Why do 68% of all Lawyers in the world reside in the USA?

Question

There are 222 Nations on earth, 19 of them have a higher GDP per capita then the USA. Europe alone has a higher population and economic power then the USA. Why are there so much lawers here and what do they all do?

To the one with The GDP - GDP per Capita - per CIA handbook 2006, is USA on 19th place.

Answer 1

Where do you get your first factual statement -- that 68% of lawyers reside in the US?
950,000 lawyers in the US
http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/legalotln/lawyers.htm

And at a minimum, 719,771 lawyers in Europe
http://www.ccbe.org/doc/En/table_number_lawyers_2004_en.pdf

So, the U.S. has about 56% of all lawyers in Europe AND the U.S.... (Europe drags behind just by a little) That doesn't include lawyers in the middle east, India, Asia, Austrialia, South America....
it can't have 68% of all the lawyers in the world.

Your statistic is a lie.

And then let's think of some other reasons:
The U.S. has a higher crime, conviction, and incarceration rate than any other western society. This requires both a prosecutor and a defense attorney (either public or not). In the European (inquisitorial) system, you may not be guaranteed an attorney to assist in your defense... so that increases the number of criminal attorneys by half. In addition, the prosecution rates are so much lower that you don't need as many attorneys to do those jobs. That probably takes out 100,00 right there.

Your statistics are fatally flawed. Actually, if you google your question, you can find scholarly articles debating whether there are too many lawyers. But don't state facts that simply cannot be true.

Answer 2

The US has by far the largest GDP in the world.

GDP per capita is easily skewed by small countries and what does that have to do with the overall percentage of lawyers in the US? You might as well be consistent with your "data" and give us the rank of the US with lawyers per capita. I guarantee you that it will be lower. But to answer your question - lawyers are a profession where there is a lot of money, and America is one of the best places to get an education - people from all over the world travel to the US to attend colleges and universities.

Answer 3

Ah, lawyer bashing. Well, perhaps it could be the result of the United States being the major financial & commerce hub of the world -- you need lawyers. A very small percentage of lawyers are what many people think of as "ambulance chasers." Lawyers are important in defending peoples' rights. Many people refer to the line in Shakespeare's Henry VI, "kill all the lawyers" as a good thing, that there are too many meddlesome lawyers. However, the real intention was to eliminate those who might stand in the way of a contemplated revolution -- thus underscoring the important role that lawyers can play in society.

Answer 4

Good question.

I never knew that there are 19 nations that have a higher GDP than the US.

Answer 5

stable pass on no longer posting it in 2010 i think of that u . s . a . has had an entire 360 in terms of the sport and attractiveness lots has replaced. 2022 sounds lots extra advantageous in my own opinion considering the fact this is the single that sounds extra achievable because of the fact that i in my view do no longer think of Qatar is going to get it in 2022 and the U. S. seem a safer guess, I easily have signed many petitions to develop expertise and placed across the wc to u . s . a . and philly

Answer 6

The key here is to look at the legislators. What job did most of them have before? Right. Attorneys.
So they have made laws that allow lawyers to have huge earning capacity. They have created laws that allow people to win big money for spilling hot coffee on their lap or for falling off a ladder that did not have a warning on it saying that falling off a ladder could be hazardous to your health.
In addition we have the contingency fee which is unethical in most civilized countries. When you read about class action suits for a hundred million dollars, the lawyers get a huge amount of this and the individuals get 5 or 10 bucks each.
Bottom line, they go where the money is.

Answer 7

Just because someone is licensed to practice law does not mean he is doing so. Many people branch out into other areas after getting their law license. We do have a lot of lawyers though. What do they do? Most of us are hard working honest people who help our clients.

Answer 8

aren't there many mass murderers in USA? oh yeah and people are scared of electric chair or gass so they'd give a last penny to lawyers. and in USA you can find lots of celebrties and/or models who kick somebody and next day they play an angel. and they pay good cash.
and lawyers are not the same (I mean some of them do only divorces...etc)

Answer 9

The ratio of attorney homicides in this country is low.

Answer 10

OBJECTION! This question does not back up its facts! additional sources would benefit in answers given. (sorry, been playing too much Phoenix Wright) ^^;