In previous installments of my “Disappearing Rural Lawyer” series (Part I, Part II, Part III), I have examined the alarming shortage of attorneys in rural Illinois and explored initiatives across the state and country to address this problem to better serve rural communities, from financial incentives for relocating lawyers to technology tools to easier cross geographical divides.
Legal deserts — vast geographical areas with minimal or no access to legal services — remain a reality for many rural Illinois residents. For them, finding legal representation might require traveling significant distances, taking time off work, and incurring additional expenses that make justice effectively inaccessible.
In installment IV of this series, I present the latest data on Illinois’ rural attorney shortage and consider what it means for access to justice in 2025 and beyond.
The numbers: A continuing downward trend
Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) data from November 2024 reveals that the rural lawyer shortage in Illinois has shown little improvement.
Of the 8,327 Illinois resident attorneys admitted to practice in the last four years, a staggering 7,625 (91.6%) are practicing in Cook County or its collar counties (Lake, McHenry, Kane, DuPage, Kendall, Grundy, Will, Kankakee). This leaves only 702 of those newly admitted attorneys to cover the remaining 93 counties in Illinois.
Furthermore, of these 702, only a portion serve in private practice. Many of these lawyers are drawn to essential, non-private roles, such as prosecutors, public defenders, and other government positions.
However, this means the pool of attorneys available for family law, estate planning, business matters, and other civil needs is even smaller than the already stark numbers suggest.
In comparison to previous years, the trend of the disappearing rural lawyer in Illinois is concerning:
- 75 Illinois counties have five or fewer new attorneys (compared to 72 counties in 2021)
- 32 counties have no new attorneys whatsoever (compared to 33 counties in 2021)
While there’s been a slight improvement in counties with zero new attorneys, the overall concentration of legal talent in and around Chicago continues to intensify.
According to the ARDC’s 2024 Annual Report, Illinois now has 96,821 total lawyers, reflecting a modest 0.4% increase from the previous year.
However, this small growth isn’t reaching the areas where legal representation is scarce.
The “two problems” dilemma
Recent research suggests we may be facing not one, but two distinct challenges.
A 2023 study published in the Washington Law Review proposes that “an attorney shortage and the justice gap are two distinct issues that have been uniquely conflated in the rural context.” When the legal profession defines the problem solely as “not enough lawyers,” the obvious solution becomes “more lawyers.” But the reality is more complex.
While legal deserts often refer specifically to the dwindling number of lawyers physically practicing in rural areas, access to justice deficiencies encompass a broader set of barriers that prevent rural residents from obtaining meaningful legal help. The justice gap can be shaped by a complex mix of factors including unique community socio-economic metrics, availability and accuracy of information, and trust in the legal and judicial systems impacting reluctance to seek legal assistance.
Beyond numbers: The community impact
According to Illinois State Bar Association data, there is fewer than one attorney per 1,000 people in more than 50 Illinois counties, and three Illinois counties have only a single attorney. The community impact of legal deserts is significant as the consequences extend beyond individual cases.
As noted in our earlier installments, the absence of attorneys in rural communities affects overall quality of life, from the health of local economies to the functionality of government entities.
When positions like assistant state’s attorney or assistant public defender remain unfilled due to a lack of interested attorneys to fill these rural roles, the entire justice system suffers.
Legal scholar Lisa Pruitt and others urge us to see access to justice as more than just the presence of lawyers; it’s about strengthening communities by addressing both immediate legal needs and the underlying social, economic, and structural challenges that shape those needs.
Pruitt’s definition of access to justice recognizes that issues like systemic inequality, economic hardship, and lack of infrastructure are inseparable from the legal problems rural residents face.
For example, an eviction may not just be a legal remedy, but it may also be a reflection of deeper issues like affordable housing shortages and economic instability.
The crisis is not just about lawyer scarcity. It’s about whether rural residents can meaningfully engage with the legal system at all. The barriers to justice in rural areas are not just about distance or numbers. They include affordability, confidentiality, and even the willingness or ability to seek help at all.
Rural residents may develop a “frontier mentality,” feeling compelled to resolve problems on their own due to the sheer distance from legal services and a lack of trust in systems that seem out of reach.
This reality creates significant challenges for both litigants and courts. Self-represented litigants (SRLs) often struggle to navigate complex legal procedures, complete necessary paperwork correctly, and effectively advocate for their rights.
Meanwhile, courts must balance providing assistance to SRLs while maintaining impartiality and efficiency.
Looking forward: A collaborative approach
The persistence of Illinois’ rural attorney shortage more than five years after we began this series demonstrates that this is not a problem with quick or simple solutions.
Law schools, bar associations, courts, legal aid organizations, and private practitioners all have roles to play in addressing this crisis.
The Illinois State Bar Association’s continued focus on this issue through its Rural Practice Initiative and Section Council is a positive step, but it’s only part of a more comprehensive solution.
Robust access to justice in rural America requires more than just more lawyers. It demands ongoing, careful study of local needs, collaborative partnerships between legal and non-legal service providers, and innovative, data-driven solutions tailored to the unique institutional and demographic realities of rural communities.
Solving the rural lawyer is about transforming how we define, measure, and deliver justice, centering the lived experiences and needs of rural communities.
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The post The Disappearing Rural Lawyer, Part IV: The Persistent Legal Desert Crisis appeared first on 2Civility.