In earlier research into the attitudes of professionals to continuing professional education, four factors have stood out as occurring in virtually all results--professional improvement and development, professional service, collegial learning and interaction, and personal benefits and job security. Two other factors emerged once only in different studies--professional reflection and professional role clarification. The study reported here on the continuing education needs of country-based solicitors was intended to build on the foundations laid by earlier researchers and to be the first examination of the continuing education needs of such solicitors ever undertaken. The subjects of the study were 48 country-based solicitors attending legal professional development seminars conducted in Newcastle. Results revealed that female solicitors in the Hunter area and the solicitors who had entered the profession through the Solicitors Admission Board had special needs that merited consideration when future programs are being planned. The findings from this study were significant and provide a practical needs-based structure for a more efficient, useful and relevant future educational provision for such country-based solicitors.