Four Ohio legal organizations have launched a collaborative effort to address the shortage of attorneys in rural areas, where 78 of the state’s 88 counties are classified as legal deserts. The initiative, called Lawyers = Justice: A Northwest Ohio Legal Collaborative, will place attorney fellows in rural communities to provide legal services and encourage them to establish practices there.
The three-year program, announced Aug. 3, brings together the Ohio State Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Foundation, the University of Toledo College of Law, and Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law. It is funded by a $1.465 million grant from the Ohio State Bar Foundation, with additional in-kind contributions from the participating law schools and the Ohio Bar.
Michelle L. Kranz, founding partner of Zoll & Kranz and a former president of the Ohio State Bar Association, is supporting the initiative. Kranz, who resides in Wood County and raises beef cattle, has firsthand knowledge of the challenges facing rural residents. “A legal problem can threaten a family’s stability, a farm’s future or a small business’s survival, and those consequences do not become less serious because the nearest attorney is an hour away,” she said. “This initiative addresses today’s need for counsel while creating a real reason for young lawyers to put down roots in the communities they serve.”
The collaborative will operate two clinics, one in Bowling Green and one in Lima. The University of Toledo will manage the Bowling Green clinic, serving residents in Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Ottawa, and Wood counties. Ohio Northern will expand its existing Lima clinic to cover Allen, Auglaize, Hardin, Putnam, and Van Wert counties. Each year, the program will support four newly licensed attorney fellows as they develop sustainable private practices in the region, while providing up to 40 law students with hands-on experience working with rural clients. Organizers project the combined efforts could expand legal access for approximately 720 people annually.
Residents will receive help with family law, estate planning, real estate, consumer protection, small-business concerns, criminal law, and agriculture-related issues. Fellows will also represent individuals who earn too much to qualify for legal aid but cannot afford traditional legal fees.
Kranz, who also serves as a trustee of the Ohio State Bar Foundation, has been focused on the rural attorney shortage since her presidency from 2023 to 2024. She noted that the shortage extends beyond courtroom access, affecting estate planning, property transfers, guardianship, and land-use decisions for farmers and landowners. “Rural communities need lawyers who understand that a land-use decision, an estate plan and the future of a family operation may all be connected,” she said. “Building that kind of trust takes time. By pairing practical service with training and mentorship, Lawyers = Justice gives new attorneys the opportunity to become part of the community rather than simply pass through it.”
Recruitment of attorney fellows and law students is expected to begin in September 2026, with both clinics fully staffed and operational later in the fall. The participating organizations have identified the initiative as a potential model for other Ohio regions facing similar attorney shortages.
