Law Statistics and Facts
This page aims to give you an overview of some statistics that you may want to consider when deciding on law, or if you are contemplating whether to become a barrister or solicitor. You might want to think about the differences in training vacancies, salaries and even the trends in successful applications to university.
Legal Profession Statistics
| | Solicitors | Barristers |
| Number of practising solicitors/barristers (2015) | 133,837 | 15,899 |
| Number of TC/Pupillages available (2015) | 5,457 | 437 |
| Number of Firms/Chambers in the UK (2016) | 10,306 | 409 |
Solicitor v Barrister Salary Statistics
This table compares the salary ranges for solicitors and barristers, from trainee level to those newly qualified.
| Level of experience | Solicitor | Barrister |
| Trainee Level | £18,000-43,000+ | £12,000-60,000+ |
| Newly Qualified | £50,000-90,000+ | £73,000-300,000+ |
| Funding for LPC/BPTC | Yes | Yes |
The table below shows the average trainee salary of barristers and solicitors at different types of chambers and firms.
| Type of Firm/Chambers | Solicitor | Barrister |
| High street | 18,000 | 12,000 |
| Regional | 27,850 | 17,800 |
| City | 38,679 | 68,333 |
Average Barristers’ Salaries: Practice Area Statistics
The following table compares the practice area of law with average barristers’ salaries.
| Practice area | Average NQ Barrister Salary |
| Commercial | 70,000 |
| Criminal | 20,000 |
| Family | 20,000 |
Law at University Statistics
The table below shows the number of applications to study law at university in the UK and overseas, as well as the percentage of successful applications.
| | UK | Overseas | Total |
| Number of law applications to university in the UK (2015-2016) | 23,885 | 33,010 | 56,895 |
| Number of law students accepted to university in the UK (2015-2016) | 17,335 | 22,320 | 39,655 |
| Percentage of successful applications | 72.5% | 67.6% | 69.7% |
