Closing West Virginia’ s Legal Desert Gap
Written by Megan Bevins
F or anyone faced with appearing in court, access to an attorney is a bare necessity. For many people living in legal deserts, this access is limited due to a lack of help in their community.
When West Virginia residents lack attorneys in their town they know and trust, they may turn to unreliable sources such as the internet or people who are untrained, which could result in bad outcomes. Having reliable legal help can eliminate this risk and offer a sense of security to residents. Additionally, legal professionals are often active in community service and become a source of support for those around them.
Kevin Baker, executive director of the West Virginia State Bar, says these components are why it is so important to combat the legal desert issue.
“ Without active attorneys present in town, the community as a whole will suffer both on the micro level with a lack of individual legal options for people in need and on a macro level where a void of problem solvers active in the community will cause a ripple effect, impacting the entire town and the various organizations that rely on attorney leadership to function effectively,” Baker says.
The state bar currently collaborates with West Virginia University( WVU) College of Law and other organizations to try to increase the number of attorneys practicing in rural areas. This has created initiatives like the Constitutional Scholar Exchange Program, which brings attorneys to visit high school students and encourage them to pursue law, and making an effort to educate law students on the opportunities that exist in rural parts of the state.
“ Sometimes people are worried they will not be able to have a successful legal business in a small town, but our rural attorneys can attest that there is plenty of legal work to be done in even the smallest towns, and the traditional model of a general practitioner is still one that many attorneys in West Virginia use with successful results,” Baker says.
Eastern Panhandle Day at WVU College of Law. Photo by West Virginia State Bar.
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