Kansas judges in rural counties struggle to find qualified attorneys to represent defendants in cases where the right to a lawyer is guaranteed.
“We are approaching a constitutional crisis,” said Kansas Supreme Court Justice Keynen “K.J.” Wall.
Forty-seven rural counties are legal deserts, or areas without adequate access to legal help. One-third of rural attorneys are also over 60 years old. If they all retired, 87 counties would lack adequate legal representation.
The attorney shortage is so bad older lawyers put off retirement because if they go, then their neighbors might have no legal representation. Some cities and counties are struggling to hire as well.
Those findings come from a report released Friday by the Kansas Rural Justice Initiative. That 35-member committee was created in 2022 by the Kansas Supreme Court. The committee studied access to lawyers in rural Kansas and suggested solutions.
Why this problem is so bad
Financial, practice and cultural issues are three major barriers to legal aid, the committee found.
Before 1980, about one in four attorneys graduated with student loan debt. That debt averaged around $12,000 — or $48,000 when adjusted for inflation. Since 1980, 93% of attorneys are graduating with $125,000 in debt.
These young lawyers want a steady job to pay off that debt. Larger firms in urban areas pay more, the report said, and rural practices might offer pay based on the number of cases a lawyer handles. If work is slow, those younger attorneys lose out on money and can be crushed by debt.
Add those money woes to poor child care options, limited jobs for spouses and scarce housing. So attorneys are opting for larger cities where these problems may be more muted.
Wall said attorneys also want mentorship. Law students worry that going to rural Kansas would mean less support from more senior lawyers.
Marla Luckert, chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court, said she knew the rural attorney shortage was a problem, but the report found that it was even worse than she thought.
She said there are solutions, though, and the state judicial branch is committed to fixing this problem.
Fixes for attorney shortage
The report outlined 10 recommendations. Wall said the key recommendations are tuition assistance, student loan help and creating a rural attorney network.
An attorney graduating now has two and half times as much student loan debt as an attorney who graduated before 1980, when adjusted for inflation. Wall wants the state Legislature to create a program that cuts the cost of college in exchange for that attorney working in rural Kansas.
Similar programs already exist for veterinarians. Wall said the rural vet program has successfully placed many veterinarians in rural communities.
The rural attorney network would help connect prospective employees with firms looking to hire.
Other recommendations include:
- Creating a permanent committee to study and monitor rural justice initiatives.
- Partnering with the Kansas State Department of Education to promote civics classes and outreach programs in rural school districts.
- Encouraging rural law outreach programs at Kansas universities.
- Creating a professional organization for rural attorneys to “collaborate on issues relating to the recruitment and retention of attorneys in rural Kansas.”
The rural justice committee had two state lawmakers on it. Sen. Elaine Bowers, a Concordia Republican, said the Legislature is prepared to act on these issues.
“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” she said. “We have models that we’re going to start from. So I’m looking forward to the introduction of legislation.”
This story was originally published by The Beacon, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.
