The Oklahoma Bar Journal April 2023

A ttorneys & A ging

The Graying of the Legal Profession and Its Effect on Disciplinary Models

By Gina Hendryx

I N 2007, A JOINT COMMITTEE comprised of members from the National Organization of Bar Counsel (NOBC) and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL) published a report on issues facing aging lawyers and the effectiveness of traditional attor ney discipline models when applied to senior lawyers. The primary focus of the study, as well as that of most attorney regulatory offices, was the protection of the public while respecting the integrity and dignity of our aging attorney populations.

4) the strong desire among many senior lawyers to continue making positive contributions to society; and 5) economic necessity, which will compel lawyers to continue working because their pensions or savings are insufficient to support themselves and their families.” 1 All these factors are readily iden tifiable when reviewing and investi gating grievances submitted against senior lawyers. The vast majority of Oklahoma’s senior lawyer community provides good, com petent legal representation to their clients. These lawyers also serve as indispensable mentors to younger lawyers and provide much-needed pro bono representation to under served populations. However, 40% of the formal grievances submitted in 2022 were against lawyers who have been in practice for more than

Lawyers are continuing to practice beyond the traditional retirement age of 65. The NOBC/ APRL report attributed this aging workforce to “1) the steady increase in the past fifty years in the number of lawyers admit ted to practice each year; 2) the demographic shift in the elderly population; 3) dramatic improve ments in health care which have extended professional work lives;

According to the United States Census Bureau, more than 56 million adults aged 65 and older live in the United States and account for about 16.5% of this nation’s population. This figure is expected to reach 22% by 2050 and represents a significant increase from 1950, when the population of people aged 65 and over was only 8%. This “senior tsunami” or “baby boomer” generation is mirrored in our own bar association statistics. At the end of 2022, membership in the Oklahoma Bar Association was 18,588. Oklahoma attorneys over the age of 60 accounted for 42% of that total, and if you include attor neys over the age of 50, the total increases to 60%. We have more attorneys over the age of 70 practic ing law in Oklahoma than we have under the age of 30.

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.

24 | APRIL 2023

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL