Older, whiter bar, working a little less
Although the demographic makeup of the State Bar continues to diversify, its
membership is both whiter and older than it was just five years ago, according
to a survey conducted in December and January.
The percentage of women and lesbian and gay lawyers is higher than it was
in 2001; women make up nearly half the attorneys 35 and younger and also have
made some gains in income and partnership.
Conducted by Hertz Research at the request of the bar’s board of governors,
the survey found:
- As it did between 1991 and 2001, the percentage of attorneys over 54 years
of age continued to rise and now accounts for 35 percent of the total. Attorneys
older than 45 make up 64 percent of the bar.
- 84.4 percent of the bar identifies as white, compared to 83 percent five
years ago and 91 percent in 1991. The number of African-Americans declined
from 2.4 percent in 2001 to 1.7 percent today. Other minority representation
also declined with the exception of Hispanics, who increased from 3.7 percent
to 3.8 percent.
- Lawyers seem to be working fewer hours — 7 percent say they work
60 hours or more, compared to 22 percent five years ago, while those working
less than 40 hours a week went from 30 percent in 2001 to the current 42
percent.
- The rich get rich and the poor get poorer. The percentage earning more
than $300,000 from the practice of law went from 4 percent to 7 percent,
while the percentage of those bringing home less than $50,000 went from 16
percent to 25 percent. Another quarter makes between $100,000 and $149,000,
and 24 percent make between $50,000 and $100,000.
- Slightly more than 5 percent identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual
or transgender, compared with 2.4 percent in 2001.
“I’m not sure how much the population has changed as opposed to
how much society has changed and people are willing to be more open,” Hertz
said of the numbers of gay and lesbian lawyers.
He also suggested the findings reflect an “economic environment that
is not the same as it was five years ago.”
Some members of the board of governors seemed surprised that the number of
minority lawyers has fallen in the last five years, despite efforts throughout
higher education to attract students of color. However, the passage in 1996
of Proposition 209, the Civil Rights Initiative, banned the use of affirmative
action in public law schools.
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