Farm states cultivate lawyers.

• Author: Winter, Mary
• Position: TRENDS

City dwellers may find it tough to believe, but lawyers don't grow on trees. For the 20 percent of Americans who live in rural areas, in fact, lawyers have become scarcer than hens' teeth.

The problem is widespread. For example, 12 of Nebraska's 93 counties have no lawyers, and six of Georgia's 159 counties are lawyer-less, the ABA Journal reports. In Arizona, 94 percent of lawyers are concentrated in the two largest counties, and in Texas, 83 percent of lawyers practice in the Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio metro areas, according to the New York Times. Wishek, N.D., population 980, found itself without a lawyer when the last one retired in 2013, and the same thing happened recently in Martin, S.D., population 1,072.

As an increasing number of lawyers hit retirement age, there's been no one to take their places, especially in the Midwest. Residents of small towns are finding it difficult to get basic legal services unless they journey, in some cases, 100 miles or more.

With the help of the American Bar Association and law schools, states are finding creative ways to recruit young lawyers to rural areas. South Dakota lawmakers, for example, established a program that offers young lawyers an annual $12,000 subsidy for five years if they'll move to a qualifying county. Launched in July 2013, the program, funded for 16 attorneys, has four in place and expects to hire three more soon.

South Dakota Senator Mike Vehle (R) carried legislation authorizing the program, which had long been advocated by state Supreme Court Chief Justice David Gilbertson. To help win passage, funding for the program was divided among the state (50 percent), county (35 percent) and state bar association (15 percent).

The town of Wishek, N.D., took a slightly different tack. It's too...