The American Bar Association’s 2021 Profile of the Legal Profession is a snapshot of where things stand as of the end of July of this year. Certainly another year outside of the ordinary, with the country and the legal profession still grappling with the global pandemic. From demographics, “legal deserts” and wages, to legal education, lawyer well-being and legal tech, the ABA’s profile is an interesting and informative read for those wanting to see where the profession stands – and where it is going. The American Bar Association has a wealth of resources and programming – including extensive free CLE for members – and is an organization all lawyers should consider to keep up to date on the latest legal trends. Only five years ago a leading legal thinker asked whether lawyers would lead or get out of the way. With the pandemic and the changes it has brought with it, we may know the answer sooner than we thought.
“The 2021 ABA Profile of the Legal Profession is a snapshot of a moment in time – a 140-page compilation of statistics and trends in 11 areas, including demographics, law schools, judges and legal technology. The 2021 Profile includes new findings on how the pandemic affected lawyers….As COVID-19 vaccines have proved highly effective and the worst of the pandemic has eased for most Americans, the country is working to return to normal. But what is the new “normal” for lawyers? And how did COVID-19 affect the legal profession? That was the subject of the Practice Forward survey of ABA members in September and October 2020, and a follow-up survey of senior lawyers in March 2021.”
Read: ABA 2021 Profile of the Legal Profession at the ABA