Florida Bar News

Florida’s lawyers anticipate change

Florida’s lawyers anticipate change

Mark D. Killian

Managing Editor

Almost 70 percent of Florida lawyers say that liberalization of business structures and disruptive technologies are set to bring greater change to the legal profession over the next two decades than has been seen in the past two centuries.

Florida Bar members also think the “oversaturation of lawyers” will have the greatest impact on the profession over the next five years, and balancing family and work and a high level of stress are their top personal concerns.

Those findings were among the conclusions drawn from a study conducted by the Bar’s Research, Planning and Evaluation Department.

Those surveyed also shared their opinions on the Bar’s work as an advocate for the profession, lawyer advertising, technology, and career satisfaction. The survey also provides some information on how lawyers are doing financially, although the income data collected is not as comprehensive as is gathered every other year in the Bar’s Law Office Management and Economic survey.Also, 60 percent of all respondents attended a Florida Bar-sponsored CLE seminar in the past year, and 90 percent of respondents rated the Bar’s continuing legal education seminars as either excellent or good.
Just over one-fifth (21 percent) of all respondents said they would be interested in participating in a Florida Bar statewide online lawyer referral service program, if provided for a nominal fee.

Florida lawyers are also beginning to warm to the Bar’s social media offerings.

The 2015 Membership Opinion Survey was mailed to 3,078 randomly selected Bar members, and 35 percent of the surveys have been returned. Mike Garcia, director of the Bar’s Research, Planning and Evaluation Department, said the results of the survey are statistically valid and the margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent at the 95-percent level of confidence.

Garcia said 39 percent of all respondents say the oversaturation of lawyers will have the greatest impact on the profession over the next five years, while 16 percent of respondents report that competition from nonlawyers is the issue that will have the greatest impact, followed closely by technology at 14 percent, and lack of appropriate judicial funding at 10 percent. Access/affordability of legal resources polled at 8 percent.

Career Satisfaction

Asked to list their three most significant challenges or concerns, one-third of all respondents (33 percent) listed high stress, while nearly one-third (32 percent) cited balancing family and work. Twenty-three percent said time management was a significant challenge or concern, and 20 percent listed keeping up with new technology.

When asked to list the three most important issues that they would like to see the Bar concentrate its efforts on over the next few years, about one-third of all respondents want to see the Bar be more responsive to the small firm/sole practitioners (36 percent), enhance the value of Florida Bar membership (34 percent), and seek tougher standards on lawyer advertising (31 percent).

Asked about the most serious problems faced by the legal profession today (respondents could list up to three), 52 percent of all respondents said there were too many attorneys — up from 33 percent in 2011. Twenty-eight percent cited lack of ethics/professionalism, and 25 percent listed poor public perception. Twenty percent cited affordability of legal services. In 2011, 32 percent of lawyers listed “difficult economic times” as a serious problem. That number fell to 21 percent in the 2015 survey.

While 79 percent of respondents report that the legal profession has become less desirable as a career over the past few years, 72 percent of respondents also said they are either “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with their legal careers.Only 6 percent said they are “very unsatisfied” with their careers.
The survey found lawyers older than 50 are more satisfied with their jobs than younger lawyers.

The most frequently mentioned reasons for career dissatisfaction are not enough business (19 percent, down from 26 percent two years ago), salary (18 percent), job burnout (17 percent), lack of civility/professionalism (11 percent), lack of available job opportunities (10 percent), personal stress (7 percent), loan debt (5 percent), hours at the office (4 percent), lack of quality cases (4 percent), client expectations (3 percent), interaction with the judiciary (1 percent). One percent listed other reasons for their dissatisfaction.

In light of the current economy, 36 percent of respondents said they have considered changing careers — up from 25 percent two years ago — and 20 percent have considered moving to a different field of practice — up from 14 percent who answered the same way two years ago. Twelve percent said they are considering hanging their own shingle.

Sixty-seven percent of all respondents reported taking two weeks or less of vacation last year, while 38 percent report taking one week or less of vacation.

Technology

When it comes to office purchases, Microsoft products abound, with 87 percent of respondents reporting they use a version of Microsoft Office as their primary office suite on the computer they use for legal work.

Windows 7 leads the way when asked what operating system respondents use (31 percent); followed by Windows 10 (26 percent); Windows 8 (15 percent); Windows XP (13 percent); Mac OS (8 percent); Google Chrome (2 percent); Windows Vista (2 percent); and Windows ME (less than 1 percent).

Over two-fifths (45 percent) of all respondents use Google Chrome as their Internet browser (up from 16 percent in 2013). Almost two-fifths (38 percent) of all respondents use Microsoft Internet Explorer (down from 64 percent in 2013).

Asked about their smartphones, 63 percent of Florida lawyers surveyed say they carry an Apple iPhone, followed by 21 percent who have a Samsung phone. Only 3 percent each said they use a Blackberry or Motorola.

The Apple iPad is the preferred tablet of Florida lawyers who use them (38 percent); followed by Microsoft tablets (7 percent), and Samsung (5 percent). Forty-nine percent of all respondents say they don’t use a tablet at all.

Sixty-four percent of all respondents said they do not use a case management program; 78 percent of respondentsdo not use a document management system; 92 percent do not use litigation support software; and 94 percent do not use e-discovery support software.

Social Media

When it comes to social media, 60 percent of the respondents participate in Facebook on a personal level (up from 50 percent two years ago), while 18 percent use it professionally (up from 12 percent in 2013). Fifty-five percent of those surveyed participate in LinkedIn on a professional level (up from 38 percent two years ago). Eighteen percent of respondents say they have a personal Twitter account, but only 8 percent use it for business — up from 12 percent and 3 percent respectively.

Over the past few years, The Florida Bar set up a Facebook page and a Twitter feed for announcements and events. It also established LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, and Pinterest pages.

When asked if they knew about the presence of these Bar social media sites, 19 percent said they were aware of the Bar’s Facebook page; 10 percent said they were aware of the Bar’s LinkedIn page; 9 percent said they were aware of the Bar’s Twitter feed; 3 percent said they were aware of the Bar’s Google+ page; 3 percent said they were aware of the Bar’s YouTube page; and 1 percent said they were aware of the Bar’s Pinterest page.

When asked if they were likely to “like” the Bar’s Facebook page, “follow” the Bar’s Twitter feed, or participate in other types of social media platforms with the Bar, 24 percent said they were “very” or “somewhat” likely to, while 58 percent said they are “somewhat” or “very” unlikely to participate. However, that 58 percent response was down from 85 percent who said they were “somewhat unlikely” or “very unlikely” to access the Bar’s social media platforms two years ago.

The Bar as an Advocate

Asked about the Bar as an advocate for the legal profession, 75 percent of respondents rate the Bar as “excellent” or “good,” up from 41 percent in 1995.

In the past two years, 14 percent of respondents said their opinion toward the Bar had become more positive, while 13 percent said their opinion of the Bar had become more negative. Primary reasons members gave for becoming more positive included:

• More awareness of Bar programs and services offered;

• Assistance and resources that are provided the lawyers;

• More involvement with the Bar;

• The dialogue on reciprocity;

• Technology initiatives.

Primary reasons members cited for being more negative include:

• The grievance process is too lenient/failure to discipline unethical attorneys;

• Not enough control over attorney advertising;

• Support for the reciprocity initiative;

• Failure to support the reciprocity initiative;

• The Bar is becoming too politically correct;

• The Bar caters to the interest of large firms;

• Daubert/Frye involvement/decision.

Half of all respondents report knowing who represents their judicial circuit on The Florida Bar Board of Governors — a significant increase since the question was last asked (27 percent awareness) in the 2011 Membership Opinion Survey.

Income

The median income for those polled was $100,000. That figure has not changed in eight years.

“Over two-fifths — or 44 percent — of all respondents earned more than $100,000 before taxes from legal work last year,” said Garcia, adding that 18 percent earned more than $200,000.

Here’s a breakdown of median income before taxes of the respondents: partners/shareholders, $170,000; corporate counsel, $125,000; sole practitioners, $80,000; associates, $75,000; state government attorneys, $60,000.

Male lawyers report a higher median income ($120,000) than female lawyers ($75,000). Garcia notes that the average years of experience for a male lawyer in this survey is 20 years, compared to 12 years of experience for the average female attorney. Sixty-six percent of all respondents reported a total household income of more than $100,000 in 2015.

The survey found 29 percent of respondents say they have had a decrease in business/profitability over the past two years (down from 35 percent who said they had a decrease in business/profitability two years ago);while 34 percent reported their business/profitability has remained about the same. Eighteen percent say they have experienced an increase in business/profitability in the past two years. Another 19 percent report the economy does not impact their practice at all.

Advertising

Eighty-four percent believe lawyer advertising negatively affects the public’s view of lawyers and the legal profession — up from 80 percent four years ago — including 31 percent of respondents whose firms advertise.Only 4 percent said advertising has a favorable effect on the public’s view of lawyers, while 12 percent said advertising has no effect.

Three fifths (60 percent) of all respondents believe that television advertising has the most negative impact on the public’s perception of the profession. Billboard advertising (19 percent), mobile ads, such as on busses and taxis (4 percent), and direct mails (4 percent) were also mentioned as being the most negative forms of advertising. Two percent believes Internet/social media advertising most negatively affects the public’s view of the profession.

The survey found 69 percent of members believe the current restrictions on lawyer advertising are “too liberal,” as compared to 21 percent who say they are “balanced,” and 10 percent who say they are “too restrictive.”