Practitioner Statistics
This page provides data on the legal profession in Victoria as at 30 April 2013.
General information
The total number of registered practitioners in the state of Victoria as at 30 April 2013 was 17967. The number of new practitioners admitted to the Supreme Court of Victoria between 1 April and 30 April 2013 was 141.
Practitioner statistics
Practitioners by age and gender
As with the previous reporting year, the majority of legal practitioners registered in Victoria at 30 April 2013 were male. Female practitioners again dominated the 20-30 and 31-40 age brackets but were significantly under represented in the older age brackets. Table 1 shows the breakdown of practitioners by age and gender.
|
Age in Years |
|||||||
|
20-30 |
31-40 |
41-50 |
51-60 |
61-70 |
>70 |
Total |
|
| Male |
1,422 |
2,336 |
2,014 |
2,218 |
1,429 |
351 |
9,770 |
| Female |
2,434 |
2,989 |
1,624 |
879 |
237 |
34 |
8,197 |
| Total |
3,856 |
5,325 |
3,638 |
3,097 |
1,666 |
385 |
17,967 |
Table 1: Practitioners registered in Victoria as at 30 April 2013 by age and gender.
Solicitors and barristers by gender
The majority of legal practitioners registered in Victoria are classified as solicitors, with male solicitors outnumbering female solicitors. Table 2 illustrates the number of male and female legal practitioners registered as solicitors or barristers in Victoria.
|
Type |
|||
|
Solicitors |
Barristers |
Total |
|
| Male |
8,339 |
1,431 |
9,770 |
| Female |
7,704 |
493 |
8,197 |
| Total |
16,043 |
1,924 |
17,967 |
Table 2: Practitioners registered in Victoria at 30 April 2013 by practitioner type and gender.
Solicitors and barristers by location
As evidenced in Table 3, the majority of legal practitioners are based in the Melbourne area.
|
Type |
|||
|
Solicitors |
Barristers |
Total |
|
| City |
8,590 |
1,861 |
10,451 |
| Suburb |
5,543 |
50 |
5,593 |
| Country |
1,305 |
8 |
1,313 |
| Overseas |
404 |
2 |
406 |
| Interstate |
201 |
3 |
204 |
| Total |
16,043 |
1,924 |
17,967 |
Table 3: Practitioners registered in Victoria as at 30 April 2013 by practitioner type and location.
Entity statistics
General information
The total number of entities registered in Victoria at 30 April 2013 was 7,791. The vast majority of these were sole practitioners, followed by non-legal employers, as illustrated in the Table 4.
| Type |
Total |
| Sole Practitioner |
5,296 |
| Non-legal Employer |
1,170 |
| Incorporated Legal Practice |
929 |
| Law Firm |
229 |
| Government Employer |
86 |
| Community Legal Centre |
57 |
| Foreign Law Practice |
13 |
| Multi-Disciplinary Partnership |
11 |
| Total |
7,791 |
Table 4: Numbers of entities registered in Victoria as at 30 April 2013.
Entity types by location
Table 5 shows the majority of entities registered in Victoria are sole practitioners who work in the Melbourne metropolitan area.
| Type |
City |
Suburb |
Country |
Interstate |
Overseas |
Total |
| Community Legal Centre |
16 |
31 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
57 |
| Government Employer |
60 |
22 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
86 |
| Incorporated Legal Practice |
349 |
412 |
123 |
45 |
0 |
929 |
| Law Firm |
117 |
66 |
35 |
11 |
0 |
229 |
| Multi-Disciplinary Partnership |
7 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
13 |
| Non-Legal Employer |
518 |
447 |
40 |
36 |
129 |
1,170 |
| Sole Practitioner |
2,474 |
2,071 |
382 |
54 |
315 |
5,296 |
| Foreign Law Practice |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
11 |
| Total |
3,546 |
3,057 |
591 |
151 |
446 |
7,791 |
Table 5: Entities registered in Victoria as at 30 April by entity type and location.