Filling the Needs of Rural Clients

Another Gap 

Created by 

Retiring Baby Boomer Lawyers

Over the last several years, several state and local bar associations have focused on under-served clients living in rural areas.  Twenty percent of the U.S. population resides in rural counties, but only two percent of law practices locate there.  

The October 2014 issue of the ABA Journal re-visits the topic again, profiling a number of lawyers practicing in rural North Dakota and South Dakota.  The article, Too Many Lawyers? Not Here. In Rural America, Lawyers are Few and Far Between by Lorelei Laird, gives a general overview of the situation, identifies a number of resources, and suggests the adaptations to rural practice required of young lawyers. An associated podcast is here.

Additional states -- including Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, Vermont, Montana, New Hampshire, and Maine -- have started various types of programs designed to encourage younger lawyers to practice in rural areas.  

Other resources on this topic include:

• Bruce Cameron, Becoming a Rural Lawyer: A Personal Guide to Establishing a Small Town Practice (The New Lawyer's Survival Guide) (Volume 3) (2013).
• Gary P. Toohey, Choosing the Road Less Traveled: Reversing the Lawyer Exodus, Mo. Bar Magazine (Winter 2014). 
• Martha Neil, In a Rural County That Lacks Lawyers, No One Seemingly Wants to Buy a Successful Law Practice, ABA On Line Journal (Nov. 3, 2014).
• 

January 12, 2015 Update: More on this story here.