Even before the Legal Services Reform Bill has been finalised, we have seen significant changes to the Irish legal services market. For example, we now have more practicing female solicitors than practicing male solicitors in Ireland for the first time.

The Law Society of Ireland also tells us that the number of practicing solicitors in Ireland increased by 31 per cent between 2005 and 2014. That is particularly significant when you realise that CSO census figures, together with the 2014 population estimate, suggest the Irish population has only increased by 8 per cent since 2006.

This trend can also be seen in England and Wales, with figures from its regulatory authorities (currently the SRA and previously The Law Society) show a 28 per cent increase in solicitors between 2005 and 2015 against a 6 per cent increase in the population since 2005.

So why are the numbers of practicing solicitors growing? Has the increase led to any changes in access to and affordability of legal services for consumers?

Right now we are seeing more and more large commercial firms and fewer smaller practices. According to a report prepared by Fitzpatrick Associates and commissioned by the Law Society of Ireland, the largest 15 firms in Ireland employed twice as many solicitors in 2014 than in 2007.

There is also a “rural flight” experience with an increase of 9 per cent in the number of practicing solicitors based in Dublin and a 6.5 per cent decrease in those based in other parts of the country in 2014 over 2013.

In the UK, between 2001 and 2010, Greater London, Leeds, Manchester and surrounding areas saw above-average increases in the numbers of practicing solicitors. Meanwhile, the less densely populated southwest of England saw a 10 per cent decrease.

With a population of a mere 4.6 million, Ireland is likely to be low on the list of priorities for international legal services providers whose success is based on attracting large numbers of low-spend consumers. On an international scale, the number of Irish consumers facing legal services market is tiny.

So what differences will legal services reform make? The introduction of the alternative business structure (ABS) model in the UK initially led to much publicised launches of consumer-focused firms.

We have seen significant changes but the consensus is that we are about to see a great many more.

 

Source: Irish Times