Over 1,400 solicitors admitted to Roll in 2016

The figure was disclosed in the Society’s annual report for 2016/17, now published online.

As at 30 June 2017, there were 17,604 names on the Roll of Solicitors in Ireland and 10,122 practising certificates issues in Ireland.

Writing in his introduction to the annual report, Law Society president Stuart Gilhooly said: “Whereas 15 years ago, as many as 80 per cent of solicitors would have been working in firms of ten solicitors or less – and a large portion of these in one or two-person firms – the dynamic has changed rapidly, particularly since the recession.

“We now have 20 per cent of all solicitors working in-house or in the public sector, and 24 per cent in the largest 20 firms in the country, all with over 40 solicitors and some with many multiples of that.

“All of this means that we have three categories of solicitor requiring and wanting representation from the Law Society.

“This is our greatest challenge, and has been the main focus of my presidential year when speaking to as many solicitors as possible, and hearing what they want from the Society.”