2025 Missouri Bar member data reflects shifts in the profession

As part of the 2025 attorney enrollment process through the Supreme Court of Missouri, nearly 3 in 4 of the 29,117 actively licensed lawyers in Missouri voluntarily reported their gender or race and ethnicity.

The bar saw an increase in lawyers voluntarily reporting gender. While 79% of Missouri lawyers reported this information in 2018, 91.3% did so in 2025. This self-disclosure painted a clearer picture of the profession’s gender makeup, showing 37.8% of today’s Missouri lawyers are female compared to 35.4% based on 2018’s reporting.

The stats also indicate an increase in Missouri lawyers with a primary practice located out of state. 21.4% of lawyers are based out of state in 2025 compared to 19.98% in 2023.

Nine in 10 members of The Missouri Bar reported gender information on the annual Attorney Enrollment Form, while 77.84% of Missouri lawyers providing data regarding their race and ethnicity.

Voluntary reporting of gender was included on the annual Attorney Enrollment Form beginning with 2016 enrollment based on a recommendation from the Joint Commission on Women in the Profession of the Supreme Court of Missouri and The Missouri Bar. Voluntary reporting of race and ethnicity was added to the enrollment form for 2018 following a recommendation by the Supreme Court of Missouri’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness.

The Missouri Bar is dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion in the profession. One of the state bar’s seven core strategic goals is that Missouri lawyers reflect the diverse constituencies that they serve, and all members view The Missouri Bar as an inclusive organization where they belong.

Learn more about The Missouri Bar’s diversity and inclusion resources at MoBar.org/Diversity_Inclusion.