The Nevada Lawyer Magazine took up the issue of legal deserts in its June 2024 issue, including a story by Katherine Stocks titled, "The Far-Reaching Consequences of Nevada's Legal Deserts." She offers a novel and sophisticated means of determining when a place is vulnerable to becoming a legal desert. That calculation takes into account the age of existing lawyers (or, more precisely, how long they have been practicing) as well as how many are judges, prosecuting attorneys or public defenders, all roles that limit their ability to represent clients. The study found that southern Clark County (where Las Vegas is located) and Elko County, in north central Nevada, are the places most at risk in terms of legal deserts. The study helpfully differentiates within counties. So, for example, while parts of both Clark and Elko counties have plenty of lawyers, other regions of the counties, which cover large territories, do not.
Another story in the June issue addresses what the University of Nevada Las Vegas Law School is doing to address the state's rural lawyer shortage. Currently, for example, there is a rural summer externship program that is a collaboration of the UNLV Law School and Nevada's Department of Indigent Defense Services (DIDS).
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