Judicial reform is having a quick and dramatic impact on the legal profession, not least on the number of lawyers. In March 2002, the government decided to increase the number of those who pass the bar exam to 3,000 a year by 2010. Only 1,000 were passed in 1999.

In 2004, a number of law schools were established and the bar exam was revised. As a result, 2,099 people passed the bar in 2007.

Recently, however, some bar associations have voiced concern about the rapid increase in lawyers.