE BULLETIN September 2017