Market data
Family law in Washington: market data
What public records say about the market for family law in Washington: how much demand the courts and agencies count, how many law offices serve it, how many people need help in Spanish, and the ad rules that apply. Every number links to the record it comes from.
Demand: what courts and agencies count
Counts of filings, crashes, complaints and enforcement in the records each agency keeps. A count shows where problems were recorded, not how many people will hire a lawyer.
| Measure | Value | Period | Place | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divorced residents | 715,743 ±6,190 people age 15+ | 2020-2024 | Washington state | legal-need v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23741886 record legal-need-wa · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Residents divorced in the last 12 months | 44,189 ±1,885 people age 15+ | 2020-2024 | Washington state | legal-need v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23741886 record legal-need-wa · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Residents with limited English (any language) | 588,840 ±7,617 people age 5+ | 2020-2024 | Washington state | legal-need v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23741886 record legal-need-wa · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| District and municipal courts: protective-order cases (domestic violence and peace orders) filed | 7,619 cases filed | CY 2025 | Washington state | state-courts v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23753032 record wa-state-limited-family-protective · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Superior courts: adoption cases filed | 4,242 cases filed | CY 2025 | Washington state | state-courts v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23753032 record wa-state-superior-family-adoption · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Superior courts: domestic-relations cases (divorce, custody and support) filed | 30,694 cases filed | CY 2025 | Washington state | state-courts v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23753032 record wa-state-superior-family-divorce-custody · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Superior courts: juvenile delinquency and status-offense cases filed | 6,433 cases filed | CY 2025 | Washington state | state-courts v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23753032 record wa-state-superior-juvenile-delinquency · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Superior courts: juvenile dependency (child-welfare) cases filed | 12,456 cases filed | CY 2025 | Washington state | state-courts v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23753032 record wa-state-superior-juvenile-dependency · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
Lawyer supply
How many law offices and lawyers the federal statistics count here.
| Measure | Value | Period | Place | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New lawyers admitted | 1,466 lawyers a year | 2025 | Washington state | bar-pipeline v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721443 record wa-bar-pipeline · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Counties under 1 law office per 10,000 residents | 4 counties | 2026-Q1 | Washington state | deserts v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721430 record deserts-53 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Counties with no law office | 1 counties | 2026-Q1 | Washington state | deserts v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721430 record deserts-53 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Residents living in those low-office counties | 2.2 percent of residents | 2026-Q1 | Washington state | deserts v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721430 record deserts-53 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Employer law firms | 3,439 firms | 2022 | Washington state | law-firm-economy v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739997 record lfe-wa-all · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Receipts of employer law firms | 6,198,628,000 US dollars | 2022 | Washington state | law-firm-economy v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739997 record lfe-wa-all · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Law offices per 10,000 residents | 4.27 per 10,000 residents | 2026-Q1 | Washington state | law-offices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721415 record law-offices-53 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Self-employed lawyers (nonemployer firms) | 5,349 firms | latest Nonemployer Statistics year | Washington state | law-offices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721415 record law-offices-53 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Private law offices | 3,417 establishments | 2026-Q1 | Washington state | law-offices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721415 record law-offices-53 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Lawyers employed (wage-earning, BLS OEWS) | 12,770 jobs | May 2025 | Washington state | lawyer-wages v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734840 record lawyer-wages:WA:231011:2025 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Median annual wage of employed lawyers | 154,130 US dollars a year | May 2025 | Washington state | lawyer-wages v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734840 record lawyer-wages:WA:231011:2025 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
Counties with the most demand per law office
Of the 25 counties in Washington with the most district and municipal courts: protective-order cases (domestic violence and peace orders) filed, the ten with the most per private law office. Both counts are shown with their records.
| County | Demand | Law offices | Per office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas County, WA | 105 record wa-douglas-limited-family-protective | 3 record law-offices-53017 | 35 |
| Grant County, WA | 250 record wa-grant-limited-family-protective | 23 record law-offices-53025 | 10.87 |
| Asotin County, WA | 82 record wa-asotin-limited-family-protective | 8 record law-offices-53003 | 10.25 |
| Grays Harbor County, WA | 175 record wa-grays-harbor-limited-family-protective | 18 record law-offices-53027 | 9.72 |
| Pacific County, WA | 51 record wa-pacific-limited-family-protective | 7 record law-offices-53049 | 7.29 |
| Cowlitz County, WA | 215 record wa-cowlitz-limited-family-protective | 32 record law-offices-53015 | 6.72 |
| Lewis County, WA | 80 record wa-lewis-limited-family-protective | 12 record law-offices-53041 | 6.67 |
| Whitman County, WA | 66 record wa-whitman-limited-family-protective | 10 record law-offices-53075 | 6.6 |
| Jefferson County, WA | 70 record wa-jefferson-limited-family-protective | 12 record law-offices-53031 | 5.83 |
| Okanogan County, WA | 84 record wa-okanogan-limited-family-protective | 15 record law-offices-53047 | 5.6 |
District and municipal courts: protective-order cases (domestic violence and peace orders) filed (state-courts v1.1.0, CY 2025) ÷ Private law offices (law-offices v1.0.0, 2026-Q1). ratio = state-courts.limited.family-protective / law-offices.qcew_estabs, rounded to 2 decimals; ranked highest first, among the 25 units with the most demand. Units with zero supply are listed apart (ratio undefined); units without a published value are listed as missing.
Spanish-language demand
People who speak Spanish and speak English less than very well, and the lawyers who speak Spanish, from the Census Bureau survey (with margins of error).
| Measure | Value | Period | Place | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawyers who speak Spanish at home (ACS) | 490 ±193 lawyers | 2020-2024 | Washington state | language v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23656758 record language:state:WA:lawyers-spanish · status P · checked 2026-10-25 |
| Spanish speakers with limited English per Spanish-speaking lawyer | 526 ±208 people per lawyer | 2020-2024 | Washington state | language v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23656758 record language:state:WA:lep-per-spanish-lawyer · status P · checked 2026-10-25 |
| Spanish speakers with limited English (ACS) | 257,922 ±5,113 people age 5+ | 2020-2024 | Washington state | language v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23656758 record language:state:WA:spanish-lep · status P · checked 2026-10-25 |
| Spanish speakers with limited English | 257,922 ±5,361 people age 5+ | 2020-2024 | Washington state | legal-need v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23741886 record legal-need-wa · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
Ad rules that apply
The rules a law firm's ads in Washington have to meet, summarized from the official texts. The full rules, with quotes, are on the state page.
| Topic | Status | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Ad filing or review | P primary source | No filing or advance review is required for ads or solicitations. RPC 7.1 and 7.3 have no filing or copy-keeping clause; RPC 7.2, 7.4 and 7.5 are reserved. official source · rules v1.4.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750572 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Required content | P primary source | The rules have no clause requiring a name, address, disclaimer or label in an ad or solicitation. RPC 7.1 (false or misleading communications) governs, and RPC 7.2 and 7.5 are reserved. official source · rules v1.4.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750572 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Waiting periods for contact | P primary source | The rules set no fixed waiting period. A solicitation is barred if the lawyer knows or should know the person's physical, emotional or mental state is such that they could not exercise reasonable judgment in hiring a lawyer, if the person said no, or if it… official source · rules v1.4.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750572 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Claims and results | P primary source | A communication may not be false or misleading (7.1). Comment [3] says reporting a lawyer's achievements may mislead if it suggests the same results for other clients, and unsubstantiated comparisons may mislead. official source · rules v1.4.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750572 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Paying for referrals | P primary source | A lawyer may not compensate, give or promise anything of value to a non-firm person for recommending or securing the lawyer's services, except: reasonable ad costs (including online group advertising), the usual charges of a legal service plan or… official source · rules v1.4.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750572 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Call recording | P primary source | Recording a private telephone communication or conversation requires the consent of all participants; consent is treated as given when one party announces the recording to the others in a reasonably effective way. official source · rules v1.4.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750572 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Texting | P primary source | A person aggrieved by repeated violations of the telephone solicitation statute may sue for damages of at least $1,000 per violation, with attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff. official source · rules v1.4.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750572 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Ad filing or review | P primary source | Washington: no filing or review of lawyer ads is required. official source · filing v1.2.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721409 · checked 2026-10-25 |
| Paying for referrals | P primary source | Lawyers in different firms may split a fee if the split matches the services each provides, or if each lawyer takes joint responsibility for the case, and the total fee is reasonable. official source · referral v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23747113 · checked 2026-10-27 |
Prices and pay (national)
| Measure | Value | Period | Place | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jobs in legal services (seasonally adjusted) | 1,249 thousand jobs | 2026-09 | United States United States | legal-prices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734854 record legal-prices:CES6054110001:2026-09 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| CPI-U: legal services | 230 index | 2026-09 | United States United States | legal-prices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734854 record legal-prices:CUUR0000SEGC01:2026-09 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| PPI: offices of lawyers | 338 index | 2026-09 | United States United States | legal-prices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734854 record legal-prices:PCU541110541110:2026-09 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| PPI: family legal services | 116 index | 2020-12 | United States United States | legal-prices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734854 record legal-prices:PCU5411105411108:2020-12 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
Download and cite
The rows behind this page, with every dataset, version, DOI, record id and check date.
Cite as: Probative Growth, The new-lawyer pipeline by jurisdiction: bar exam pass rates and new admissions, 2025 v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721443); Legal deserts: law offices and lawyers per resident in every U.S. county v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721430); Spanish-speaking demand vs Spanish-speaking lawyer supply, by state and metro v1.1.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23656758); Law firm size, solos and receipts, by state: Census SUSB 2022, Nonemployer Statistics 2024 and Economic Census 2022 v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739997); Law offices, jobs and pay by county, with solo-practice counts: BLS QCEW, Census CBP and Nonemployer Statistics v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721415); Lawyer, paralegal and legal-staff pay by state and metro (BLS OEWS) v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734840); Legal need by county: who may need a lawyer, from the American Community Survey v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23741886); Legal-services prices and jobs, monthly (BLS CPI, PPI and CES) v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734854); State trial-court case filings by county, court level and case type: Texas, Washington, Maryland, Indiana and Wisconsin (more states to follow) v1.1.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23753032); CC BY 4.0. https://probativegrowth.com/markets/washington/family-law/
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How this page is built
Each figure is copied from one record of the dataset named with it, joined to this state and practice through the open practice and place crosswalk. Nothing is estimated. Methods, inputs and limits.