Rural Law Practice in the News: August 2026

State Justice Institute releases National Legal Deserts Report

In July 2026, the State Justice Institute released a national report to Congress on legal deserts in the United States. The report describes legal deserts as areas where the number of practicing attorneys is insufficient to meet community needs, with the most acute shortages appearing in rural America, Tribal communities, frontier regions, and economically distressed areas.¹

The report compiles national justice-gap research, county-level attorney data, geographic mapping, pilot program information, and interviews with national legal organizations. It reports that rural low-income households experience particularly high rates of unmet civil legal need and emphasizes that attorney scarcity affects both civil and criminal justice systems.

For rural practitioners, the report is significant because it frames lawyer shortages as a justice-system infrastructure problem. It also gives policymakers a national reference point for evaluating loan repayment programs, court navigator models, legal aid partnerships, alternative practice models, and rural recruitment pipelines.

New York launches rural Landlord–Tenant Hub Court

On July 29, 2026, the New York State Unified Court System announced the launch of the Chemung County Landlord–Tenant Hub Court Part, a specialized court designed to consolidate residential eviction matters filed in Chemung County town and village courts into one hub located in Elmira City Court.²

The Hub Court was created in response to rural eviction-access concerns, including geographic barriers, limited attorney availability, and inconsistent procedures across local courts. The announcement states that the new model is expected to allow Legal Assistance of Western New York to represent all eligible tenants in the consolidated proceedings.

For rural courts, the Chemung County model is worth watching because it uses court structure, rather than only attorney recruitment, to improve access. Centralized hub courts may help rural litigants by making procedures more predictable and by allowing limited legal-service providers to concentrate resources in one court setting.

Illinois Court Disability Coordinators receive statewide access training

In July 2026, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts Access to Justice Division and the Illinois Attorney General’s Disability Rights Bureau presented annual statewide training for Illinois Court Disability Coordinators. More than 100 coordinators attended regional trainings at the Williamson County Courthouse, the Springfield offices of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, and the DuPage County Courthouse.³

The training covered the coordinator role, legal obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Illinois Human Rights Act, and the Illinois Supreme Court Policy on Access for People with Disabilities. Topics included identifying accessibility barriers, responding to reasonable modification requests, ensuring effective communication, managing grievances and appeals, digital accessibility, emergency preparedness, and service animal issues.

For rural practitioners, these trainings matter because courthouse accessibility issues may be more pronounced in older or smaller facilities. Stronger statewide coordination can help rural courts provide consistent access to litigants, witnesses, jurors, and attorneys with disabilities.

Indiana Rural Practice Academy begins first program year

The Indiana State Bar Association’s Rural Practice Academy began its first program year in July 2026. The yearlong cohort program is designed to help attorneys build sustainable solo and small-firm practices in rural and underserved Indiana communities through training, mentorship, peer support, and practical business resources.⁴

The Academy’s first session was scheduled for July 2026 in Indianapolis and focused on the realities of Indiana’s attorney shortage, solo and small firm practice, business planning, law office technology, mentorship, trust accounts, engagement letters, confidentiality, and other foundations for sustainable rural practice.

Law schools and national partners continue building rural practice pipelines

The Law School Admission Council’s rural access-to-justice initiative continued to highlight the role of legal education in addressing rural legal needs. The initiative describes a national effort involving LSAC, the Association of American Law Schools, law schools, chief justices, tribal courts, state and local bar associations, and other stakeholders.⁵

The effort includes a survey of law school initiatives and a planned 2026 National Rural Access to Justice Convening at the University of Nebraska College of Law. The stated goal is to develop practical, collaborative steps for addressing urgent access-to-justice challenges in rural communities.

New Mexico explores alternative pathways to address legal deserts

On July 1, 2026, TaxProf Blog published a discussion of New Mexico’s efforts to address rural justice and legal deserts after New Mexico Supreme Court justices presented the state’s “Rural Justice and Modernizing the Legal Profession in New Mexico” report to a legislative interim committee.⁶

The article explains that the proposal included a skills-based assessment pathway requiring graduation from an ABA-accredited law school, supervised practice, a portfolio of lawyering experience, character-and-fitness review, and completion of the MPRE.

For rural practitioners, New Mexico’s proposal is notable because it approaches the attorney-shortage problem through licensing reform and supervised practice, rather than relying only on relocation incentives. It may provide another model for states considering how to expand access while maintaining professional standards.

Sam Ellis is an associate attorney with Rincker Law, PLLC, practicing in the areas of food and agriculture law.

Cari Brett Rincker is the owner of Rincker Law, PLLC, a national general practice law firm concentrating in Food, Farm and Family℠ law.

State Justice Institute, Legal Deserts in America: Examining the Justice Gap and Recommendations to Expand Access to Legal Services in Underserved Communities (July 2026), https://www.sji.gov/wp-content/uploads/Legal_Deserts_Report_to_Congress_Final.pdf.
Press Release, N.Y. State Unified Ct. Sys., Chemung County Launches Landlord–Tenant Hub Court: Specialized Court to Expand Access to Justice in Rural NY (July 29, 2026), https://webfiles.nycourts.gov/public/2026-07/pr26_12.pdf.
Ill. Courts, Illinois Court Disability Coordinators Attend Annual Statewide Training – July 2026 (July 2026), https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/News/1759/Illinois-Court-Disability-Coordinators-attend-annual-statewide-training-July-2026/news-detail/.
Ind. State Bar Ass’n, Rural Practice Academy (last visited Aug. 6, 2026), https://www.inbar.org/page/rpa.
Law Sch. Admission Council, Rural Access to Justice (last visited Aug. 6, 2026), https://www.lsac.org/access-and-community-law-school/rural-access-justice.
Austen Parrish, Rural Justice, Legal Deserts, and Alternative Pathways in New Mexico, TaxProf Blog (July 1, 2026), https://taxprofblog.aals.org/2026/07/01/rural-justice-legal-deserts-and-new-mexico/.