Last week the American Bar Association reminded us about the lack of rural lawyers:

In 2017, NPR aired Lawyer Shortage In Some Rural Areas Reaches Epic Proportions. 

The “legal desert” in America’s rural areas is not going away. For the last eight years, Pacific Northwest legal publications have worked hard to encourage lawyers to consider a rural practice:

• Outside the Urban Box – Oregon State Bar Bulletin – October 2015
• Opportunity Knocks in Rural Oregon – Oregon State Bar Bulletin – August/September 2013
• The Only Lawyer in Town – Oregon State Bar Bulletin – April 2008
• Friday 5: Advantages of Being a Rural Attorney – WSBA NW Sidebar April 10, 2015 (and to be fair: Friday 5: Disadvantages to Being a Rural Attorney).

Ask Any Practice Management Expert

Practice management experts have been telling lawyers to consider rural law practices for over 25 years. Why?

• Significantly lower overhead
• Greater sense of belonging in the community
• Less (or no) competition

Subjectively, rural lawyers seem to have greater overall job satisfaction. And clients prefer their presence – 71% of people looking for a lawyer think it is important to have a local attorney.

Read more about this issue in April Simpson’s article, Wanted: Lawyers for Rural America.

All Rights Reserved Beverly Michaelis 2019