May 6, 2026 – Across Wisconsin, courts, communities, and clients are feeling the impact of a growing lawyer shortage. What happens when there aren’t enough attorneys to fully develop cases or serve entire regions? And how does that reality affect your practice – regardless of where you’re located?

As we look ahead to the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Annual Meeting & Conference in La Crosse, June 10-12, one of the key conversations will focus on Wisconsin’s lawyer shortage – and what it means for the legal profession statewide.

Professor Hannah Haksgaard of the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law teaches property and family law and focuses her research on rural legal issues, including the attorney shortage. She is the author of The Rural Lawyer: How to Incentivize Rural Law Practice and Help Small Communities Thrive.

She will be sharing insights during this important session at AMC, along with Hon. Joel H. Bolger, former Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court, and Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, O.P., of the Legal Services Corporation.

A Statewide Issue – Not Just a Rural One

The lawyer shortage is often framed as a challenge unique to rural communities. But as Haksgaard explains, the effects ripple far beyond geographic boundaries.

“Having more lawyers in rural areas increases access to justice,” she said. “There’s just going to be more coverage for rural clients.”

That increased coverage has practical implications for attorneys across the state. When rural communities have more local lawyers, work can be distributed more efficiently. Instead of urban attorneys trying to absorb every referral or declining cases entirely, they may be able to send these to attorneys with local knowledge and proximity to clients.

The impact is especially significant for lower-income clients. “Having someone local can decrease their costs,” Haksgaard noted, particularly when travel expenses and hourly fees create additional barriers.

Beyond access to justice, the issue also has broader economic implications. “Having lawyers in communities makes them stronger,” she said.

Attorneys bring much needed economic activity and stability to rural communities.

Why Lawyers Choose Rural Practice – and Why They Don’t

Haksgaard’s research challenges some common assumptions about what draws attorneys to underserved areas.

“I was actually pretty surprised at the research findings, basically every single lawyer I interviewed chose to practice in a rural area because of the quality of life,” she said.

In other words, the decision is often personal, not purely professional. Lawyers are not necessarily choosing rural practice because of the type of law they’ll practice, but because of where they want to live.

However, interest alone is not enough. Attorneys also need specific conditions to succeed.

“They want to feel financial security. They want to make sure that they have good mentorship. They want to have the tools to get off the ground in their rural law practice,” Haksgaard said.

That combination – lifestyle preference paired with structural support – suggests that solutions to the lawyer shortage must go beyond recruitment and focus on sustainability.

What Other States Are Trying

Across the country, states are experimenting with a wide range of strategies to address lawyer shortages. Haksgaard described these efforts as a “laundry list” of approaches, reflecting the complexity of the issue.

Some of the most common initiatives include:

• Financial incentives such as postgraduate stipends and targeted loan forgiveness programs;

• Mentorship and incubator programs that provide intensive support for early-career attorneys;

• Succession planning assistance to help transition practices from retiring lawyers to newer attorneys;

• Recruitment pipelines that begin as early as high school or college and guide students toward legal careers in rural areas; and

• Innovative practice models, including expanded roles for non-lawyers or alternative pathways into the profession

Each of these approaches addresses a different part of the pipeline – from attracting future lawyers to helping current practitioners remain viable in underserved communities.

For Wisconsin attorneys, the takeaway is clear: there is no single solution. Instead, a combination of strategies tailored to the state’s specific needs will likely be required.

Why Attend the Session at AMC

For attorneys interested in this issue, Haksgaard emphasized the value of attending the session in person at AMC.

“I’m excited to have people in the room because I think we’ll be able to have a discussion that’s pretty tailored to Wisconsin and its issues,” she said.

The ability to engage directly with speakers and ask questions is a key part of that experience. It “lets us hone in on what the audience wants to know because you get to ask questions,” she explained.

Equally important is what happens after the session. Haksgaard hopes the discussion will continue among Wisconsin attorneys who understand the state’s unique challenges.

“My hope too is that it generates a lot of discussion” so those that attorneys who “who know Wisconsin’s problems can take our lessons and talk about how that plays out in the state of Wisconsin,” she said.

Looking Ahead

As Wisconsin continues to grapple with its lawyer shortage, the issue is becoming harder to ignore. It affects not only access to justice, but also the long-term strength of the legal profession and the communities it serves.

For attorneys across the state – particularly those early in their careers – understanding these dynamics is essential. The choices made today, both individually and collectively, will shape the future of legal practice in Wisconsin.

The conversation at the Annual Meeting & Conference offers an opportunity to engage with these challenges, learn from other states, and begin identifying solutions that work for Wisconsin.