I mean, come on, what in the world DO we need so many lawyers for? There must be a reason so many exist... What take so many lawyers? Tax season? The large number of car accidents and other injuries that people can milk beyond medical bill money?
I know that there are good ones and good uses for them, but the question is... why so many?
"There are between 760,000 (BLS) and 1,100,000 lawyers (ABA) in the US.
The precise number is uncertain.
The lower number comes from surveys by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and attempts to reflect lawyers currently earning income from legal practice.
The higher number comes from the ABA – a similar number has been reported by the ABF and reflects attempts to reflect all active lawyers based on Martindale-Hubbell listings.
That is roughly 1 lawyer for every 300 people in the US (US Census).
That is roughly 1 lawyer for every 140 people employed in the US (BLS).
The ratio of lawyers/jobs was flat for most of the 20th century and then rose dramatically after 1970, roughly doubling between 1970 and 2000. That increase (of 100% over 35 years) is similar to increases in the share of service and knowledge-based jobs in the US economy since 1970. (Wyatt and Hecker 2007)
The growth of lawyers is constrained by the output of US law schools.
The number of law schools has grown, but more slowly than the ratio of lawyers/jobs. In 2007, there were 196 ABA-accredited law schools, compared to 144 in 1970, an increase of 36% (ABA). "
Originally posted by eljefejesus Too many man-made laws within government are what zeeblebot correctly compares to leaving your food out.
Ah, the rallying-call of the right: if market forces create a situation you don't like, cry 'distorted market!' and point a the big bad old government. 🙂
Originally posted by DrKF Ah, the rallying-call of the right: if market forces create a situation you don't like, cry 'distorted market!' and point a the big bad old government. 🙂
Which for some reason, you believe is never a reality... even when we're talking about government made laws, you described that as the free market... care to explain yourself in more detail with any factual support whatsoever?
Originally posted by eljefejesus Which for some reason, you believe is never a reality... even when we're talking about government made laws, you described that as the free market... care to explain yourself in more detail with any factual support whatsoever?
Don't put words in my mouth: I never said, or suggested, that I believe that never to be a reality. I'd suggest at least as important in determining the number of lawyers in a society as the number of laws passed is the level of litigiousness.
Anyhoo, it was just meant to be a throw-away comment, much like the original suggestion.
Originally posted by DrKF Don't put words in my mouth: I never said, or suggested, that I believe that never to be a reality. I'd suggest at least as important in determining the number of lawyers in a society as the number of laws passed is the level of litigiousness.
Anyhoo, it was just meant to be a throw-away comment, much like the original suggestion.
Originally posted by DrKF Don't put words in my mouth: I never said, or suggested, that I believe that never to be a reality. I'd suggest at least as important in determining the number of lawyers in a society as the number of laws passed is the level of litigiousness.
Anyhoo, it was just meant to be a throw-away comment, much like the original suggestion.
And indeed it was humorous, just happened to be very wrong.
Originally posted by mtthw Interestingly, European countries (which probably have more laws - they certainly have more intervention) have fewer lawyers in general.
That is interesting, is that on a per-capita basis? If this is so, does it have to do with a need for tort-reform?
How many lawyers does it take to...
04 Dec '09 05:32
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