Spotlight
New Program Offers a Solution for Rural Legal Representation
Hearing the word desert may conjure images of sand, sparse resources and few people. In Ohio, 89% of counties can be referred to as legal deserts.
Access to Legal Counsel in Rural Areas
Legal deserts are areas with fewer than one attorney for each 1,000 residents. This can create problems for residents who need legal assistance when issues arise. The situation is expected to worsen as existing attorneys retire. While technology such as generative artificial intelligence shows promise, it is not a substitute for someone trained and experienced in the law.
New Program Offers Solution
Lawyers = Justice: A Northwest Ohio Legal Collaborative has a goal to increase the number of attorneys operating in rural Northwest Ohio counties. It is a partnership among Ohio Northern University (ONU), Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA), Ohio State Bar Foundation (OSBF) and the University of Toledo (UT). Together the partnership will:
- offer four new attorneys support as they build their Northwest Ohio practices;
- provide 40 law students clinical experience; and
- assist an estimated 700+ people each year.
ONU’s and UT’s legal clinics, once expanded, will offer services to 10 counties: Allen, Auglaize, Fulton, Hancock, Harden, Henry, Ottawa, Putnam, Van Wert and Wood. Clinics focus on daily life issues falling into consumer protection, criminal law, estate planning, family law, real estate and small business.
Evaluating whether Lawyers = Justice can be replicated elsewhere is also part of the program.
For additional information, please contact the OSBA.
