California Lawyer Association publicizes rural lawyer shortage

This month's California Lawyer Association newsletter includes a story about the state's rural lawyer shortage, with a focus on nonmetropolitan Lake County, population 64,665.  Here's an excerpt from the story, which focuses to a great extent on two middle-aged women lawyers, one the long-time president of the county bar association: 

Judy Conard walks to her law office. From there, she can walk to the grocery store, the pharmacy, the courthouse, and any number of other places. She’s still enjoying her family law practice so much that even the prospect of turning 70 soon doesn’t make her want to retire. 

Her secret? She practices in rural Lake County, north of Napa Valley wine country, where the pace is slower and the air cleaner. Beyond the small downtown area of Lakeport, she is surrounded by an abundance of natural resources. 

“It really comes down to the quality of your life and what you consider to be quality,” Conard said. “If shopping is part of your quality of life than you probably won’t be happy in a rural community. But if you care more about less traffic and less stress and being able to form long-term relationships with community members, you’ll be happy.” 

Conard moved to Lake County in 1993 from San Diego, where she was in private practice as a criminal defense attorney. When she first moved to the small community, she took a contract as an appointed public defender. She later branched out into family law, which now makes up the bulk of her busy practice, along with some appointed work in juvenile delinquency cases.

Conard shares office space with Mary Heare Amodio, a probate lawyer who started her law practice 13 years ago. ...

Heare Amodio is a few years younger than Conard and also intends to keep practicing past retirement age. But both are concerned that when they do finally retire no one will be there to replace them.

The story acknowledges both the California Commission on Access to Justice's recent policy brief on the rural lawyer shortage, as well as my recent, co-authored law review article on rural access to justice challenges.
 
According to the Official Poverty Measure, Lake County's poverty rate is 20.2%; according to the California Poverty Measure, the rate is 19.3%.