The number of practising solicitors hit a record high last month, despite the parlous state of the economy, according to figures released by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

By the end of November there were 125,473 PC-holders, a rise of 462 on the previous month and of over 4,500 on the same date in 2010. The total number on the roll now stands at 163,108. There is a caveat however - it is unclear at this stage whether the figure may have been artificially inflated by this year’s phased renewals process.

In previous years the SRA has carried out a PC bulk termination exercise, where it terminates PCs which have not been renewed. This led to falls in the total in December 2009 and January 2011.

The rise has come at a time when the number of solicitor firms has remained relatively stable, despite evidence of greater consolidation. The number of firms fell by just 20 year on year, to 10,925.

In the last 18 months, there has been just one month (September 2010) in which the number of firms closing outnumbered those opening. Since August, there have been 219 new firms formed. Sole practitioner firms still make up almost a third of solicitor practices, although their number has fallen by more than 250 in a year.

There are also around 300 fewer partnerships this year than at the same point in 2010, although they still make up almost 30% of solicitor firms.

Incorporated companies (24%) and limited liability partnerships (14%) make up the bulk of the remainder.

The influence of legal disciplinary practices, introduced in 2009 to allow non-lawyer ownership stakes, has grown markedly, rising from 323 in November 2010 to almost 500 by the end of last month.