Entry trends

In 2022, 33,720 UK students applied to study law at undergraduate level in England and Wales, out of whom 29,905 UK students were accepted on to courses.

8,650 overseas students applied to study law at undergraduate level in England and Wales, out of whom 4,345 overseas students were accepted on to courses.

Of the UK students accepted onto courses:

• 15,120 are female and 6,440 are male
• 9,385 are from minority ethnic groups

Of the ethnic minority students accepted onto courses:

• 6,545 are female and 2,840 are male

Of the overseas students accepted onto courses:

• 2,695 are female and 1,650 are male

Period of recognised training

In the year ending 31 July 2022, 4,952 new traineeships were registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

Admission to the roll

The SRA is required to collect and maintain records of all qualified solicitors on the roll.

7,160 individuals were admitted to the roll in the year that ended 31 July 2022.

Of these qualified solicitors:

• 3,827 are female and 2,523 are male
• the average age entered onto the roll in 2021-22, across both genders, is 30 years
• the average for males is 32.5 and the average age for females is 30.6

It’s no longer viable to report ethnicity information for those admitted to the roll since this was available for only 25% of individuals admitted.

Solicitors on the roll

As of 31 July 2022, there are 216,173 solicitors on the roll.

Of these solicitors on the roll:

• 106,251 are women and 95,850 are men
• 28,886 of solicitors are from minority ethnic groups (based on the proportion of admissions where ethnicity is known)

In 2022, 156,976 solicitors held current practising certificates.

Of these solicitors holding practising certificates:

• 76,261 are held by women and 68,357 are held by men
• 21,738 are from minority ethnic groups (based on the proportion of admissions where ethnicity is known)