Two revelations occur in the annual report of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, which was presented to the Illinois Supreme Court on Law Day.

First is the historic inaugural report of pro bono legal service performed by Illinois lawyers: 25,413 of them reported an aggregate total of 2,092,339 hours devoted to assisting eligible individuals and families.

Second is the statistical aberration that the total number of practicing attorneys in the state dropped in all of the state's five judicial districts, and the total registration grew only 1.4 percent from 80,041 to 81,146.

Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 756, pro bono service was reported for the first time in 2007 registrations. Despite the generous contributions of 25,413 lawyers, the 55,443 who did not provide pro bono included 9,140 who are prohibited by employment classification.

The 2,092,339 hours reported included 1,087,501 hours of direct legal service to indigents, 316,949 hours through legal aid agencies, 630,005 hours of assistance to the purposes of those agencies, and 57,984 hours toward training of pro bono providers.

The profession can boast that the grand total represents upwards of $200 million worth of voluntary contributions for the benefit of low-income residents of the state.

Added to that, 12,501 attorneys reported cash donations totaling $17,456,053, a figure that does not include the annual pro bono fee of $42 per registration – another $3.4 million for the Lawyers Trust Fund.

While the total ARDC registration last year rose slightly to 81,146, the number of practicing attorneys with Illinois addresses dropped 1.3 percent from 61,130 to 60,370, not counting the 2,249 who were admitted in November.

The decrease is due in part to an increase from 1,198 to 2,222 of lawyers removed from the Master Roll for various reasons.

But ARDC officials also pointed out an unprecedented increase in the number of registered attorneys in practice outside of the state. The 2006 total of 20,776 represents a 9.9 percent spike from 18,911 in 2005.

Total registrations in each judicial district dropped, and only three circuits showed small gains. The largest losses were in the 18th Circuit (3.3%) and 19th Circuit (4.0%), where a larger decrease will be reported next year due to establishment of the 22nd Circuit in McHenry County.

The changes are: Cook County, from 42,510 to 42,142 (-0.9%); 2nd District, from 9,920 to 9,621 (-3.1%); 3rd District, from 2,976 to 2,950 (-0.9%); 4th District, from 3,223 to 3,188 (-1.1%); 5th District, from 2,501 to 2,469 (-1.3%).

Only 17 counties gained lawyer population, and 25 stayed the same as in the previous year.

A 4.6 percent drop occurred in the number of complaints investigated last year by the ARDC – from 6,082 to 5,801, the lowest figure since 5,811 in 2001.

The administrator closed 1,319 files where no misconduct was alleged, and another 4,076 after investigation. The Inquiry Board dropped 76 more, and voted complaints in only 215 matters – a 32 percent decrease from 317 the previous year and lowest since 1988.

The Supreme Court imposed 144 sanctions on 142 attorneys, down 23 from the previous year: 32 disbarments, 63 suspensions, 24 probations, 19 censures and six reprimands. In addition, 10 interim suspensions were in effect during investigations.

The 2006 report on gender (33 percent female and 67 percent male) and years in practice (29 percent fewer than 10 y ears and 71 percent for 10 years or more) were the same as in 2005.

By age, 6 percent are 21 to 29, 55 percent (up 2%) are 30 to 49, 36 percent (down 2%) are 50 to 74, and three percent are 75 or older.

Among registered attorneys, 8,632 are inactive, 1,892 are judges or judicial clerks, 323 are in-house counsel, and 216 are on active military duty.

Illinois attorneys in active practice three or more years who registered this year had to pay $289, an increase of $50 from the $239 fee that had been in place since 2001. The fees for inactive attorneys and those in practice one to three years rose from $90 to $105.

Half of the $50 increase goes toward funding ARDC operations and to offset an impending shortfall. The annual financial report projected enough reserve for only five months after the end of 2006.

Reasons given were lower revenues than anticipated, and a soaring caseload, particularly in the incidence and magnitude of conversion cases.

The other $25 increase will dedicate a separate funding structure for the Client Protection Program, and permit it to more effectively address the harm caused by dishonest lawyers without eroding disciplinary resources.

During 2006, claims totaling $843,054 were paid to 111 clients in matters involving 38 disciplined attorneys. The areas of misconduct cited were failure to refund unearned fees (68) and conversion (43).