A Rural Practitioner’s Plea for Action

Some practitioners argue rural Illinois is a desolate place in regard to practicing attorneys. While rural Illinois was once the home to a greater number of legal practitioners and law firms, these firms have struggled in recent years to attract new attorneys that are willing to take positions in rural areas.

The lack of attorneys in rural Illinois is not only an issue in private practice, but also an issue for government-funded positions in offices like the state’s attorney or public defender. For example, multiple counties have the funding for positions like assistant state’s attorney or assistant public defender, however, these positions remain open, likely due to a lack of interest.

Some might argue that less attorneys just means less competition for business. While less competition sounds great to some in the legal community, there is nonetheless the troublesome issue that rural counties are running out of attorneys to keep up with the legal needs in those communities. There are not enough attorneys willing to locate to rural Illinois to replace those that are retiring from the legal practice. There is simply too much demand and not enough attorneys.

Before diving deeper into the issue of the legal field in rural communities, it is important to clarify what makes a community “rural.” According to the Illinois Primary Health Care Association, a “rural county” is a county in Illinois that has a population of 60,000 or fewer people.¹ While there are multiple opinions on what makes a county “rural,” for the purposes of this article, “rural Illinois” is any county with less than 60,000 residents.

Affected Rural Communities 

According to a 2020 census by the Illinois Department of Public Health, approximately 79 counties in Illinois had fewer than 60,000 residents. Illinois is home to 102 counties. This means that many of the counties in Illinois are considered “rural.” The author of this article practices in Mason County, Illinois, and therefore, this article focuses on rural counties in Central Illinois.

Mason County, Illinois is located along the Illinois River and according to a 2022 census, is home to just under 13,000 residents.² Mason County was once home to a number of practicing attorneys. Today, there are only four attorneys that have their primary office in Mason County, and among those attorneys, only one is under the age of 50. Thus, it is expected that the number of practicing attorneys in Mason County will only continue to decline without further action.

Another example of a declining legal community in rural Illinois sits just across the Illinois River: Fulton County, Illinois. The county seat of Fulton County is Lewistown – an incorporated city with a population of approximately 2,000 residents.³ While Lewistown’s population is small compared to many other county seats, Fulton County is made up of six cities and/or villages and is home to approximately 33,000 thousand residents.⁴ Fulton County is home to approximately fifteen lawyers, some of which are no longer practicing full time or practice very limited areas of law.

Representation for Indigent Clients

Circuit court judges are among those in the legal sphere that have witnessed how the legal community has changed in rural Illinois. While the list of attorneys in rural counties continues to decline, some Judges are struggling to find attorneys willing to take court appointments. Attorneys willing to take court-appointed cases are paramount to ensuring that low-income citizens have competent representation when it comes to protecting their rights in Illinois Courts.

Money Talks

One of the reasons for attorneys being reluctant to practice in rural Illinois could be that smaller firms typically pay associate attorneys less than bigger firms in urban areas. Even though most rural attorneys would prefer to have a successor to take over their practice upon retirement, these small firms simply cannot compete with salaries of large firms in bigger cities. As a result, many young attorneys are attracted to jobs in bigger cities because they provide more financial stability. While small practices can end up being quite lucrative, young attorneys do not usually reap the benefits of a small practice until years later when they are a partner or own a firm. In the meantime, those young attorneys have student debt that they struggle to pay off and are forced to take higher-paying jobs out of law school.

A Step in the Right Direction

 While there may not be an immediate resolution to the issues presented in this article, one thing remains true, the need for legal help in rural areas is an issue that must continue to be addressed. The downward trend in the number of practicing attorneys in rural areas simply cannot continue or these small rural practices will cease to exist. The efforts of the Rural Practice Initiative Committee are recognized and a step in the right direction. It is imperative the Illinois State Bar Association continue supporting the Rural Practice Initiative to help attract young lawyers to these small practices in desperate need of attorneys.

Lindy A. Giesler is an attorney at Perbix and Morgan in Havana, Illinois and an Assistant State’s Attorney for the Mason County State’s Attorney.