The 1996 census revealed there were 57,680 lawyers nationwide, so about 12,000 lawyers reported their earnings. The 1996 census revealed there were 57,680 lawyers nationwide, so about 12,000 lawyers reported their earnings. Lawyers earn more because they work longer Longer work hours accounted for about 25 per cent of the difference between lawyers' and overall average earnings, the study found. Lawyers' work patterns are more intensive. Many more lawyers were self-employed.
Women lawyers gaining ground Like all young workers, lawyers start out earning relatively low pay.
But lawyers' incomes rise dramatically as they get older, reaching their peak between 50 and 54 years. He says that explains why 46 per cent of the general workforce is women, while only 30 per cent of lawyers are women. But once you hit the middle-aged groups, the proportion of women becomes much smaller. But the averages are skewed because of the presence of relatively few women in the higher age groups. Women's earnings keeping average lawyer's earnings low The study also found that lawyer earnings, compared to the rest of the Canadian workforce, were relatively unaffected by the recessions the early 1980s and 1990s.