Rural Lawyer

Hannah Haksgaard is a Professor at the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law. Hannah has written extensively about the rural lawyer shortage, with two prior book chapters and seven prior law review articles on the topic.

• 1. Introduction; 2. The rural lawyer; 3. Policy responses; 4. Choosing rural practice; 5. Entering a rural community; 6. Acceptance; 7. Legal work; 8. Mentorship; 9. The finances of practice; 10. Community impact; 11. Staying or leaving; 12. Conclusion.

'This rich and loving portrait of life and law practice in rural South Dakota traces the first ten years of the state's Rural Attorney Recruitment Program, a pioneering effort to recruit new lawyers to rural communities through direct stipends. Based on in-depth interviews with the first 32 participating lawyers, mentoring attorneys, and key players who brought the program into existence, Haksgaard examines the challenges of building a rural law practice, the importance of community ties and acceptance, and what lawyers bring to rural communities through volunteer and local government work as well as paid private practice. The book is a must-read for bar leaders and scholars of the legal profession, as well as a primer for policy-makers aiming to promote and sustain rural communities.' Elizabeth Chambliss, Henry Harman Edens Professor of Law Director, University of South Carolina