58 Percent of Portugal's Lawyers Earned Under 2,157 Euros a Month in the Bar Association's 2024 Survey, and Women Earned Less: How to Find One or Get Legal Aid
Most lawyers in Portugal are women and work alone, and 58 percent of those who disclosed their pay earn under 2,157 euros a month gross. Here is what the Bar Association's survey found, and how to get legal aid or check a lawyer is registered.
Most of Portugal's lawyers are women, most of them work on their own, and most of those who disclose their pay earn less than 2,157 euros a month gross from the law. That is the picture painted by a new report, "A Advocacia Portuguesa em 2027" by the legal software company Legau, which ECO reported on 30 October. The Brief could not find Legau's report online. Its core figures come from the Bar Association's own survey, the Inquérito à Advocacia Portuguesa 2024, which the Brief has read in full.
Who Portugal's lawyers are
Ministry of Justice statistics (DGPJ) counted 37,842 lawyers in 2025, down 739 on 2024. Of these, 21,545 (about 57 percent) were women. In the Bar Association's survey population of 35,674 reachable members, the largest age group was 40 to 49 (29.1 percent), and 19.5 percent were 60 or older.
The profession is concentrated in two of the Bar's seven regions. The Lisbon regional council (Conselho Regional) had 47.9 percent of those members and Porto 32.4 percent: together, about 80 percent. Coimbra had 10.8 percent; the Alentejo (Évora), Algarve (Faro), Madeira and the Azores shared the rest.
Small practices and long hours
The survey ran from 24 June to 16 July 2024 and drew 8,801 responses, a quarter of members. Its ISPA authors warn the sample is self-selected, so results describe those who answered, not the whole profession.
- 64.3 percent work individually and independently; 85.5 percent practise full time.
- 72.2 percent call their practice generalist.
- 45 percent work more than nine hours a day.
Pay: a wide gap at the top
Of those who stated their average monthly earnings from the law before tax, 24.3 percent earned less than 719 euros and 58.1 percent less than 2,157 euros. Only 7.2 percent earned more than 7,188 euros. Among lawyers aged 20 to 29, 31.4 percent were below 719 euros.
The gender gap is clear. 46 percent of women earned under 1,438 euros a month, against 28.7 percent of men; 11.8 percent of men earned over 7,188 euros, against 3.9 percent of women.
Lawyers are also unhappy with their own pension and welfare fund, the CPAS (Caixa de Previdência dos Advogados e Solicitadores). 68.7 percent said it does not guarantee adequate social rights, and 47.4 percent would switch to the general Social Security scheme if they could. Of lawyers who had become parents, 56.1 percent said they had received no support from it.
What it means for you: legal aid and finding a lawyer
Just over half of respondents (53.2 percent) were signed up to the state legal aid system (SADT, Sistema de Acesso ao Direito e aos Tribunais). If you cannot afford a lawyer, you can apply for proteção jurídica (legal protection): legal advice, or legal aid (apoio judiciário) such as exemption from court fees or a lawyer appointed and paid by the state.
According to the Social Security practical guide, foreign nationals with a valid residence permit in an EU country can qualify, provided their household's income, assets and regular expenses show they cannot pay. Apply online through Segurança Social Direta (Ação social, Apoios e respostas sociais, Proteção Jurídica) using form PJ 1, or at any Social Security service desk; a simulator on the same menu checks eligibility. A decision is due within 30 days. The Bar Association then appoints the lawyer.
To hire a lawyer privately, the Bar Association's lawyer search confirms that someone is registered, and can be filtered by name, town and regional council. Free legal advice for immigrants is also available in 17 councils through Bar Association rotas.
