Dec. 10, 2025 – The number of lawyers isn’t keeping up with the population in Wisconsin’s populous counties, the report of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Attorney Recruitment and Retention Committee documented.

In rural counties, decreasing numbers of lawyers make the problem critical.

The report, released last month, represents the Supreme Court’s initiative to ensure that lawyers are available throughout the state so parties in civil cases and criminal defendants have access to justice.

The report includes recommendations to increase the supply of lawyers, such as financial incentives to practice in “high-need areas” and a higher hourly rate for private attorneys who accept State Public Defender (SPD) case appointments.

The committee delegated to specific committee members further study of the recommendations to report back to the full committee when it reconvenes in a year.

‘Illustrate the Real Challenges’

“This report helps illustrate the real challenges created by attorney shortages in many parts of the state,” said Chief Justice Jill J. Karofsky.

“These shortages affect the people who rely on our courts and the communities we serve. The Court remains committed to understanding this issue and supporting efforts that strengthen access to justice across Wisconsin.

“I want to thank former Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler and the members of the committee for their thoughtful work and for laying the foundation for continued discussion.”

The Supreme Court established the committee in June 2024, led by Ziegler with subsequent chairs by former Chief Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, and more recently by Justice Brian Hagedorn.

Committee representatives include circuit court judges, most of them chief judges of their rural judicial district, a representative of the Access to Justice Commission, the deans of Wisconsin’s two law schools, the SPD Office, the District Attorney Association, the Board of Bar Examiners (BBE), a district court administrator, and representatives and liaisons of the State Bar.

Two Wisconsins

The American Bar Association’s (ABA) Profile of the Legal Profession 2024, referenced by the committee in its report, shows a nationwide average of 3.9 attorneys per 1,000 residents.

Illinois and Minnesota, with 4.9 and 4.6 attorneys per 1,000 residents respectively, lead the upper Midwest.

Wisconsin has an average of 2.6 attorneys per 1,000 residents, the report said.

Numbers of attorneys in Wisconsin’s southeast, south central, and northeast regions from 2020 to 2025 remained roughly stable, the report showed.

State judicial districts serving Milwaukee, its suburbs, and Madison “contain 45% of the state’s population, but they are home to 73% of the state’s attorneys,” the report said.

Outside those regions, the number of lawyers has declined, the report documented.

“[T]he southwestern and northern areas of the state have experienced the largest declines in active attorneys between 2020 and 2025,” the report said.

“The northern region lost almost 8% of its active attorneys, and the southwest region of the state … saw a decline of over 13% during this period.”

But eight of the ten counties with the most population growth are in those regions.

Statewide Shortages

“The total number of active attorneys associated with circuit court cases of any type … has decreased by about 10% over the past eight years,” the report said.

In criminal matters alone, the trend is steeper. Between 2017 and 2024, defense attorneys in criminal felony cases have decreased from 2,281 attorneys to less than 1,956 attorneys – a 14% decline, the report said.

Meanwhile, “the number of criminal felony case dispositions increased from around 40,000 in 2017 to over 45,000 cases disposed in 2024, a 14% increase,” the report said.

Both defense and prosecution attorneys have higher caseloads, the report showed. Although SPD attorney numbers and retentions have improved with pay increases, high turnover remains “persistent” for prosecutors.

With an increasing demand for licensed attorneys, current sources of supply aren’t enough, the report shows.

Law school classes in Wisconsin remained steady from 2019 to 2024 at Marquette University Law School and slightly increased at the University of Wisconsin Law School, the report said.

During those years, the number of lawyers obtaining admission through bar examination or proof of practice in another state has declined, the report said.

Among the State Bar’s 26,000 members, 9,200 practice outside of Wisconsin. Only about 13,000 members are active in Wisconsin.

‘High-Need Areas’

In four “strategy areas,” the committee made six recommendations. “Several of these recommendations have been shown to be effective in other states, and may be replicable in Wisconsin,” the report explained.

First among recommendations addressed attorney availability, “particularly in high-need areas.” Economics may be the fulcrum to increase attorneys in these places.

One proposal recommends creating “a financial incentive program to encourage more attorneys to live and work in high-need areas.”

Models for emulation come from Wisconsin programs that “address shortage of medical professionals and teachers” and attorney retention programs in South Dakota and Ohio.

The South Dakota Rural Attorney Recruitment Program gives direct annual payments to participating lawyers who practice for five years in rural areas.

As of July, 19 participants completed the program – with 14 remaining in the rural community where they were placed.

Ohio offers student loan repayment for public attorneys in rural counties for at least three and as long as five years. Private counsel who perform at least 520 hours of work as court-appointed counsel are eligible, the report explained.

In the Ohio Rural Practice Incentive Program’s first year operating with $1.5 million in state funding, 100 applicants sought 55 positions, the report said.

Such incentive programs in Wisconsin would complement existing programs, the report explained.

The State Bar of Wisconsin’s Rural Clerkship Program brings law students into rural law offices for summer clerkships. The Rural Practice Development Program by the State Bar offers incentives to three attorneys a year for practicing in a rural area for two years.

Going forward, the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission or one of its subcommittees will study these possibilities, which would require legislative language and state funding, the report said.

Bridging Rural Distances

A second means of encouraging more attorneys would increase the hourly rate for private attorneys accepting SPD cases.

Although this rate was increased from $70 an hour to $100 an hour in 2023, “many [c]ommittee members” considered the amount “too low to cover most private attorneys’ operational costs” – especially for travel.

This proposal, led by the SPD Office, would require legislative willingness to fund the increases, the report said.

Technology could assist in cost-effective rural practice that remains attractive, the report proposed in promoting and spreading “the use of remote technology for certain routine, non-evidentiary court proceedings.”

Although remote technology kept courts open during the pandemic, since then it “has evolved to be more a matter of convenience,” the report explained.

Wisconsin circuit court judges have discretion to decide whether a hearing may be conducted remotely. In other states such as Minnesota, in contrast, judicial policies set which hearing types are conducted using remote technology, the report said.

Additional barriers include installing necessary equipment in all hearing rooms, bandwidth to support video communications, and training for judges in using the technology, the report explained.

“Attorneys may be more open to accepting cases outside their home counties if they may appear remotely for certain routine, non-evidentiary court proceedings,” the report said.

The Director of State Courts will pursue this recommendation.

More Attorneys and More Capacity

Three recommendations seek to either increase the number of attorneys or help lawyers cover increasing demand.

The BBE will study whether a Supreme Court rule change should be made to adopt the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE), which may expand the number of attorneys from neighboring states interested in practicing in Wisconsin, the report said.

The UBE includes essay, multiple-choice, and “performance” components, according to the National Conference of Bar Examiners website. The score earned on the test may be transferred to another state to seek admission.

All but 11 states have adopted the UBE, including all states surrounding Wisconsin.

Increased numbers of lawyers could also come from establishing accelerated Juris Doctor programs, hybrid programs allowing students to work while studying law, and perhaps adding another law school in Wisconsin – ideas that would require a statewide task force and further research, the report advised.

For further study, the report recommended consideration of limited license practitioner programs to allow licensed, non-lawyer professionals to perform simple civil and family law cases and to review whether guardian ad litems need to be lawyers.

While such proposals could increase the numbers of certified professionals serving people, they would also “help create additional capacity among existing attorneys, allowing them more time to focus on other cases,” the report suggested.