The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015

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The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015

Prepared for:

The Law Society of New South Wales

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The projected profile of the legal profession in 2015 is based on the Law Society’s membership database and information collected in its annual Practising Certificate surveys. Where appropriate, regression analysis of available data has been used to develop the various projections. In other cases, where for instance the relevant data are not sufficiently comprehensive, a consideration of past trends has been used to inform commentary on likely future changes. In each case the report discusses the assumptions behind and methods used to arrive at individual projections.

This report presents information on the following characteristics of the legal profession:

• Size of profession

• Sector of employment

• Basic demographic attributes such as gender and age

• Location of individual solicitors

• Number of firms

• Firm size

• Income levels

• Working patterns

• Areas of practice.

Where appropriate, projections are also broken down by sector of employment.

Tables on which the figures in the main body of the report are based are provided in Appendix A.

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2 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04

2 Basic Characteristics

This section presents projections relating to the overall number of legal practitioners in 2015 and to the gender split within the profession. It also examines the projected age profile of male and female solicitors.

2.1 Size of the profession

2.1.1 Historical trends

To project the size of the legal profession in 2015, we analysed Law Society data on the overall number of solicitors holding practising certificates in NSW between 1988 and 2003. Over this period, solicitor numbers grew from 9,808 to 18,092, representing an average annual growth rate of 4.2%. The number of solicitors per 1,000 people in NSW has also grown substantially, from 1.72 in 1988 to 2.71 in 2003 (an average growth of 3.1% per year) (see Figure 2.1).

2.1.2 Assumptions

Based on these trends, the number of solicitors in NSW is predicted to grow at a faster rate than the NSW population over the coming decade. For the purposes of our analysis, we have assumed that the growth rate of solicitors per 1,000 people over the coming year will be 3% (a figure very close to the historical growth rate), declining by 0.05 each year to 2015. Figure 2.1 illustrates our projections for the number of solicitors per 1,000 people.

2.1.3 Projections

Relating the projected number of solicitors per 1,000 people to current estimates of the size of the New South Wales population up to 2015,

¹

it is estimated that the number of solicitors in that year will be 25,750. This would represent an overall growth of 42.3% over the period 2003- 2015. Figure 2.2 illustrates the historical and projected growth in the overall size of the profession from 1988 to 2015.

1 These estimates are based on Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, with slight adjustments.

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3 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 Figure 2.1: Number of Solicitors per 1,000 People in NSW, 1988-2015

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Year

Solicitors per 1,000 people

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

Year-on-year rate of change

Solicitors per 1,000 people Year-on-year change (%)

Figure 2.2: Number of Solicitors in NSW, 1988-2015

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Year

Total No. solicitors in NSW

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

Year-on-year rate of change

Total No. Solicitors Year-on-year change (%)

Tables 1 and 2 in Appendix A provide the numerical breakdowns for the projected number of

solicitors per 1,000 people and the total number of solicitors up to 2015.

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4 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04

2.2 Gender split within the profession

2.2.1 Historical trends

The period 1988 to 2003 has seen rapid growth in female solicitors as a proportion of the whole profession. In 1988, 20.2% of solicitors in New South Wales were female; by 2003 this figure had risen to 38.6%. This means that the proportion of solicitors who are female has risen by an average of 4.4% per year since 1988.

2.2.2 Assumptions

Given this strong trend, we have assumed that the proportion of females will continue to grow over the coming decade. This assumption is supported by data on legal education enrolments, which bear out the dominance of females in the numbers of people currently studying law and completing Practical Legal Training.

²

Nevertheless, we believe that projections simply based on the current rate of growth in female solicitors would present an unrealistic picture of the likely gender mix in the profession in 2015.

To produce a more realistic scenario, we have assumed that the growth in the proportion of solicitors who are female will be 3.5% over the coming year (a figure slightly below the average rate since 1988), with this rate declining by 0.06 annually through to 2015.

2.2.3 Projections

Based on these assumptions, the gender split in the NSW legal profession is projected to be roughly even in 2013. By 2015, females would constitute the majority of solicitors; 52.2% of the profession in that year would be female and 47.8% male.

2 Urbis Keys Young obtained Department of Education, Science and Training data from the NSW College of Law on LLB enrolment and graduation numbers by gender in NSW, as well data on the gender split in P.L.T. enrolments. Although these data clearly indicated that females are over-represented among those studying law, they did not date back long enough to be factored into the projections.

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5 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04

Figure 2.3 illustrates the historical and projected gender mix within the profession from 1988 to

2015.

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6 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 Figure 2.3: Number of Male and Female Solicitors in NSW, 1988-2015

Female Male

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Year

N o . p ra ct is in g s o lic it o rs in N S W

Tables 3 and 4 in Appendix A provide numerical breakdowns on the total number of male and female solicitors and the gender split within the profession from 1988 to 2015.

2.3 Age

2.3.1 Historical trends

Law Society data on the ages of NSW solicitors is available from 1997 to 2003. The average age of solicitors changed very little over that period, from 41.0 to 40.9 years. There was also little change in the average age for each gender between 1997 and 2003: males rose from 43.0 to 43.7years, while females remained steady at 36.2.

Despite the relatively constant average age, the distribution of ages changed noticeably over the

same period. For males, there was a drop in the proportion of solicitors aged between 35 and 45

years; at the same time, there were increases in the proportions of male solicitors aged

between 25 and 30 and between 55 and 65 years. In broad terms, these changes suggest that,

over recent years, more male solicitors with around 5 to 15 years experience have tended to

leave the profession than previously; while those with more than 15 years experience have

tended to stay in the profession.

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7 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 Different trends are noticeable for female solicitors between 1997 and 2003. As with the males, there was a fall in the proportion of female solicitors aged between 35 and 45 years. However, there was also an increase in the proportion of females between 45 and 55, suggesting that women of childbearing age who leave the profession are more likely to re-enter in the future.

And, since the majority of those admitted as a solicitor for the first time over the period were female, there has also been a large increase in the proportion of young female solicitors – those under 30 years.

These trends are illustrated in Figures 2.4 and 2.5, while the numbers on which they are based are provided in Tables 5 and 6 in Appendix A.

Figure 2.4: Ages of Male Solicitors, 1997 to 2003

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

<24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75+

Age cohort

% of population in each age cohort

1997

2003

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8 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 Figure 2.5: Ages of Female Solicitors, 1997 to 2003

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

<24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75+

Age cohort

% of population in each age cohort

1997 2003

2.3.2 Future implications

There are many variables which might conceivably influence the age profile of the solicitors of NSW, including the gender split among both experienced and recently admitted practitioners and demand for different types of solicitors. Because of insufficient data on these variables, projections of the age profile of male and female solicitors have not been made.

However, based on the trends described above, a number of comments relating to the future age profile can be made. Since more males with between 5 and 15 years of experience have left the profession in recent years, it is predicted that there would be a smaller proportion of highly experienced male solicitors in the future than in the past. This trend will become more pronounced as older solicitors (those between 55 and 65 now) retire. Since males have traditionally dominated the ranks of highly experienced solicitors, this trend could result in a greater degree of gender parity among senior practitioners than in previous years.

The female dominance of those entering law means that the females would be expected to constitute the majority of solicitors with less than 15 years experience over the coming years.

As these practitioners reach their mid-30s, more will leave the profession than in previous years,

but they will also be more likely to re-enter from their mid-40s onward than female solicitors in

the past.

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9 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04

A further observation can be made about average age in the profession generally. Because

females are projected to constitute more than half of practitioners in 2015, and because the

average for female practitioners is considerably lower than for males, the average age among

the profession is predicted to fall over the coming decade.

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10 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04

3 Sector of employment

This section presents projections relating to the three major sectors within the legal profession:

private practice, corporate and government. It also provides information on the gender breakdown within each sector.

3.1 Sector size

3.1.1 Historical trends

Data on the composition of the legal profession by sector of employment have been collected since 1996. Since that time, the composition of the profession by sector of employment has changed somewhat.

Between 1996 and 2003, the proportion of all solicitors working in private practice – by far the largest sector – has dropped from 77.5% to 72.7%. Over the same period, the corporate sector has increased considerably, from 10.1% of all solicitors to 13.2%. The government sector has remained steady at around 10.4%.

3.1.2 Assumptions and Projections

On the basis of these trends we have assumed that, over the period 2004-2015, the proportion of all solicitors working in private practice will drop by an average of 0.5% per year, meaning that private practitioners would constitute 68.4% of the profession in 2015. At the same time, the proportion of solicitors in the corporate sector is projected to rise by 3.5% per year, with 19.9%

of solicitors in this category in 2015. As over the last eight years, the government sector is assumed to remain steady at 10.4% of all solicitors in NSW.

Figures 3.1 and 3.2 illustrate these projections. The numbers on which they are based are given

in Table 7 in Appendix A. Note that the sum of the projected numbers of solicitors in each sector

do not equal the total size of the profession as projected in Section 2; the difference is

accounted for by those solicitors classified as ‘other’ –not falling into the private, corporate or

government categories.

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11 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 Figure 3.1: Proportion of Total Solicitors by Sector of Employment, 1996-2015

Private

Corporate

Government 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Year

% of total practising solicitors in NSW

Figure 3.2: Total Solicitors by Sector of Employment, 1996-2015

Private

Corporate

Government 0

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Year

No. total practising solicitors in NSW ('000)

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12 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04

3.2 Gender mix

3.2.1 Historical trends

Data on the number of males and females working in each sector are available back to 1996. In each sector, they show a consistent rise in the proportion of solicitors who are female.

However, in 2003 there was already a considerable degree of gender parity among non-private practitioners – 49.7% of corporate solicitors and 52.4% of government solicitors in that year were female.

3.2.2 Assumptions

Our projection of the gender split in private practice in 2015 is based on the assumption that the proportion of these solicitors who are male will fall by an average of 1.9% per year. For the corporate sector, we assume that the proportion who are male will fall by 2.0%; for government solicitors, we assumed a 2.3% drop per year. These various figures are very close to the annual average changes in the respective male contingents between 1996 and 2003.

3.2.3 Projections

By 2015, our projections suggest that females would dominate both the government and corporate sectors, although a majority of private practitioners in 2015 would still be male. It is predicted that the gender breakdown in private practice in 2015 will be 52.3% male and 47.7%

female. In the corporate sector, the split would be 39.5% male and 60.5% female. Among government solicitors, 36.0% would be male and 64.0% female in 2015.

These projections are illustrated in Figure 3.3, while the numbers on which they are based are

provided in Tables 8, 9 and 10 in Appendix A. The total number of practitioners in each sector as

reported in these tables is slightly less than the overall figure projected in Section 2, since

predictions relating to the number of solicitors working interstate and overseas have not been

made.

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13 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 Figure 3.3: Gender Split by Sector of Employment, 1996-2015

(P,M)

(P,F)

(P,F) (C,M)

(C,M)) (C,F)

(C,F)

(G,M) (G,M)

(G,F)

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Year

Private (Male/Female) Corporate (Male/Female) Government (Male/Female)

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14 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04

4 Location

This section presents projections about the location of individual solicitors and the location of private law firms.

4.1 Individual solicitors

4.1.1 Historical trends

Data on the working locations of individual solicitors holding practising certificates has been collected by the Law Society since 1988. Although the total numbers of solicitors working in city, suburban and country areas have all grown since that time, there have been considerable changes in the proportions of all solicitors working in each location type.

In 1988, 49.9% of solicitors in New South Wales worked in the Sydney CBD. By 2003, this figure had grown to 55.1% (representing an average annual increase of 0.7%). The percentage of solicitors working in Sydney’s suburbs also grew, from 26.5% in 1988 to 27.2% in 2003 (an average annual increase of 0.2%). By contrast, the proportion working in country locations dropped from 16.7% to 13.7% over the same period (an average decline of 1.3% per year).

4.1.2 Assumptions

Projections based solely on these recent rates of change in working locations would present an unrealistic picture of the profession in 2015, particularly given a recent slowdown in the trends described above. Therefore, we have used more conservative estimates of the growth or decline in solicitors working in each location type over the coming decade. We have assumed a 0.2% annual growth in the proportion of solicitors working in the city, a 0.1% annual growth in the proportion working in suburban locations, and a 1.0% annual fall for country solicitors.

4.1.3 Projections

With regard to location, these figures present a picture of the future profession not greatly

dissimilar to that in operation today. It is projected that in 2015 56.5% of NSW solicitors would

work in the Sydney CBD, 27.5% of solicitors in Sydney’s suburbs, and 12.1% in country

locations (the biggest relative change of the three location types). Figure 4.1 illustrates these

trends, while the numbers on which they are based are given in Table 11 in Appendix A.

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15 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 Figure 4.1: Proportion of Total Solicitors by Location, 1988-2015.

City

Suburban

Country

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Year

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16 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04

5 Private Law Firms

This section presents projections relating to the total number of private law firms in New South Wales, as well as the number of firms in different size categories. It does not provide information on the number of individual solicitors working for firms in each category, since the relevant historical data were not sufficiently comprehensive.

5.1 Number of Firms

5.1.1 Historical trends

The Law Society has collected data since 1988 on the number of private law firms in NSW, as well as the number of partners in each law firm.

The total number of firms has grown each year, from 2,454 in 1988 to 3,725 in 2003. The average number of private practitioners per firm has also grown, from 3.23 in 1996 to 3.53 in 2003 (or by an average of 1.4% per year).

³

However, this growth has slowed over the last three or four years.

5.1.2 Assumptions and projections

We have assumed that the number of solicitors per firm will continue to grow over the next few years. Given the recent slowdown in the rate of growth, however, we have assumed a future growth rate lower than the average of 1.4% for the period 1996 to 2003; we have worked on the basis of an annual increase of 1.0% per year in the number of solicitors per firm. This would mean an average of 3.98 solicitors per firm in 2015.

Applying these figures to the total number of private practitioners (as projected in Section 2), it is estimated that the total number of private law firms in 2015 would be 4,430, representing an 18.9% growth on 2003 numbers. Projections of the total number of firms are illustrated in Figure 5.1; the numbers on which they are based are given in Table 13a in Appendix A.

3 Data on individual solicitors by sector of employment is available for the period 1996 to 2003.

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17 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 Figure 5.1: Total Number of Law Firms and Average Number of Solicitors per Firm, 1988-2015

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Year

Total number of law firms in NSW

0 1 2 3 4

Average number of soliciters per law firm No. law firms

Average no. solicitors per firm

5.2 Firm size

5.2.1 Historical trends

Law Society data on the number of partners in individual private law firms provide information on changes in firm sizes, and show a number of such changes over recent years.

The number of firms with more than 20 partners has increased from 13 in 1988 to 24 in 2003.

The number of sole practitioner firms has increased substantially over that period, from 1,587 to 3,036. By contrast, firms with 2 to 20 partners decreased over the same period: firms with 2 to 4 partners dropped from 739 to 582, firms with 5 to 10 partners dropped from 102 to 71, and firms with 11 to 20 partners dropped from 13 to 12.

These changes mean that the percentages of firms in each size category as a proportion of total

firms have also changed. In 1988, 64.7% of firms involved sole practitioners; by 2003, this figure

had risen to 81.5%. Two to four partner firms constituted 30.1% of all firms in 1988, but only

15.6% in 2003. Firms with 5 to 10 partners dropped from 4.2% of firms to 1.9% during this

period, while firms with 11 to 20 partners dropped from 0.5% to 0.3%. Meanwhile, the

proportion of firms with more than 20 partners rose slightly in percentage terms, from 0.5% in

1988 to 0.6% in 2003.

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18 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 As with trends in the total number of firms, these changes appear to have slowed somewhat over the last several years.

5.2.2 Assumptions

Projections of the number of firms in each size category are based on changes in the proportion of total firms in each category, as described above. Because of the recent slowdown in these trends, the figures used to calculate future annual changes are somewhat below the historical averages.

Projections of the proportion of firms with 2 to 4 partners are based on an annual decline of 2.5% in the number of firms in this category as a proportion of total firms (compared to the historical average of 4.3%). For firms with 5 to 10 partners, an annual decline of 4.0% has been assumed (as against a historical average of 5.1%); and for firms with 11 to 10 partners, an annual decline of 2.0% (the historical average being 3.3%). For firms with more than 20 partners, we have assumed an annual growth of 1.1%, compared to the past average growth rate of 1.3%.

For sole practitioner firms, the annual growth rate has been calculated on a residual basis using the above assumptions in mind. By this method, the growth rate in the number of sole practitioners as a proportion of total firms is 0.5% per year, compared to the annual average of 1.6% between 1996 and 2003.

5.2.3 Projections

Sole practitioner firms are projected to grow from 81.5% of all firms in 2003 to 86.3% in 2015.

The total number of sole practitioners would grow from 3,036 to 3,824 over this period.

Firms with 2 to 4 partners are projected to fall from 15.6% of all firms in 2003 to 11.5% in 2015;

the number of firms in this category would drop from 582 to 511.

Firms with 5 to 10 partners are projected to fall from 1.9% of all firms in 2003 to 1.2% in 2015, with the number of firms in this category dropping from 71 to 52.

Firms with 11 to 20 partners are projected to fall from 0.32% of all firms in 2003 to 0.25% in

2015. The number of firms in this category would drop from 12 to 11.

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19 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 Finally, firms with more than 20 partners are projected to rise from 0.6% of all firms in 2003 to 0.7% in 2015. The number of firms in this category would increase from 24 to 33.

Changes in sole practitioner firms are illustrated in Figure 5.2. Table 13b in Appendix A provides the numbers for the projections of all firm size categories.

Figure 5.2: Number of Sole Practitioners and Percentage of Total Firms, 1988-2015

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Year

Total number of sole practitioners

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Percentage of total firms

Sole practitioners

% of Total Firms

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20 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04

6 Income

The Law Society has collected information on solicitors’ incomes through its annual Practising Certificate survey since 1998. This section presents projections relating to the average incomes of all solicitors, as well as average incomes by gender and by sector of employment.

6.1 Overall income

6.1.1 Historical trends

Solicitors’ average reported incomes rose substantially between 1998 and 2004, from $72,700 to $85,900. This represents an increase in nominal incomes of 18.2%. However, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that over a comparable period, overall wages in Australia rose by a greater amount – 21.6%.

⁴

In fact, solicitors’ average incomes over this period, as reported in Practising Certificate surveys, did not match the rise in the cost of living, which rose by 19.5%.

⁵

6.1.2 Assumptions

Over this period, solicitors’ overall incomes rose by an average of 2.9% per year, and this figure has been employed to project nominal incomes into the future. To gain a picture of solicitors’

real incomes in 2015, it has been assumed that the cost of living will rise by an average of 2%

per year.

6.1.3 Projections

The average nominal income for all solicitors is projected to rise to $121,900 in 2015. The average real income – based on annual increases in the cost of living of 2% - is projected to rise to $93,400 in 2004 dollars. Figure 6.1 depicts these projections.

4 Based on Wage Cost Index data on total hourly rates of pay, excluding bonuses, for the period March 1998-March 2004.

5 Based on Consumer Price Index data for NSW from 1997/98-2003/04.

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21 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 Figure 6.1: Average Nominal and Real Income for all Solicitors, 1998-2004

Total

nom

real

$70

$80

$90

$100

$110

$120

98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Year

Annual income ('000)

6.2 Income by gender

6.2.1 Historical trends

Female practitioners have consistently reported lower incomes than males in the Practising Certificate survey. In 1988, the average income reported by female respondents was $59,400, while for males it was $79,200. In 2004, the average female income was $73,100; while the male average was $94,400.

6.2.2 Assumptions

Because some of the differences between male and female incomes will be attributable to the different rates of full time and part time work as well as to different lengths of time since admission, data on full time solicitors only have been used to calculate projections of average incomes by gender. This information is available for the period 2000 to 2004.

Over this period, average male incomes rose by an average of 3.0% per year, while average

female incomes rose 3.5%. These figures have been used to project average incomes into the

future.

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22 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 6.2.3 Projections

The average nominal income for full time male solicitors is projected to rise to $130,300 in 2015.

This equates to an average real income of $109,100 in 2004 dollars.

The average nominal income for full time female solicitors is projected to rise to $106,900 in 2015. This equates to an average real income of $85,600 in 2004 dollars.

Figure 6.2 illustrates projections of the nominal and real incomes for full time solicitors by gender.

Figure 6.2: Average Nominal and Real Income by Gender, 2000-2015

nom

Male

real

Female

nom real

$60

$70

$80

$90

$100

$110

$120

$130

$140

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15

Year

A n n u al in co m e ( '000)

6.3 Income by Sector of Employment

6.3.1 Historical trends

Since 1998, corporate solicitors have reported higher incomes than private practitioners, while private practitioners have in turn reported higher incomes than government solicitors. Over the period 1998 to 2004, the average income for corporate solicitors rose from $110,500 to

$127,200; for private practitioners, the average income rose from $72,900 to $84,900; and for

government solicitors, it rose from $59,700 to $72,200.

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23 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 6.3.2 Assumptions

Between 1998 and 2003, the incomes of corporate solicitors rose by an average of 3.5% per year, for private practitioners by 2.6% per year, and for government solicitors by 3.2% per year.

These figures have been used to project average incomes for solicitors in each sector of employment into the future.

6.3.3 Projections

The average nominal income for corporate solicitors is projected to rise to $158,800 in 2015.

This equates to an average real income of $127,200 in 2004 dollars.

The average nominal income for private practitioners is projected to rise to $112,400 in 2015.

This equates to an average real income of $90,000 in 2004 dollars.

The average nominal income for government solicitors is projected to rise to $102,500 in 2015.

This equates to an average real income of $82,000 in 2004 dollars.

Figure 6.3 depicts projections of real incomes for each sector of employment.

Figure 6.3: Average Real Income by Sector of Employment in 2004 dollars, 1998-2015

Coprporate

Government Private

$40

$60

$80

$100

$120

$140

$160

98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15

Year

A n n u al in co m e (' 000)

The numbers on which the various income projections are based are provided in Tables 14 and

15 in Appendix A.

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24 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04

7 Working Patterns

The Law Society collects data on various aspects of solicitors’ working conditions through its annual Practising Certificate survey. This section deals with information on the working patterns of solicitors in New South Wales.

7.1 Full time and part time work

7.1.1 Historical trends

Data on the percentages of survey respondents working full time and part time is available dating back to 1995. Adjusted for non-response, these data show a decline in the proportion of solicitors working full time, and an associated rise in the proportion working part time. In 1995, 92.2% of solicitors worked full time and 7.8% worked part time. By 2004, 89.1% worked full time and 10.9 worked part time. However, much of this change occurred from 2003 to 2004, calling into question the accuracy of the 2003 and/or 2004 data. Nevertheless, a drop in full time work and a rise in part time work is still identifiable between 1995 and 2003.

Unlike solicitors generally, the full time/part time split has not changed greatly for either males or females: the proportion of males working full time dropped from 94.9% in 1995 to 94.8% in 2003, while for females it dropped from 84.7% to 84.2% over the same period. This compares to a much greater decrease in the proportion of overall solicitors working full time – from 92.2%

in 1995 to 90.5% in 2003. Thus, much of this overall change can be attributed to the growing proportion of female solicitors in recent years.

7.1.2 Assumptions

Because of the uncertain accuracy of 2004 PC survey data on the full time/part time split,

projections have been based on the average annual decline in the proportion of solicitors

working full time between 1995 and 2003. For all solicitors, this figure is 0.22%. For males, the

average annual decline was 0.01%, while for females it was 0.07%. The percentage working

part time has been extrapolated from the projections for full time workers.

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25 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 7.1.3 Projections

Based on these assumptions, proportion of all solicitors working full time is projected to fall to 88.1%, with 11.9% working part time; for males, 94.7% would work full time and 5.3% part time; and for females the breakdown would be 83.5% full time and 16.5% part time. These projections are illustrated in Figures 7.1 and 7.2. The numbers on which they are based are given in Table 16 in Appendix A.

Figure 7.1: Proportion of Solicitors Working Full time, 1995-2015

Female

Total

Male

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Year

% of solicitors working full time

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26 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 Figure 7.2: Proportion of Solicitors Working Part time, 1995-2015

Female

Total

Male

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Year

% of solicitors working part time

7.2 Mean working hours

The PC survey also collects information on solicitors’ weekly working hours. Data on mean working hours for part time workers dates are available from 1997 to 2004, while data on mean working hours for those working full time are available from 1999 to 2004. While these do not provide sufficient basis to make accurate projections of mean working hours, they do provide some insight into recent trends in working patterns.

Since 1997, part time solicitors have reported longer working hours, with a rise in mean working hours from 19.4 hours in 1997 to 23.7 hours in 2004. Males in part time work, in particular, have been reporting more hours, from an average of 17.5 in 1997 to 22.5 in 2004; this compares with an increase from 20.6 to 24.2 hours for female solicitors working part time over the same period. These trends are illustrated in Figure 7.3; Table 17 in Appendix A provides the average working hours for male and female solicitors between 1997 and 2004.

Meanwhile, the average working week for solicitors working full time fell slightly between 1999

and 2004, from 50.8 hours to 49.8. The fall in full time hours was spread relatively evenly across

male and female solicitors. Males, however, continued to report longer hours of work than

females; in 2004, males reported working an average of 50.9 hours, compared to 48.1 for

females. Figure 7.4 illustrates these changes.

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27 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 7.2.1 Future implications

Based on the trends described above, full time solicitors are predicted to work shorter hours in the coming years. Full time males, however, would still be expected to work longer hours than their full time female colleagues.

Part time solicitors – particularly males – are predicted to work longer hours than they are at present. However, part time females would still be expected to work longer hours than part time males.

Figure 7.3: Average Hours Worked per Week by Part Time Solicitors, 1997-2004

Female Total Male

16 18 20 22 24 26

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Year

A ver ag e h o u rs w o rk ed p er w eek

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28 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 Figure 7.4: Average Hours Worked per Week by Full Time Solicitors, 1999-2004

Male

Female Total

46 48 50 52 54

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Year

Av er ag e hour sw o rk ed pe r w ee k

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29 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04

8 Areas of practice

Data on the areas in which solicitors practice law is derived from the Law Society’s annual practising certificate survey. Since 1993, solicitors have been asked to nominate those areas of law in which they spend 25% or more of their time. Response rates to this question have been variable from year to year, and fluctuations in response rates to both the areas of practice question and the survey generally have made the data somewhat unreliable. The areas in which solicitors practise law is also heavily influenced by a range of unpredictable factors, such as legislative and government policy changes.

For these reasons, we have not made quantitative projections relating to areas of practice based on the information collected in the practicing certificate surveys. However, the survey data do show a number of patterns in the areas of practice that survey respondents nominated from year to year, and these patterns provide some indication of likely trends over coming years.

The area of practice most commonly nominated by respondents to the 2004 practising certificate survey was Conveyancing/Real Property, at 32%; this proportion declined considerably between 1993 and 2001, but has remained relatively steady since that time.

Commercial Litigation was the next most common (31%), and has been rising slightly since 2000. Civil Litigation (26%) also remained steady recently. Wills and Estates (20%) rose every year between 2000 and 2004, suggesting that this area of practice may continue to become more common in years to come.

Table 8.1 lists areas of practice according to whether they are becoming more or less common, or whether they have remained steady over recent years. It also provides information on the percentages of respondents in the 2004 practising certificate survey who nominated each area.

Areas have been categorised as rising or falling only where an identifiable trend has been noted;

otherwise they have been classified as steady.

Table 18 in Appendix A provides the data on which these trends are based. It shows that the

areas of practice with particularly noticeable changes are Personal Injury, which has been

dropping since 1997, and Immigration Law, which has been growing since 2000 (although the

proportions of solicitors nominating Immigration Law has been quite small over that time).

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30 The Solicitors of New South Wales in 2015 – Final Report J79-04 Table 8.1: Recent Trends in Areas of Practice

Area of practice Trend 2004 PC survey result

Commercial Law Rising 31.2%

Wills and Estates Rising 20.4%

Family Law Rising 15.8%

Industrial Relations Law Rising 8.9%

Administrative Law Rising 5.3%

Immigration Law Rising 2.5%

Personal Injury Falling 12.1%

Corporations Law Falling 11.6%

Small Business Law Falling 10.0%

Banking/Finance Falling 7.5%

Advocacy Falling 6.5%

Conveyancing/Real Property Steady 32.2%

Civil Litigation Steady 25.5%

Criminal Law Steady 13.8%

Debts/Insolvency Steady 7.8%

Intellectual Property Steady 6.7%

Trade Practices Law Steady 5.4%

Planning/Local Government Steady 3.8%

Taxation Steady 3.4%

Environmental Law Steady 2.9%

Product Liability Steady 1.4%

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appendices