Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the number of new lawyers joining the profession has been decreasing every year, despite the fact that the total number of specialists in the Register of Lawyers of Ukraine already exceeds 53,000. According to Opendatabot analysts, as of February 2022, the register has added 4,370 new lawyers, but the trend indicates a decrease in the number of new licenses every year.
As of the end of August 2024, there are 53,361 lawyers in the register. However, if in 2020 there were 5,124 new specialists, this year their number decreased to 1,708.
A large number of lawyers have also stopped or ceased their activities since the beginning of the war. In particular, 1,773 lawyers temporarily suspended their work, and eight stopped their practice altogether.
Gender distribution and regional statistics
Men dominate the profession - 60% of the total number of lawyers, while women make up 40%. The largest number of lawyers are registered in the Kyiv region - 9,127, which is 17% of the total number, and in Kyiv - 5,682 (10.6%). Other regions with high numbers of lawyers include Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Odesa and Donetsk Oblast.
Trends in the regions
The largest increase in new attorney licenses was observed in the western regions, such as Zakarpattia (+15%), Vinnytsia (+14.6%), Odesa (+14.6%) and Rivne (+13.8%) regions. However, it is worth noting that the place of issuance of the attorney's license does not always coincide with the actual place of work of specialists.
In general, the legal profession in Ukraine, despite its complexity, remains a significant profession, but faces the challenge of reducing the number of new professionals, which may affect the legal system in the future.
