June 2026 Rural Practice Newsletter

By Sam Ellis & Cari Brett Rincker

Learn more about Illinois' expansion of Access to Justice funding and the Court Navigator Network; Indiana's Rural Practice Academy; Kansas's plan to offer financial incentives to entice attorneys to work in legal deserts; and collaborative and technology-based models have gained traction in rural communities. 

By Carolyn Elefant

As a general rule, only work created by humans qualify for copyright protection. Prompts alone resulting in AI-generated product don’t give humans enough control over the output to claim copyright. In other words, you’re telling the AI what you want, but you’re not controlling how it expresses that idea. The AI is. Thus, if you are using AI for marketing content for your firm, it may not be protected. 

Meet Elizabeth Eberspacher Nohren, an attorney and member of the Rural Practice Section Council, who primarily serves white collar business owners, understands the importance of work-life balance, and is heavily involved within her personal and professional community. 

By Nicole Sartori

At the end of each day, a working parent may feel exhausted from trying to balance the demands of their career and their responsibilities at home. Give them (and yourself) grace, accept the outside assistance in the ways of apps and people, and incorporate these five tips into your life to ease the mental load. 

By William M. Tasch

A federal court's written opinion holding that a defendant's AI chats were unprivileged sends a clear signal to practitioners: clients must be counseled, early and explicitly, not to discuss their cases with AI tools—and the stakes may be higher than they first appear.

On May 14, 2026, ISBA members and colleagues gathered at the beautiful Morton Arboretum in Lisle to celebrate the 2025–26 ISBA Award Recipients, connect with fellow legal professionals, and enjoy an evening of meaningful conversation and camaraderie.