More Illinois lawyers provided free legal services during the economic downturn according to the ARDC Annual Report. The report indicates that 29,276 Illinois attorneys provided a total of 2,328,770 pro bono legal service hours last year - a 6% increase over 2009. The number of lawyers making monetary contributions increased 6% as well, with a total contribution of $15,266,660.
Grievances against Illinois attorneys continue to decline. The Commission docketed 5,617 investigations, a 3.7% decrease from 2009 and the fewest number of docketed investigations in 18 years. The top three areas of a grievance involve problems with the client-attorney relationship including allegations of neglect (38% of all investigations), failing to communicate (21%) and conduct involving fraud or deceit (15%). Consistent with prior years, the top areas of practice most likely to lead to a grievance include criminal law, domestic relations, tort and real estate.
The report shows that the Master Roll of Attorneys continues to increase. The lawyer population in Illinois rose to 86,657 as of Oct. 31, 2010. That does not include the 2,117 attorneys sworn-in in November. That total is a 2.2% increase over 2009. The counties with the greatest increase in attorney population include McHenry (3.2%), Will (2.5%), Lake (2.4%) and Cook (2.4%).
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