Complete Story
Rural Ohio Attorney Shortage
Rural Ohio doesn't have enough attorneys. Here's how the state is responding to the crisis
Columbus Dispatch
Regardless of the sport, the home team is more likely to win.
And if that phenomenon works in the arena or on the field, Delaware attorney Geoff Spall thinks it likely translates to the courtroom too.
But the potential homefield advantage is disappearing for millions of Ohioans working their way through the legal system as the number of rural attorneys like Spall has plummeted.
Potential clients outnumber attorneys by more than 700 to 1 in 82 of Ohio's 88 counties, according to data and population statistics compiled by the Ohio Bar Association. The disparity is due to the fact that 73% of Ohio's practicing attorneys call the counties of the state's biggest cities of Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo, Akron and Dayton home, even though just 42% of Ohioans live there.
To lawyers like Spall, who primarily practices in Delaware, Morrow and Marion counties, the lack of local lawyers is a drawback to clients in need of legal help.
"When you establish personal connections you can help your client even better," Spall said. "You learn what to expect and what the court and prosecutor are thinking. That's an advantage."
In Delaware County where Spall works, there are 186 private practitioners for more than 213,582 residents, or one attorney for every 1,148 people. Southeast Ohio's Vinton County has two attorneys for 12,687 residents or one attorney for every 6,343 residents, according to data from the Ohio Bar Association.
By comparison, Franklin County has at least 3,635 lawyers for roughly 1.3 million residents, or one attorney for every 357 people, data shows.
At the same time, many attorneys still practicing in rural counties are nearing or are already at retirement age. While the median age for private practice attorneys in Ohio is 54.5 years, in many rural counties it's between 60 years and 70 years, according to the Ohio Bar.
Although lawyers are known for helping clients in legal jams, attorneys also often serve as part of a community's infrastructure. It's the fact that lawyers are so critical to so many facets of everyday life that makes the decline of rural attorneys all the more troubling, said Mary Amos Augsburger, CEO of the Ohio Bar.
"Lawyers don't just go to court. They help you with your family planning. They help you start your business," Augsburger said. "There are a lot of things that lawyers do that impact our daily lives. ... They help people solve problems and if they're not available then that leaves people to their own devices."
Why rural attorneys are becoming a 'rarity'
Kristen Lewis has seen the decline in rural attorneys firsthand.
When Lewis began practicing law in Tuscarawas County in 2001, there were more than 100 attorneys. This year, Lewis said 60 to 65 lawyers practice in the eastern Ohio county.
"You can still get a (local) attorney to help you with your will or if you have a custody dispute," Lewis said. "But that's becoming rare."
When Lewis started, she said local bar associations were great for mentoring new lawyers. But, as the number of attorneys in outlying counties has waned, Lewis said those professional groups have often become defunct.
Lewis, who works for Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio as the nonprofit's advocacy director, grew up in a rural area of eastern Pennsylvania and knew she wanted to practice in a rural part of the country.
As to why more new lawyers don't want to settle in a small town, Lewis said she doesn't think there's one specific reason.
Often, she said, many attorneys stay where they went to law school because they're familiar with it and are able to get a job right out of school. There's also a misperception that rural communities may not be as welcoming as a big city to a new face, which Lewis said likely keeps some new attorneys away.
Some attorneys may not open up shop in rural area because they're worried there's no money in such a move, said Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, who also runs a private practice in Circleville.
Some attorneys, Stewart said, think they can't charge as much if they open a law office in a rural area while others fear they won't have enough clients. But neither is true, Stewart said.
"I don't think anyone who has come down (here) said, 'I don't have enough work to fill my days,'" Stewart said. "Every single week I get a referral from one of my collogues in town who is over 70 years old and doesn't want to go to court as much. ... There's plenty of work. The question is: How are we going to get all of these people served?"
What's being done to bring more lawyers to rural Ohio?
To encourage more attorneys to open rural law offices, the state in early 2022 began offering to help pay off student loan debt for lawyers.
The Rural Practice Incentive Program allows attorneys to apply for loan repayment if they've been licensed for eight years or less and employed by the state public defender, a county prosecuting attorney, a county public defender commission or a joint county public defender commission to represent low-income clients in underserved communities.
To date, the program has helped with loan repayments of up to $10,000 for attorneys working in 53 Ohio counties, according to the Ohio Department of Higher Education. The program has been so successful that the Ohio State Bar Association is asking legislators to expand it.
"This is a major effort to grow the number of attorneys outside of major cities, but we are making great progress," Mike Duffey, chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, said in an emailed statement. "We look forward to continued conversations about extending this program for future candidates."
The Ohio Bar Association is asking the Legislature to allow civil attorneys to apply for the program. The state bar is also seeking more funding for indigent defense services and Legal Aid while also removing a $75-an-hour cap on reimbursement for attorney fees.
Stewart said he thinks legislators are likely to expand the rural practice program per the Ohio Bar's request.
So far, 44 attorneys and 11 law students have participated in the program. One of them was Spall.
Spall, who is originally from Delaware, said he wanted to practice there and in other rural counties because they felt familiar.
Spall also gets trial court experience through appointments in Delaware, Marion and Morrow counties, which is something he might not have gotten much at a big city law firm. He credited the program with helping establish himself and his practice to represent rural Ohioans.
"I was fortunate to have a reasonable amount of school debt," Spall said. "For me it's very helpful... it precisely matched what I needed to get out from under it."
