Annual Statistics Report 2018

The Law Society Annual Statistics Report 2018 describes the size and composition of the solicitors' profession and trends in entry to the profession.

• • At 31 July 2018, there were 143,167 solicitors with practising certificates (PCs) and 188,868 individuals on the Roll of solicitors. The number of solicitors with PCs was 2.5% higher than a year earlier
• In 2018, women with PCs outnumbered men by over 2,000, following 2017 when they exceeded 50% of PC holders for the first time
• Representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups amongst PC holders rose to 16.9%
• The numbers of PC holders working both in-house and in private practice were higher than a year earlier. The share of solicitors working in-house expanded further to 22.4% – as private practice numbers increased only marginally to 93,825
• Among the 9,452 private practice firms, the limited company structure continued to grow in popularity. Partnerships, including sole practices, accounted for just over 40% of firms – down from 60% as recently as 2012
• The number of trainee registrations rose modestly in the year to 31 July 2018 to 5,811