How many lawyers practice in Florida?
H ow many lawyers practice in Florida?Yes, The Florida Bar now has over 100,000 members. But that doesn’t mean there are 100,000 lawyers in the state competing for work. The actual number isn’t even close.
Bar Executive Director John F. Harkness, Jr., presented statistics at the recent Board of Governors meeting to clear up some misconceptions about the Bar’s membership and who is practicing in this state.
As of October 1, the Bar had 101,279 members. Of those, 17,385 were not eligible to practice, with the largest segment being 11,275 inactive members. Others are judges, military, or lawyers who practice in other states and keep their Bar license but don’t meet Florida’s CLE requirements. Over 1,400 are delinquent on their annual membership fees or CLE requirements.
Of the 83,894 who are members in good standing and eligible to practice, 11,559 live in other states (and keep up their CLE requirements and hence can practice Florida law) and 175 are in other countries.
So that leaves 72,160 Bar members in Florida who are members in good standing and eligible to practice. Still a pretty impressive number, but not 100,000. At least for a few more years.