Washington Post uses Nebraska county as example of rural lawyer shortage

In another example of rural lawyer shortages, Knox County, Nebraska—where the population has dropped from 19,100 in 1930 to 8,560 today—has only 12 lawyers, and eight of are older than 60 and looking to retire, if only they could find a replacement, Danielle Paquette reports for The Washington Post. (Wikipedia photo: Knox County)

"Rural Nebraska needs lawyers, Paquette writes. "Young, single, college-educated people keep leaving the Heartland, enticed elsewhere by more money or exposed brick lofts or mimosa-drenched brunches. The young have long fled small towns for big-city lights, but the trend has been worse in recent years, aggravated by recession and a historic concentration of resources in urban areas. Nearly 60 percent of America’s rural counties lost residents last year. That’s up from 50 percent in 2009 and 40 percent in the late ’90s, according to Census data."

In an attempt to draw more young lawyers to rural Nebraska, the state has upped incentives through the Rural Practice Loan Repayment Assistance Program, Paquette writes. "Effective next year, law graduates who work in counties with populations of less than 15,000 can start receiving up to $42,000 in student debt relief. Recipients must stay 10 years to earn the full amount, forsaking city life, higher salaries — and, potentially, the professional network to move on and up."

But incentives aren't always enough to lure prospective lawyers from bigger cities like Omaha, which offers much more options for arts, entertainment and meeting people, Paquette writes. One way the Nebraska College of Law in Lincoln is trying to promote rural practice is through a bus tour that allows soon-to-be-graduates to visit different counties on spring break, meet local attorneys and shake hands with business leaders. (Read more)