The Law Society’s Annual Profile contains a demographic analysis of the solicitors in NSW. Information is drawn from two sources: the annual census data in the Law Society’s database and the annual survey completed as part of the practising certificate renewal process.

The following statistics are from the 2020 Profile:

Number of solicitors nationally and by state

• Since 2011, the number of female solicitors has increased by 67%, while the number of male solicitors has increased by only 26%.
• The legal profession continues to be comprised of more female solicitors (53%) than male solicitors (47%). This is consistent across all states and territories.
• 2016 was the first year with an equal distribution of genders amongst solicitors (50% each).
• The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory have the largest percentage of female solicitors (61% and 60% respectively).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Solicitors

• In 2020, 55% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander solicitors were women.
• In 2020, there were only 309 female solicitors who identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, excluding Victoria, where no gender data was provided (0.7% of the 44,581 female solicitors in Australia).

Age and gender of solicitors

• Women solicitors are on average seven years younger than men. The average age for women is 39, while the average age for men is 46.
• 70% of solicitors below the age of 24 are women.
• There are more male solicitors than female aged 50 and older. For example, 78% of solicitors aged between 65 and 69 are men.

Duration of admission for female solicitors

• More than half of all female solicitors (52%) have been admitted for 10 years or less, compared to only a third of male solicitors (38%).

Representation of women in different legal sectors

• Out of 10,280 solicitors in the Government legal sector, 68% are women.
• Women account for 48% of solicitors in private practice, the largest legal sector with 56,180 practitioners.
• The majority of solicitors in corporate legal practice are women, accounting for 60% of 13,359 practitioners.
  • In South Australia and Tasmania, there are almost two female solicitors for every male solicitor in corporate legal practice.
  • Nationally, there were two female solicitors for every male solicitor in government legal practice and community legal practice.

Representation of women in different working locations

• There was a relatively even representation of male and female solicitors working across city, suburban, rural, interstate and overseas locations. The only employment location where women were in the minority was interstate; 55% of solicitors practising abroad are men.
• 67% of young solicitors (admitted within the last five years) working in rural or country areas were women. This represents an increase of 2% since 2018.