Legal industry research summary. The legal industry in the US has helped many Americans get through legal troubles and made many others rich for the services they offer. Whether you’re interested in becoming a lawyer or simply want to know more about the state of the legal industry, we’ve gathered all of the latest insights. According to our research:
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There are 1.327 million active lawyers in the US.
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The US has the most lawyers per capita compared to other countries, with 1 lawyer for every 248 residents.
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There are 449,633 law firms across the US as of 2023.
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The US legal services industry is valued at $372.61 billion
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The US law industry is projected to have a CAGR of 2.5% between 2023 and 2030.
For further analysis, we broke down the data in the following ways: Law Firms | Lawyers | Burnout | Law School
Legal marketing statistics
Legal industry success is largely driven by legal marketing. From attention through websites to the importance of having an internal marketing staff, here are some interesting facts about legal marketing:
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32% of people looking for a lawyer start their search on a search engine.
Unlike many other inquiries, searching for a lawyer doesn’t typically start with a search engine for most people. Instead, 45% of people find their lawyer through word of mouth from a friend or family member.
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94% of law firms have a website.
That’s up from the already impressive 86% of law firms that maintained websites in 2019, showing that almost all lawyers have a digital presence in 2023.
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59% of clients seek a referral for a lawyer.
Lawyer referral services maintain a network of lawyers and connect potential clients with the attorneys participating in the service. To try and receive a lawyer who’s best suited to their needs, the majority of clients search for a lawyer this way.
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97% of law firms with 100+ lawyers have an internal marketing staff.
Likewise, 92% of law firms with 50+ lawyers also have an internal marketing staff, meaning that the majority of law firms have marketing teams regardless of size.
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46% of law firms have a marketing budget.
That leaves just over half (54%), who don’t have a marketing budget. Marketing budgets are also much less common with solo attornies, where only 14% say they have a marketing budget.
Year-over-year change in US law firm marketing budgets
| Year-over-year marketing budget change | Share of law firms |
|---|---|
| Decreased | 11% |
| Remained the same | 27% |
| Increased | 26% |
| Unsure | 36% |
Law firm statistics
Law firms serve as crucial middlemen between clients and lawyers, allowing the two to easily match up. To explore more about the importance of and large size of law firms in the US, here are some interesting statistics:
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The top 100 law firms generated $130.8 billion in revenue in 2022.
The top 100 law firms generate impressive revenue, which has been increasing over time. Between 2021-2022 the amount of revenue generated increased by 2.7%.
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Only 5% of law firms use live chat.
This is even though 90% of US consumers find live chat useful, meaning that law firms could stand to gain from implementing the feature.
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The largest law firm in the US by revenue is Kirkland Ellis, with a revenue of $6.04 billion.
Kirkland Ellis has over 3,000 lawyers at their client’s disposal, making them one of the largest law firms in the US by number of lawyers, and the largest by revenue.
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Baker McKenzie is the largest US law firm by number of lawyers, with a total of 4,795.
Surprisingly, Kirkland Ellis (the largest law firm by revenue), doesn’t even break the top three law firms by number of lawyers. Those titles go to Baker McKenzie (4,795), DLA Piper (4,028), and Norton Rose Fulbright (3,084).
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18% of lawyers work in law firms with over 250 lawyers total.
This number has also increased significantly over time, with only 10% working at larger law firms in 2012.
Lawyer statistics and demographics
Lawyers all over the US come from different backgrounds and can expect different salaries based on their location and other factors. To explore US lawyer demographics in more detail, we’ve gathered some insightful trends:
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The average hourly rate for lawyers in the US is $313.
However, it’s worth noting that hourly rates for lawyers vary greatly depending on the situation. For example, some attorneys charge as low as $50 or $100 per hour, while others go as high as thousands of dollars per hour for specialized legal work.
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Lawyers record an average of 2.5 billable hours in an 8-hour work day.
This equates to only around 30% of a lawyer’s average workday being billed, partially explaining the very high hourly rates.
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81% of US lawyers are White.
The vast majority of lawyers are still White, with only 5.8% being Hispanic, 5.5% being Asian, and 4.7% being Black.
Share of lawyers by race/ethnicity
Race/ethnicity Share of lawyers White 81.0% Hispanic 5.8% Asian 5.5% Black 4.7% Mixed 2.7% Native American 0.5% -
62% of all lawyers are male.
As of 2023, 38% of all lawyers in the US are now female. While this is up from only 33% a decade ago, the industry still has a long way to go for equal representation.
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The legal services market is worth $838.92 billion globally.
Between 2022 and 2023, the global legal services market grew from $787.28 billion to $838.92 billion. Going forward, it’s expected to have a CAGR of 6.6%.
Lawyer happiness, depression, and burnout statistics
The legal industry might be expected to produce happy workers and students, given the high salaries lawyers receive. However, this isn’t always the case. Many law students and lawyers struggle with depression, burnout, and other issues, partially due to high expectations and workloads.
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37% of law students report mild to severe anxiety.
Law school can be very hard on students, with 25% being at risk for alcoholism,
17% suffering from depression, and 6% having suicidal thoughts.Share of law students with mental illness
Mental illness Share of law students Anxiety 37% Alcoholism 25% Depression 17% Suicidal thoughts 6% -
28% of lawyers suffer from depression.
Depression is the most prominent mental illness suffered by lawyers, as opposed to anxiety for law students. However, 19% of lawyers do have severe anxiety, and 11.4% have suicidal thoughts.
Share of lawyers with mental illness
Mental illness Share of lawyers Depression 28.0% Anxiety 19.0% Suicidal thoughts 11.4%
Law school admissions and transfers statistics
Many law schools in the US are well-known as prestigious institutions and produce highly skilled lawyers each year. With that in mind, getting into law school is not always easy. Consider these facts:
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Yale University has the lowest acceptance rate of any law school, at 6.9%.
Yale has the lowest acceptance rate of any law school, with the rest of the top five schools being Stanford University (9.72%), University of Pennsylvania (14.6%), University of Virginia (15.3%), and Harvard University (15.6%).
Top 10 law schools by lowest acceptance rates
Law school Acceptance rate Yale University 6.90% Stanford University 9.72% University of Pennsylvania 14.60% University of Virginia 15.30% Harvard University 15.60% Columbia University 16.80% University of Chicago 17.50% Duke University 20.20% Georgetown University 21.20% Northwestern University 22.58% -
The average LSAT test score for accepted law students is 159.
However, many top law school programs require scores between 170-175, setting a very high bar for prospective students.
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Law schools only took 1,231 transfer students in 2022.
This is only just over half of the 2,219 transfer students who were accepted in 2013. Today, far fewer transfers are taken overall.
Legal Industry FAQ
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What percentage of lawyers succeed?
96% of lawyers report being successful. More specifically, 36% report being very successful in their practice, while 60% are at least somewhat successful. Only 4% of lawyers say they’re unsuccessful.
However, becoming a lawyer can be easier said than done. For instance, only 51% of law graduates report working in law firms after their graduation, even though almost all of them are employed.
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How common is it to fail the bar exam?
Failing the bar exam is fairly common, with 42% of those who take it failing. Approximately 58% of those who take the bar exam pass it, but it’s not all doom and gloom.
In all 50 states, you can take the bar exam at least twice without penalty, and in some states (e.g., California), you can take the test an unlimited number of times without restrictions.
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How old are most lawyers when they start?
Most lawyers are around 25 when they start working. This is the age that the most significant percentage of law students graduate from law school. However, this isn’t to say that no lawyers get started older. 20% of law students are 30 years old or older.
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What GPA do big law firms look for?
Law schools generally look for GPAs of 3.5 or higher. This is especially true for top schools like Yale or Stamford, which have very low acceptance rates and high standards.
For less prestigious law schools, however, getting in with a GPA of around 3.0 is more than possible.
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What is the average size of a law firm?
The average size of a US law firm is only 2.4 lawyers. Many lawyers in the US choose to open solo law firms, but many pursue careers at much larger firms. Despite the small average size, the top law firms in the US have thousands of lawyers, with the largest being over 4,000.
Conclusion
The legal industry in the US employs hundreds of thousands of Americans and services many more. Massive legal firms are largely responsible for the industry’s size, making billions in revenue and employing thousands of lawyers nationwide.
However, becoming a lawyer isn’t easy. Between stringent requirements and mental illness suffered by prospective students, it’s clear not everyone is cut out for the job.
Luckily, while diversity still lags in the legal industry, there have been improvements made within the past decade, even if requirements remain stricter than ever.
References
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ABA – Growth of the Legal Profession
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World Population Review – Lawyers per Capita by Country 2023
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IBISWorld – Law Firms in the US – Number of Businesses 2003–2029
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Grand View Research – U.S. Legal Services Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report
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Lateral Link – 2023 Am Law 100 Rankings: A Comprehensive Breakdown
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ABAJournal – A higher percentage of law grads are getting hired by larger firms
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JurisPage – How Many Hours Do Lawyers Work?
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ABA – ABA survey finds 1.3M lawyers in the U.S.
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BestColleges – Average LSAT Score and Scores of Accepted Law Students
Author
Jack Flynn is a writer for Zippia. In his professional career he’s written over 100 research papers, articles and blog posts. Some of his most popular published works include his writing about economic terms and research into job classifications. Jack received his BS from Hampshire College.
