NALP Bulletin, September 2006
NALP periodically compiles information on law firm job opportunities
compared with changes in population in a variety of cities across the country.
The table below provides a look at job opportunities, as reported in NALP’s
Employment Report and Salary Survey (ERSS), and changes in population between
1995 and 2005. The table includes a mix of cities: those that have consistently
been the largest centers of law firm jobs (e.g., New York and Los Angeles);
those experiencing growth in both population and law firm opportunities or that
have been suggested as job growth centers in general (e.g., Austin and
Charlotte); and those experiencing declines on both measures. Nationwide figures
provide a benchmark.
The highlights that follow point out only a few of the contrasts and are by no means exhaustive.
Law Firm Opportunities and Population Change, 1995-2005
NUMBER OF JOBS | PERCENT CHANGE: | Population Change 1995-2005 |
SIZE OF POPULATION PER NEW HIRE: | ||||||
1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 1995-2000 | 2000-2005 | 1995-2005 | 1995 | 2005 | ||
Atlanta, GA | 344 | 397 | 395 | 15.4% | -0.5% | 14.8% | 17.5% | 1,165 | 1,192 |
Austin, TX | 92 | 140 | 112 | 52.2 | -20.0 | 21.7 | 24.3 | 6,034 | 6,163 |
Baltimore, MD | 101 | 92 | 90 | -8.9 | -2.2 | -10.9 | -7.5 | 6,805 | 7,065 |
Birmingham, AL | 99 | 100 | 119 | 1.0 | 19.0 | 20.2 | -8.3 | 2,549 | 1,945 |
Boston, MA | 355 | 514 | 432 | 44.8 | -16.0 | 21.7 | 0.1 | 1,573 | 1,294 |
Charlotte, NC | 49 | 81 | 95 | 65.3 | 17.3 | 93.9 | 29.1 | 9,660 | 6,431 |
Chicago, IL | 756 | 808 | 1,018 | 6.9 | 26.0 | 34.7 | 1.5 | 3,706 | 2,792 |
Cincinnati, OH | 62 | 102 | 104 | 64.5 | 2.0 | 67.7 | -11.2 | 5,611 | 2,969 |
Cleveland, OH | 166 | 212 | 189 | 27.7 | -10.8 | 13.9 | -9.8 | 3,019 | 2,393 |
Columbus, OH | 98 | 116 | 147 | 18.4 | 26.7 | 50.0 | 10.6 | 6,744 | 4,970 |
Dallas, TX | 293 | 337 | 340 | 15.0 | 0.9 | 16.0 | 16.7 | 3,551 | 3,570 |
Detroit, MI | 93 | 77 | 70 | -17.2 | -9.1 | -24.7 | -11.7 | 10,792 | 12,667 |
Hartford, CT | 62 | 76 | 67 | 22.6 | -11.8 | 8.1 | -5.3 | 2,118 | 1,857 |
Houston, TX | 399 | 378 | 538 | -5.3 | 42.3 | 34.8 | 13.3 | 4,459 | 3,748 |
Indianapolis, IN | 119 | 124 | 148 | 4.2 | 19.4 | 24.4 | 5.1 | 6,270 | 5,298 |
Irvine, CA | 27 | 42 | 104 | 55.6 | 147.6 | 285.2 | 50.0 | 4,614 | 1,797 |
Jackson, MS | 46 | 68 | 76 | 47.8 | 11.8 | 65.2 | -5.5 | 4,093 | 2,342 |
Jacksonville, FL | 41 | 64 | 76 | 56.1 | 18.8 | 85.4 | 18.0 | 16,180 | 10,298 |
Kansas City, MO | 120 | 131 | 153 | 9.2 | 16.8 | 27.5 | 3.6 | 3,620 | 2,941 |
Los Angeles, CA | 590 | 697 | 676 | 18.1 | -3.0 | 14.6 | 8.8 | 5,990 | 5,688 |
Memphis, TN | 49 | 71 | 74 | 44.9 | 4.2 | 51.0 | 8.5 | 12,645 | 9,085 |
Miami, FL | 198 | 208 | 236 | 5.1 | 13.5 | 19.2 | 5.7 | 1,846 | 1,637 |
Milwaukee, WI | 103 | 107 | 93 | 3.9 | -13.1 | -9.7 | -3.4 | 5,821 | 6,225 |
Minneapolis, MN | 179 | 195 | 185 | 8.9 | -5.1 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2,016 | 2,015 |
New York, NY | 1,491 | 1,893 | 2,255 | 27.0 | 19.1 | 51.2 | 10.8 | 4,929 | 3,611 |
Omaha, NE | 45 | 57 | 68 | 26.7 | 19.3 | 51.1 | 10.9 | 8,306 | 6,096 |
Orlando, FL | 57 | 72 | 93 | 26.3 | 29.2 | 63.2 | 24.5 | 3,005 | 2,293 |
Palo Alto, CA | 83 | 233 | 109 | 180.7 | -53.2 | 31.3 | -0.6 | 690 | 523 |
Philadelphia, PA | 238 | 325 | 342 | 36.6 | 5.2 | 43.7 | -2.2 | 6,287 | 4,279 |
Phoenix, AZ | 110 | 117 | 163 | 6.4 | 39.3 | 48.2 | 28.8 | 10,314 | 8,967 |
Pittsburgh, PA | 155 | 182 | 179 | 17.4 | -1.6 | 15.5 | -10.5 | 2,282 | 1,769 |
Portland, OR | 69 | 130 | 115 | 88.4 | -11.5 | 66.7 | 7.0 | 7,223 | 4,638 |
Richmond, VA | 78 | 70 | 68 | -10.3 | -2.9 | -12.8 | 0.9 | 2,462 | 2,850 |
Sacramento, CA | 72 | 93 | 134 | 29.2 | 44.1 | 86.1 | 14.5 | 5,538 | 3,406 |
Salt Lake City, UT | 69 | 73 | 94 | 5.8 | 28.8 | 36.2 | 6.5 | 2,423 | 1,895 |
San Diego, CA | 187 | 213 | 301 | 13.9 | 41.3 | 61.0 | 7.8 | 6,229 | 4,171 |
San Francisco, CA | 225 | 366 | 398 | 62.7 | 8.7 | 76.9 | 1.2 | 3,247 | 1,858 |
Seattle, WA | 119 | 156 | 193 | 31.1 | 23.7 | 62.2 | 8.2 | 4,457 | 2,974 |
Tampa,FL | 63 | 87 | 107 | 38.1 | 23.0 | 69.8 | 14.6 | 4,517 | 3,047 |
Washington, DC | 627 | 945 | 880 | 50.7 | -6.9 | 40.4 | -0.1 | 879 | 626 |
Wilmington, DE | 32 | 67 | 85 | 109.4 | 26.9 | 165.6 | 1.2 | 2,248 | 856 |
Nationwide | 15,759 | 18,008 | 19,600 | 14.3 | 8.8 | 24.4 | 11.3 | 16,897 | 15,123 |