|
To
print these pages, set your printer's orientation to landscape.
|
Data Analysis
Throughout this report, data is presented in various categories. The categories used for age and years admitted to practice were the same as the 1994 Survey for comparative purposes. Data was indicated as 'n/a' if no data was reported or if data from less than three individuals was reported in order to protect confidentiality.
Attorney Profile/Characteristics
The following tables present the characteristics and profile of Oregon attorneys. Descriptive data is presented for gender, age, years admitted to practice in Oregon, total years admitted to practice, type of employment, area of private practice, size of practice, level of employment, and method of pay.
Gender : The following table lists the gender of respondents. Overall, the percentage of females was 29% and the percentage of males was 71% compared to the 1994 survey of 25% females and 75% males. Regional data varies somewhat with the Upper Valley and Tri-County regions having the highest percentage of females and the Southern Oregon and Oregon Coast regions having the highest percentage of males.
|
Gender |
||||||||
|
Gender |
Oregon |
Portland |
Tri- |
Upper |
Lower |
Southern |
Eastern Oregon |
Oregon |
|
Male |
71% |
72% |
66% |
65% |
74% |
77% |
74% |
77% |
|
Female |
29% |
28% |
34% |
35% |
26% |
23% |
26% |
23% |
Age : The age of respondents, which was collected as the
respondent's actual age, was broken down into five categories. The highest concentration
of attorneys (38%) was in the 40 to 49 age category with the median age being
45 years. In 1994, the highest concentration of attorneys was in the same 40
to 49 age category with 43% and the median age was 44 years. Regional data differs
somewhat from the overall data.
|
Age |
||||||||
|
Age Category |
Oregon |
Portland |
Tri- |
Upper |
Lower |
Southern |
Eastern Oregon |
Oregon |
|
Under 30 |
8% |
8% |
8% |
8% |
10% |
5% |
9% |
4% |
|
30-39 |
24% |
28% |
23% |
23% |
16% |
26% |
27% |
18% |
|
40-49 |
38% |
36% |
41% |
39% |
37% |
33% |
37% |
51% |
|
50-59 |
22% |
19% |
21% |
25% |
27% |
26% |
18% |
19% |
|
60 or Over |
8% |
9% |
7% |
5% |
10% |
11% |
10% |
7% |
|
Median Age |
45 |
44 |
44 |
45 |
47 |
46 |
45 |
45 |
Years Admitted to Practice in Oregon : Data was collected on the number of years admitted to practice in the state of Oregon and the total number of years admitted to practice in any state. The data is presented in the following two tables. Approximately 17% of respondents were admitted to practice in another state prior to being admitted in Oregon, compared to 16% reported in the 1994 survey. This data does not identify the number of Oregon attorneys who have been admitted to practice in another state subsequent to being admitted in Oregon.
Twenty-one percent of attorneys were admitted to practice in Oregon in the category from 21 to 30 years ago. The smallest group, with 7%, was the category 10 to 12 years. In 1994, the largest category of attorneys was the 0 to 3 years with 19%. The average number of years in practice in Oregon was 15 years and the median number was 14 years. A comparison to the 1994 Survey indicates that the average number of years was 14 and the median was 13 years.
|
Years Admitted to Practice in Oregon |
||||||||
|
Years Admitted |
Oregon |
Portland |
Tri- |
Upper |
Lower |
Southern |
Eastern Oregon |
Oregon |
|
0-3 Years |
14% |
14% |
13% |
14% |
17% |
17% |
20% |
8% |
|
4-6 Years |
12% |
12% |
14% |
11% |
10% |
15% |
10% |
9% |
|
7-9 Years |
11% |
10% |
12% |
15% |
10% |
12% |
13% |
14% |
|
10-12 Years |
7% |
9% |
9% |
6% |
4% |
5% |
3% |
4% |
|
13-15 Years |
9% |
9% |
9% |
9% |
8% |
5% |
8% |
18% |
|
16-20 Years |
16% |
16% |
17% |
17% |
15% |
14% |
14% |
14% |
|
21-30 Years |
21% |
20% |
18% |
23% |
27% |
21% |
24% |
26% |
|
Over 30 Years |
9% |
10% |
7% |
5% |
10% |
11% |
7% |
8% |
|
Average Number of Years |
15 |
16 |
14 |
14 |
16 |
16 |
15 |
17 |
|
Median Number of Years |
14 |
15 |
13 |
14 |
16 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
Total Years Admitted to Practice : The average number
(16) and the median number (16) of total years admitted to practice were each
greater than the average and median years admitted to practice in Oregon. Attorneys
with over 15 years since being admitted to practice represent 51% of the respondents
for total years admitted to practice compared with 46% for the same groups in
Oregon. In 1994, these numbers were 45% and 41% respectively.
|
Total Years Admitted to Practice |
||||||||
|
Years Admitted |
Oregon |
Portland |
Tri- |
Upper |
Lower |
Southern |
Eastern Oregon |
Oregon |
|
0-3 Years |
12% |
12% |
10% |
12% |
13% |
14% |
13% |
4% |
|
4-6 Years |
10% |
10% |
12% |
8% |
8% |
11% |
10% |
11% |
|
7-9 Years |
11% |
8% |
12% |
14% |
10% |
10% |
14% |
14% |
|
10-12 Years |
7% |
9% |
9% |
7% |
4% |
7% |
5% |
4% |
|
13-15 Years |
10% |
10% |
9% |
10% |
10% |
6% |
9% |
12% |
|
16-20 Years |
17% |
17% |
18% |
16% |
16% |
13% |
14% |
19% |
|
21-30 Years |
24% |
23% |
22% |
28% |
27% |
28% |
23% |
27% |
|
Over 30 Years |
10% |
11% |
8% |
5% |
12% |
12% |
11% |
9% |
|
Average Number of Years |
16 |
17 |
16 |
15 |
18 |
17 |
16 |
18 |
|
Median Number of Years |
16 |
16 |
14 |
15 |
17 |
16 |
15 |
16 |
Type of Employment : Overall,
71% of attorneys were in private practice with an additional 5% in private non-profit
settings. Government lawyers represent 14% overall, ranging from a low of 8%
in Portland to a high of 36% in the Upper Valley region, which includes the
Salem area. The largest concentration of in-house counsel was in the Tri-County
region with 12%. These numbers are comparable to the 1994 survey data.
|
Type of Employment |
||||||||
|
Type of Employment |
Oregon |
Portland |
Tri- |
Upper |
Lower |
Southern |
Eastern |
Oregon |
|
Private Practice |
71% |
79% |
68% |
49% |
73% |
69% |
69% |
68% |
|
Private Non-Profit |
5% |
5% |
5% |
4% |
6% |
9% |
7% |
4% |
|
Government Lawyer |
14% |
8% |
10% |
36% |
11% |
16% |
19% |
21% |
|
Corporate In-House Counsel |
6% |
6% |
12% |
4% |
4% |
4% |
1% |
1% |
|
Judge/Hearings Officer |
4% |
2% |
4% |
7% |
5% |
2% |
4% |
6% |
Area of Private Practice :
1,429 attorneys in private practice reported an area of practice. The largest
percentage for an area of practice was general private practice (15%) with civil
litigation (defendant and plaintiff combined) reporting 28%. The attorneys included
in the general category did not identify an area that represented over 50% of
their practice. In 1994, this category represented 20%. The regional data indicates
some differences in area of practice throughout the state. The general category
was only 8% in Portland, while other regions were substantially higher. The
Eastern Oregon and Oregon Coast regions have approximately one-third of the
lawyers reporting in the general private practice category. In Portland, the
highest concentration of lawyers in private practice was in the civil litigation
categories (37%).
|
Area of Private Practice |
||||||||
|
Area of Private Practice |
Oregon |
Portland |
Tri- |
Upper |
Lower |
Southern |
Eastern |
Oregon |
|
Bankruptcy |
3% |
2% |
3% |
2% |
7% |
0% |
2% |
2% |
|
Business/Corporate |
10% |
12% |
9% |
6% |
8% |
9% |
3% |
6% |
|
Civil Litigation, Defendant |
14% |
21% |
6% |
7% |
13% |
12% |
11% |
2% |
|
Civil Litigation, Plaintiff |
14% |
16% |
11% |
12% |
14% |
12% |
7% |
8% |
|
Criminal |
7% |
4% |
6% |
11% |
9% |
12% |
12% |
16% |
|
Environmental Law |
1% |
2% |
1% |
0% |
1% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
|
Family Law |
11% |
5% |
18% |
15% |
10% |
14% |
15% |
10% |
|
Real Estate/Land Use |
6% |
6% |
7% |
3% |
5% |
4% |
8% |
6% |
|
Tax/Estate Planning |
8% |
8% |
9% |
11% |
7% |
7% |
6% |
10% |
|
Workers’ Compensation |
3% |
2% |
2% |
5% |
5% |
5% |
2% |
0% |
|
General (no area over 50%) |
15% |
8% |
15% |
22% |
16% |
22% |
32% |
35% |
|
Other |
10% |
12% |
13% |
7% |
6% |
4% |
2% |
4% |
|
Size of Practice |
||||||||
|
Size of Practice |
Oregon |
Portland |
Tri- |
Upper |
Lower |
Southern |
Eastern Oregon |
Oregon |
|
1 Lawyer Office |
27% |
16% |
42% |
23% |
31% |
32% |
28% |
43% |
|
2-6 Lawyer Office |
31% |
23% |
35% |
34% |
33% |
37% |
43% |
46% |
|
7-20 Lawyer Office |
20% |
24% |
14% |
14% |
21% |
31% |
28% |
12% |
|
21-60 Lawyer Office |
11% |
18% |
5% |
11% |
14% |
1% |
1% |
0% |
|
Over 60 Lawyer Office |
11% |
20% |
3% |
18% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
Level of Employment :
In Oregon, 81% of lawyers were working full-time and 9% were working part-time
by choice, totaling 90%. These numbers were the same as the numbers in the 1994
survey. Part-time lawyers by choice ranged from a low of 5% in the Eastern Oregon
region to a high of 13% in the Tri-County region.
Overall, 2% of respondents were not working as lawyers, or only working part-time, due to a lack of legal work. This compares to 4% in 1994. The region with the highest percentage in this category was the Tri-County region with 5%. Of these attorneys overall, approximately 31% were admitted to the Oregon bar in 1991 or prior and 42% were admitted in 1995 or after. In 1994, 73% of these attorneys were in the 0 to 3 years category of years admitted to practice in Oregon.
|
Level of Employment |
|||||||||
|
Level of Employment |
Oregon |
Portland |
Tri- |
Upper |
Lower |
Southern |
Eastern |
Oregon |
|
|
No. |
% |
||||||||
|
Full-Time Lawyer |
1779 |
81% |
88% |
69% |
80% |
80% |
80% |
89% |
89% |
|
Part-Time Lawyer by Choice |
202 |
9% |
8% |
13% |
9% |
8% |
11% |
5% |
8% |
|
Part-Time Lawyer due to Lack of Legal Work |
32 |
1% |
0% |
3% |
1% |
2% |
2% |
1% |
0% |
|
Not Working as a Lawyer by Choice |
126 |
6% |
3% |
11% |
8% |
7% |
2% |
3% |
1% |
|
Not Working as a Lawyer due to Lack of Legal Work |
20 |
1% |
1% |
2% |
1% |
1% |
2% |
0% |
0% |
|
Retired |
34 |
2% |
0% |
3% |
1% |
2% |
3% |
1% |
1% |
Method of Pay : The
following table regarding method of pay includes only those individuals working
full-time or part-time as lawyers in all types of employment. Over one-half
(53%) were reported as being an owner. This varied by region from a low of 35%
in the Upper Valley to a high of 69% in the Oregon Coast region. Individuals
paid by contract represented 2%. This item was not included in the 1994 survey.
|
Method of Pay |
|||||||||
|
Method of Pay |
Oregon |
Portland |
Tri- |
Upper |
Lower |
Southern |
Eastern |
Oregon |
|
|
No. |
% |
||||||||
|
Owner (e.g., Partner, Shareholder, Sole Practitioner) |
1044 |
53% |
54% |
54% |
35% |
60% |
58% |
53% |
69% |
|
Employee (e.g., salaried or hourly paid) |
879 |
45% |
44% |
43% |
62% |
37% |
40% |
45% |
31% |
|
Contract (e.g., paid by hour or assignment) |
47 |
2% |
2% |
3% |
4% |
4% |
2% |
2% |
0% |