There were 12,175 practising solicitors and 3,071 practising barristers at the end of 2024, according to the latest LSRA report on the admission policies of the legal professions.

Despite the increase — to a 10-year high in the case of solicitor numbers — last year also saw “a slight downturn in numbers enrolling in professional training for solicitors and barristers and the numbers of new entrants to both professions”, according to the report.

A total of 542 new trainee solicitors enrolled on the Law Society’s professional practice course (PPC) in 2024, down three per cent from 2023. There were 442 new trainees on the full-time course and 100 trainees on the part-time course, the PPC hybrid.

First-time practising certificates were issued to 378 newly-qualified Law Society solicitors, down nine per cent from 416 in 2023.

A total of 120 students started the barrister-at-law (BL) degree course at the King’s Inns in 2024, down eight per cent from 131 in 2023, of whom 50 were full-time students and 70 were part-time students.

There were 136 barristers who called to the bar in 2024, down 17 per cent from 163 in 2023, and 82 barristers began their 12-month pupillage, up from 72 in 2023.

The report noted: “The concentration of legal practitioners in Dublin remains a feature of the legal services market, and reports of recruitment and retention challenges in the solicitors’ profession in both the public and private sectors continue.

“Top 20 firms have responded to competitive challenges with staff pay rises and allied increases in their client fees.”

It added: “There were clear signs of a buoyant employment market for solicitors concentrated in Dublin, and reports of regional disparities and shortages around the rest of Ireland.

“While continued growth in the economy is an opportunity, it can also create recruitment and retention challenges in the legal services sector and lead to increases in legal costs.”