A provocative new article by Burr & Forman partner Forrest Latta addresses the future of Alabama’s legal profession in the current issue of Alabama Lawyer Magazine. It highlights the dramatic shift in age distribution of Alabama lawyers, whose numbers will likely drop fifty percent in the next 20 years.

That age shift and other factors are having a profound impact on the number of new lawyers in Alabama, creating recruiting challenges at all levels. Other factors include shrinking law school class sizes, the high cost of tuition, and student debt, which limit law-school access as well as the kinds of jobs a new law graduate can accept.

Besides those factors, the number of law school graduates from historically underrepresented groups is very low, placing them in high demand. That in turn has created major recruiting challenges for law firms, businesses, and public agencies seeking to diversify their legal teams – with too few to go around. On top of all that, official data shows about half of Alabama’s law school graduates are leaving for higher-paying opportunities in other states.

Latta identifies two significant public challenges to Alabama’s legal profession: the drain of lawyers from small towns and rural counties, and the need for greater diversity at all levels. The solutions, however, are unclear as law schools grapple with admission standards and bar examiners tinker with licensing changes. And meanwhile technologies such as AI and Zoom are emerging as change agents in reshaping the public’s demands and expectations for how legal services are delivered.

One thing is certain: an unprecedented opportunity awaits today’s young lawyers, as well as forward-leaning law firms.

To read the full article in Alabama Lawyer Magazine, click here.