Young public attorneys quitting more quickly for more cash; Shortage looming

A shortage of public appointed attorneys is looming due to many people quitting their jobs. Younger public lawyers are increasingly leaving the business early, according to statistics from the Knowledge Center Legal Aid Board.

The number of attorney who provide legal counsel to the most vulnerable people has dropped by nearly 900 people, or 13 percent, in the last five years. In 2023, around 4,389 social lawyers assisted ten or more people with subsidized legal assistance.

More social lawyers are leaving, and fewer are coming into new positions. Around 307 of them have dropped out this year compared to 200 who have signed up. More than half (51 percent in 2024) of the people leaving are young lawyers aged 20 to 35. The next few years will see 2,500 social lawyers retire from work.

The knowledge center determined that the shortage is very worrying because a social lawyer can provide legal counsel for a person opposing a powerful institution, such as the tax authorities, the UWV social benefits agency, youth services, or a municipality. A social lawyer is used in over 350,000 cases a year.

Previous research showed that insufficient compensation for social lawyers was by far the most important reason for this decline.

The Netherlands Bar has been calling for increased compensation for social advocacy for some time. “For many attorneys, it is simply not doable,” said Sanne van Oers, chair of the Netherlands Bar.

“To ensure there are sufficient social lawyers and a future perspective for them, it is necessary that the reimbursements keep up with the times. Without constant political discussion about whether sufficient budget is available for this.”