Executive Director's Report • January 2025
A Wealth of Information in Easy Reach
THE NUMBERS ARE IN: Newly licensed Texas attorneys are earning more, and attorney incomes are up overall, exceeding 2008 recession rates for the first time. Compared to a decade ago, there are 20% more Texas attorneys; women and racial/ ethnic minority attorney numbers have grown 37% and 60%, respectively; and the ranks of out-of-state attorneys licensed in Texas have shot up 54%.
These statistics are just out from your State Bar of Texas’ Department of Research and Analysis. You can find these and more at texasbar.com/demographics.
Since its creation in 1988, the department has continually conducted research on the state of the legal profession in Texas. Not only does this help the State Bar fulfill its mission, but it also provides valuable insights to help you make decisions for your practice.
In addition to an annual Attorney Statistical Profile, which shows demographic trends of the Texas attorney population over the past 10 years, detailed studies include compensation, demographic trends, diversity, geographic distribution, and more. Methods range from sending out surveys to members (like the biannual Texas Attorney Survey and Pro Bono Survey), to analyzing year-by- year data from our membership database, to analyzing U.S. census data as it relates to attorney population and location across the state.
On the department’s webpage at texasbar.com/research, you will find a link to the research archive, which houses a decade’s worth of various reports. These include attorney population density reports that show which parts of Texas have the most attorneys and which have the fewest. There are also separate reports for Bexar, Dallas, El Paso, Harris, Tarrant, and Travis counties. There are reports on diversity trends for six years running and women and racial/ethnic minority attorney statistical profiles. And there are reports on economic trends, including attorney income, as well as the Paralegal Compensation Survey, which is conducted every five years.
The research department also conducts one-off studies and prepares reports for the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors, various standing committees, and departments of the State Bar. For example, the department recently conducted a survey of out-of-state members to see how the State Bar can better serve this fastest-growing category of our membership.
Local bars around the state also work with the State Bar’s research department, which helps them survey their members, tabulate voting results, and more—all at no charge.
Cory Squires heads up the Department of Research and Analysis. If you have any questions on the bar’s research or where to find data you need, you can reach him at research@texasbar.com.
Sincerely,
TREY APFFEL
Executive Director, State Bar of Texas
Editor in Chief, Texas Bar Journal