THE NUMBERS entering the legal profession fell dramatically in 2009, according to the latest figures.
According to figures obtained by The Irish Times, the number of new solicitors joining the roll of solicitors between 2008 and 2009 fell by 10 per cent, and the number joining the bar fell by 25 per cent.
In 2008 the number of new solicitors on the roll was 777, of which 99 were foreign lawyers transferring into practice in Ireland and 11 were barristers transferring to work as solicitors. In 2009 the total number of new solicitors was 705, of which 79 were transferring foreign lawyers and nine were transferring barristers.
In the legal year 2008/2009, which started in October 2008, the number of first year barristers was 191, a drop of just eight on 2007.
Last year, starting last October, the number was 143, a drop of 48 in one year, and a reduction of approximately 25 per cent.
While the number of new solicitors fell by a smaller proportion – approximately 10 per cent – this reduction is likely to be greater this year and next, as the intake into the professional course in the Law Society has been dropping dramatically, with an overall 33 per cent fall between 2007 and 2009.
In September 2007, 671 trainees started in the society’s law school. In September 2009 this had fallen to 452.
The number taking the professional barrister’s qualification, the BL degree, in the King’s Inns has actually increased, with 125 on the one-year full-time course, 42 on year one of the modular (part-time) course, and 71 on the second year of the modular course.
This is an increase of 10 on the full-time course in the previous year, when there were 115 on the course.
There were 74 on the first year of the modular course, which had just begun, indicating an attrition of three during the year.
However, there is not such a direct link between people studying in the King’s Inns and entering the bar, as some of those who acquire the BL qualification are already in employment, often in the public service.
The fall in numbers entering both branches of the profession reflects the downturn in legal work as part of the general economic slowdown represented most sharply in property-related legal work.
This is mainly done by solicitors, who have been hit particularly hard by the recession, with an estimated 800 currently unemployed. This has been exacerbated by the difficulties encountered by solicitors in obtaining professional indemnity insurance, which is a requirement of obtaining a practising certificate from the Law Society.
Director general of the Law Society Ken Murphy told The Irish Timesthat there was no further information on how many solicitors had failed to obtain insurance, but this is likely to become clear when the deadline for renewing practising certificates expires next month.
The number of barristers not practising is more difficult to gauge. Nonetheless, the number who left the bar during the 2008/2009 legal year was 60, compared with 22 the previous year.