This just in: We have too many lawyers. Anyone else see that coming?
Since 2000, the number of licensed attorneys in Florida has ratcheted from 61,000 to 96,000. And no one, arguably, thought we were under-lawyered in 2000.
Used to be that if students earned an in-state law degree, it was probably from FSU, UF, Miami or Stetson. Now it might be from Ave Maria in Naples, Florida Coastal in Jacksonville or–by next year–Thomas M. Cooley in Riverview. There are currently a dozen accredited law schools in the Sunshine State.
And, word is, not enough work for the 3,000 grads churned out annually. Finally.
A recent Florida Bar Association survey asked members what the most serious problem facing the legal profession was. The answers were illustrative. Nearly half the respondents said “too many attorneys.” Others cited “difficult economic times.” Some decried “poor public perception.” None, presumably, noted “too litigious a society.”