Record numbers of law graduates being minted ... Australia currently producing one new graduate per 2,000 head of population ... Universities cranking them out ... More lawyers per head than the USA ... Comparative lawyer output in Britain, Canada and the USA ... Bright futures dimming
THE NSW Law Society's report on Future Prospects for Law Graduates found anecdotal evidence that "law graduates employment prospects are poor" and that graduates are "very concerned".
The report added that there are "gaps in the data" and more empirical evidence is required.
However, "it appears that NSW law graduates are not exceeding new entrants into the NSW legal profession". Presumably, that suggests that every graduate gets a job in the legal business.
So, how to explain student nervousness.
Maybe these figures, researched by Justinian, on the comparative numbers being minted by the swelling number of university law factories in Australia, Britain, Canada and the USA, give some indication for the basis of the high degree of student anxiety.
As the Law Society report suggests, law schools are profitable business for universities, particularly since higher education funding is demand driven.
The result is a disproportionately large number of law schools for the size of our population. For instance, Australia, which has a population 65 percent the size of Canada's, has 63 percent more law schools than the Canadians.
The number of law schools in Australia, state by state
NSW: Ten See link.
VIC: Seven (including the new Swinburne Law School).
SA: Three
WA: Five
QLD: Nine
TAS: One
ACT: Two
NT: One
Total law schools in Australia: 38 (some, like the University of Notre Dame have campuses in several states).
The number of law schools in UK, Canada and USA
UK:
Law schools: 86 (University of London and University of Wales have constituent colleges with law degrees).
Canada:
Law schools: 24 in total (six teaching civil law, 18 teaching common law)
USA:
Law schools: 205 (201 of these have full American Bar Association accreditation, four have provisional accreditation).
Number of law schools in California, New York and Texas
California: 21 with American Bar Association accreditation
New York: 15
Texas: 10
Number of universities in Australia that offer JD as well as LLB degrees: 25
Law graduates per year turned out in Australia, Canada and UK, with size of population
Australia:
Average 12,000 per year (estimated 2013)
Population: 23.13 million
Roughly one new law graduate per 2,000 Australians each year
The Fin Review has a good breakdown of the numbers.
Canada:
(Unable to find total figure. 1,750 graduate from Ontario law schools each year on average.
Number of admissions to the Canadian bar year 2012, 13,527
Derived from Canadian Bar Association statistics.
Overall population: 35.16 million
UK:
20,070 accepted to read law in UK in 2013 (unable to find how many graduated). About 220 graduate from Cambridge each year.
Total graduated in 2013/14 (financial year) 31,920 (about 220 graduate from Cambridge alone, each year)
Data attained from from UK Higher Ed Statistics Agency
Overall population: 63.74 million
One law graduate per 1,990 UK citizens each year.
USA:
In 2013 - 46,776 (recent data from US Bar Association, has likely increased)
Of these 62.2% passed the Bar and were admitted to practice.
Overall population: 320.5 million
Equates to roughly one new law graduate per 6,800 Americans every year