Why Lawyers Are In High Demand In Rural Areas

Even though Chicagoland is home to 65% of the state’s population, 90% of the lawyers practicing in Illinois are concentrated in that area, according to the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. These legal deserts are popping up statewide, leaving rural areas without the proper legal assistance they need. 

Maggie Clark opened her law practice in Pontiac, Illinois, on Jan. 1 after practicing in Bloomington-Normal for four years. Speaking on the 21st Show, Clark says she decided to move back to her hometown to serve the community and to help shorten the lawyer shortage in the area. 

Mark Palmer, the chief counsel for the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, says one third of the counties in Illinois have not added a new attorney in four years. After speaking with many young lawyers, he says student debt is one of their biggest motivators to work at a high-paying firm in a city.

As a result, Alison Spanner, assistant director of the Access to Justice Division for the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, says self-represented litigants are becoming more common.

"Without a lawyer to represent their interests, they are being forced to participate in a legal system, one that is entirely foreign to them, without the help of an attorney," Spanner says.  

Spanner says some people are simply choosing to not go to court, which leaves real-world legal issues unresolved, like child custody and employment disputes. 

Palmer says the shortage of lawyers in rural areas calls for wide-scale systemic change within the industry. 

"This is not a geographic problem, but a business model problem," he says, "and that's where we, from the attorney viewpoint, can make change." 

Guests: Maggie Clark, a lawyer in Pontiac, Illinois. Mark Palmer, the chief counsel for the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on professionalism. Alison Spanner, assistant director of the access to justice division for the administrative office of the Illinois Courts.

Prepared for web by WILL intern Sidney Madden.