On practicing law in rural Oregon

Cave Junction, Oregon (Josephine County)
(c) Lisa R. Pruitt 2018

A UC Davis alum recently shared this story with me, from the Oregon Bar Journal, and I want to give it some publicity here though it is a bit dated.  Cliff Collins wrote, "Outside the Urban Box:  Practicing in Rural Areas Can Fit the Bill When Attorney and Community Find the Right Match.  An excerpt follows:  

Unmet legal needs. Opportunities for professional and personal growth and satisfaction. Flexible hours and a good work/life balance.

For new attorneys who want to have an impact right away and not wait for years to feel they are making a difference, small towns and rural parts of Oregon can offer all these.

That’s according to lawyers now practicing in public and private settings in parts of southern Oregon and the south Oregon coast. They describe the pros and cons of small-town practice, what drew them to live and practice where they are, and to what extent they see openings now and in the near future in their region.

This is the first in a planned series of upcoming Bulletin stories that will examine — from the perspective of practicing lawyers — conditions and opportunities in non-urban parts of the state for attorneys who are just starting out or those who want a change of pace.

One of Oregon State Bar President Richard G. Spier’s goals is to help the bar find ways to bridge what he refers to as the “justice gap.”

“On the one hand, the OSB has many unemployed or underemployed lawyers, who are eager to represent clients,” he notes. On the other, a large proportion of Oregonians go without legal help when they need it. “As a way to bridge this gap, we’re encouraging lawyers to consider private practice in rural areas and small communities.”

“During my trips around Oregon to meet with local bar groups, lawyers in those geographical areas repeatedly tell me that good opportunities exist there for lawyers willing to make the move,” Spier says. “Established lawyers are willing to provide mentorship, referrals, introductions and advice. There is often more work than the established lawyers can handle.”

These established lawyers also tell him that “it is possible to quickly become community leaders — in school districts, other local government, charitable and political groups, and simply by getting to know local businesspeople and neighbors. These contacts are not only a satisfying way to serve, but also are effective marketing of a new or growing law practice.”

I'm happy to report that two UC Davis Law alums, Warren Bruhn and Erin Levenick, are featured in the story.   Here is the part about Levenick, who was a student in my Law and Rural Livelihoods Class some years ago: 

Indeed, the call of the wild is a factor attracting many young attorneys. Erin S. Levenick figured she could combine her desire to boost access to justice with being able to go to Crater Lake after work, she says. A staff attorney in the Grants Pass office of Oregon Law Center, Levenick grew up in Salem but later worked and went to college in Portland.

“I knew when I was in law school that I wanted to do public service work,” she says. “So this job fit really well into that.” In addition, “I was always into the Oregon outdoor scene.” She admits, though, “It wasn’t necessarily an easy decision to move to where I didn’t know anybody.” But she remained undeterred by the relatively lower salaries of public interest law, pointing out that small towns offer a lower cost of living. Many law students and new attorneys may fear that if they choose a rural area or public interest law, they will never be able to repay their loans. But Levenick researched her law schools before choosing the University of California, Davis, School of Law, which offered a loan repayment assistance program.

LRAPs can be either state-based — the Oregon State Bar has one — or school-based. The programs are designed to help borrowers make their student loan payments. “The basic idea is that I apply to U.C. Davis for LRAP, they send me a loan to make my monthly federal loan payments. If I stay in my nonprofit job and comply with the program, U.C. Davis will forgive the loan they sent me. In practice, this means that I receive a large portion of my monthly loan payment from U.C. Davis, which I then send to my federal student loan servicer. When I was deciding on a law school, I researched each school’s LRAP program, and the strength of the program was a big factor in my decision on which school to attend.”

Levenick lives fairly close to her office and walks to work. Her office is across the street from the courthouse. Among the other benefits to practicing in a small town is that you “have an instant connection with other young attorneys in a similar” situation to yours. “There are not a lot of us, but we were able to identify each other pretty quickly.”

Here's the part about Bruhn (Class of 1996):  

“I sure hope the next generation of lawyers doesn’t feel like they have to live in the city,” says Warren K. Bruhn, a staff attorney with Umpqua Valley Public Defender in Roseburg. Bruhn has resided or worked in places as small as 100 people to as large as Los Angeles. The public defenders’ office has “given some attorneys a start at their first law job,” and as older attorneys retire, more openings will come, he says. Also, “District attorneys’ offices are a great opportunity for young lawyers to come in. The pay is adequate,” and — if they work in either type of public legal work — attorneys may be able to take advantage of LRAPs or the federal 10-year public service loan forgiveness program.

Private practices and positions also are a possibility, depending on the county, Bruhn says. “Some have a large number of attorneys who are retiring, and you can be successful.” New lawyers may have to accept “two to five lean years” to get established in some of these areas. Some counties or towns may have fewer people who can afford to hire an attorney. “Those clients may gravitate toward people already established.”

Bruhn, who has spent nearly six years in his previous and current stints in the Umpqua Valley Public Defender office, says he enjoys helping people through his job. In between times working there, he had lived and practiced in the Portland metropolitan area for 10 years. He much prefers Roseburg, and he finds the legal community more collegial than in the metro area. Making friends is easy, as is becoming known professionally.

“You rub elbows with decision-makers in the rural counties, and that can be rewarding,” he says. “It’s easier to get opportunities to run for judge in one of these rural counties” or to gain contracts to serve as a prosecutor or judge in small towns. “It’s a pleasure to live here.” He says the quality of law being practiced there, and the quality of his professional life, are “just as good, if not better,” than that in the Portland area. “I love what I do in my day, and I love what I do when I’m off work.”

Bruhn has a 10-minute commute when he leaves home from his log house, which overlooks 300 acres, where he cannot see another house from his home. On his way in, he often spots wild turkeys, deer, elk and other wildlife. “It’s quiet and relaxing,” he says. “I think I’m strongly inclined to spend the rest of my legal career here. I could be happy staying here to retirement, and maybe even beyond.”

Grants Pass, where Levenick practices, is the county seat of Josephine County, the same county where I took the photo of Cave Junction (above).  A prior post out of Josephine County is here.  

Cave Junction, Oregon
(c) Lisa R. Pruitt 2018