The 2023 Annual Profile of Solicitors NSW, released last week, is compiled by consulting firm Urbis and a voluntary survey of solicitors when renewing their practising certificates, drawing on data captured last October from the Law Society’s database of solicitors, which then numbered 40,052 – an increase of 199 per cent since 1997.

This year, 55 per cent of practising solicitors in NSW were female, and 45 per cent were male – meaning that for the seventh year in a row, female solicitors outnumbered male solicitors.

According to the report, less than a third of female solicitors working in private practice were principals of their law practice (29 per cent), compared to more than half of males working in private practice (52 per cent).

There was also a greater proportion of male principals (65 per cent) than females (35 per cent). However, this gap has gradually decreased; in 2013, seventy-six per cent of partners/principals were male, and only 24 per cent were female, and in 2023, these proportions were 65 per cent males and 35 per cent females.

President of the Law Society of NSW Brett McGrath said he’s encouraged at the further positive progress shown in this profile around the gender pay gap and career expectations for women in the profession.

“For three years, the gap between women and men earning over $150,000 a year has remained at a stubborn 9 per cent. That pay gap has now halved over the last decade to 7 per cent. There has been an 11 per cent increase over 10 years in the number of women who are principals or partners in private practice,” he said.

“And that’s good because I think it demonstrates that women are entering those leadership roles, those senior associate roles, that five-year PQE where they’re earning over $150,000, and that gap is narrowing. It’s still stubborn, but it’s narrowing, and it’s heading in the right direction.”

In the 35 to 39 age bracket, 44 per cent of male respondents reported incomes of over $200,000, compared to 29 per cent of females. Between the ages of 40 and 49, thirty-six per cent of male respondents reported incomes of over $250,000, compared to 29 per cent of females.

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However, the number of women in practice leadership roles has doubled over the last decade, according to McGrath, who added that the trend of women outnumbering men in the profession will continue after being “consistent” for the last few years.

“When you have the grads coming out or newly admitted solicitors, female two to one male, that trend will only increase. So, the profession will look very different in 10 to 15 years’ time. We’re at a really exciting inflection point.

“It’s exciting that law is one of the leaders in the professional world. And studies have shown that when you have diversity in boards and in leadership roles, particularly when you have gender balance as well, that drives cultural change,” McGrath said.

A larger proportion of female solicitors in NSW were working in the corporate and government legal sectors (24 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively), compared to male solicitors (18 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively)

“There is a shift in particularly after that five-year bracket, we see that women are drawn to in-house or government roles as well during that period, so I think that’s where, as a profession, we’re reflecting on what are the benefits for, you know what’s attractive in those roles often it’s able to balance caring responsibilities, whether they’re for the children or for ageing parents,” McGrath said.

“When we talk about caring responsibilities, we’re really conscious that it’ll be people in my generation who might be an only child or one of two, and therefore, they’re going to be taking the burden of caring roles as they enter their late 30s and their 40s, as their parents hit their 70s and 80s.

“I think with COVID, we’ve got a lot of lessons where we’ve learned that we can have flexible and adaptable work arrangements, and that’s where we want to ensure that we’re not just, we still have a strong presence of women in the private profession as well as in-house and government.”

Despite there being a “lot of moving parts” to the shift in the profession, McGrath was optimistic that change is already occurring.

“I think that we’re seeing those drivers of change with female managing partners, and it’s a generational change, too. People are impatient for change, and I completely empathise with that, but these statistics bear out that the demographics are indicating that there is a seismic shift in the profession that’s happening.

“Law is still a really attractive profession, and now it’s not the old boys’ club anymore. These statistics bear out that the profession is changing,” McGrath said.

Lauren Croft

Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.