But here\u2019s the thing. Pretty much all the non-practicing lawyers we know in the U.S. maintain their law license at registration \u2014 even though they don\u2019t work as lawyers.\u00a0 Meaning in every state in the country, there are a substantial number of people counted as practicing who are non-practicing lawyers.<\/p>\n
These are the invisible NPLs.<\/strong><\/p>\n You knew this was coming. AI, in this case ChatGPT 5.0, arrives at roughly 1,000,000 non-practicing lawyers this way:<\/p>\n These figures are derived from long-term enrollment and graduation statistics from the American Bar Association.<\/p>\n Reasonable midpoint \u2014 1.8 million Americans with a JD<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 800,000 people were reported as employed in the occupation \u201clawyer,\u201d \u201cattorney,\u201d \u201ccounsel,\u201d etc.<\/p>\n Leaving about 1,000,000 non-practicing lawyers in the U.S.<\/p>\n We founded exjudicata.com three years ago as a resource to help any lawyer or 3L considering, or committed to, moving to a nonlegal career.\u00a0We launched a second platform, the EXJ Community, in January 2026 as the first network for those lawyers already working in nonlegal jobs (and those that aspire to be \u2014 practicing lawyers interested in learning more and networking with lawyers who were once in their shoes).<\/p>\n We have used \u201cNPL\u201d sporadically, preferring to use non-practicing lawyer simply because we were new and this was a new concept.<\/p>\n Now we\u2019ve ratcheted it up and use NPL interchangeably with non-practicing lawyer.<\/p>\n The goal is straightforward to create the first new U.S. workforce demographic in decades, the NPL.<\/p>\n Why does a community of NPLs matter?<\/p>\n 1. There are hundreds of communities for practicing lawyers sliced every which way. By practice area, by geography, by age, by sexual orientation, state bar groups, city bar groups, the ABA. Shouldn\u2019t there be one for NPLs?<\/p>\n 2. If a community of NPLs can scale, suddenly CHROs and other talent executives at organizations of every size and stripe will start seeing tangible evidence of the scope and breadth of lawyers working in nonlegal careers.<\/p>\n In other words, it\u2019s one thing to talk to a talent executive and tell them that they should consider lawyers for a marketing opening at their company. It\u2019s quite another to be able to approach that same person and show them 500 NPLs in the community working in marketing jobs around the country. And here\u2019s who they are.<\/p>\n 3. A community of NPLs ties into the evolving definition of the JD degree.<\/p>\n Old: A JD is a law degree<\/p>\n New: A JD is a degree in complex problem-solving, and if there is one thing every business needs more of, it is complex problem-solvers.<\/p>\n 4. Emotional and psychological support for all practicing lawyers and 3Ls, struggling with concerns about leaving law to do something more in line with their passion and\/or purpose. While we can point to so many examples of former practicing lawyers thriving in business careers, it would be great for those struggling to see the size, the data. To see hundreds of thousands of JDs currently working in nonlegal jobs, the power of the JD applied to countless business roles.<\/p>\n 5. Law school career services offices struggle to advise students and alumni who want to pursue alternative careers. It would be extraordinary if they could look to an organized community of non-practicing lawyers for guidance, support, and jobs for their students and alumni.<\/p>\n Have ideas for building out a community of NPLs, we\u2019d love to hear? Email us at community@exjudicata.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n The authors of\u00a0The Great Escape\u00a0column,\u00a0Neil Handwerker and\u00a0Kimberly Fine,\u00a0are the founders of exjudicata.com, a platform designed to help lawyers move to nonlegal careers. \u00a0They just launched\u00a0a new related platform, the EXJ Community, the first ever peer-to-peer network of non-practicing lawyers.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The post Non-Practicing Lawyers \u2014 Visible And Invisible<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n We believe there are about 1,000,000 non-practicing lawyers (NPLs) in the US.<\/p>\n It is impossible to know with absolute certainty as the ABA and state bar associations do not accurately track this. Some state bar associations, such as New York State, offer an option to select \u201cretired from the practice of law\u201d in the state\u2019s required Biennial Registration but do not compile a count \u2014 at least one that is publicly available. \u00a0<\/p>\n In California, on the other hand, the state bar can tell you that as of the last registration, there were 71,000 inactive attorneys. Inactive being essentially the same as retired.<\/p>\n (Source: State Bar of California\u2019s Profile of California\u2019s Inactive Attorneys, March 2025)<\/em><\/p>\n But here\u2019s the thing. Pretty much all the non-practicing lawyers we know in the U.S. maintain their law license at registration \u2014 even though they don\u2019t work as lawyers.\u00a0 Meaning in every state in the country, there are a substantial number of people counted as practicing who are non-practicing lawyers.<\/p>\n These are the invisible NPLs.<\/strong><\/p>\n You knew this was coming. AI, in this case ChatGPT 5.0, arrives at roughly 1,000,000 non-practicing lawyers this way:<\/p>\n These figures are derived from long-term enrollment and graduation statistics from the American Bar Association.<\/p>\n Reasonable midpoint \u2014 1.8 million Americans with a JD<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 800,000 people were reported as employed in the occupation \u201clawyer,\u201d \u201cattorney,\u201d \u201ccounsel,\u201d etc.<\/p>\n Leaving about 1,000,000 non-practicing lawyers in the U.S.<\/p>\n We founded exjudicata.com three years ago as a resource to help any lawyer or 3L considering, or committed to, moving to a nonlegal career.\u00a0We launched a second platform, the EXJ Community, in January 2026 as the first network for those lawyers already working in nonlegal jobs (and those that aspire to be \u2014 practicing lawyers interested in learning more and networking with lawyers who were once in their shoes).<\/p>\n We have used \u201cNPL\u201d sporadically, preferring to use non-practicing lawyer simply because we were new and this was a new concept.<\/p>\n Now we\u2019ve ratcheted it up and use NPL interchangeably with non-practicing lawyer.<\/p>\n The goal is straightforward to create the first new U.S. workforce demographic in decades, the NPL.<\/p>\n Why does a community of NPLs matter?<\/p>\n 1. There are hundreds of communities for practicing lawyers sliced every which way. By practice area, by geography, by age, by sexual orientation, state bar groups, city bar groups, the ABA. Shouldn\u2019t there be one for NPLs?<\/p>\n 2. If a community of NPLs can scale, suddenly CHROs and other talent executives at organizations of every size and stripe will start seeing tangible evidence of the scope and breadth of lawyers working in nonlegal careers.<\/p>\n In other words, it\u2019s one thing to talk to a talent executive and tell them that they should consider lawyers for a marketing opening at their company. It\u2019s quite another to be able to approach that same person and show them 500 NPLs in the community working in marketing jobs around the country. And here\u2019s who they are.<\/p>\n 3. A community of NPLs ties into the evolving definition of the JD degree.<\/p>\n Old: A JD is a law degree<\/p>\n New: A JD is a degree in complex problem-solving, and if there is one thing every business needs more of, it is complex problem-solvers.<\/p>\n 4. Emotional and psychological support for all practicing lawyers and 3Ls, struggling with concerns about leaving law to do something more in line with their passion and\/or purpose. While we can point to so many examples of former practicing lawyers thriving in business careers, it would be great for those struggling to see the size, the data. To see hundreds of thousands of JDs currently working in nonlegal jobs, the power of the JD applied to countless business roles.<\/p>\n 5. Law school career services offices struggle to advise students and alumni who want to pursue alternative careers. It would be extraordinary if they could look to an organized community of non-practicing lawyers for guidance, support, and jobs for their students and alumni.<\/p>\n\n
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