LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Indiana is facing a critical shortage of lawyers and a new proposal aims to help close the gap.
Purdue University asked the Indiana Supreme Court to consider allowing students at their law school to sit for the bar exam with the goal to then serve their community.
According to the American Bar Association, in 2020, multiple Indiana counties had less than 10 attorneys.
The Concord Law School at Purdue University Global is not American Bar Association accredited, which means even after graduates receive their Juris Doctor, they can't sit for the Indiana Bar Exam.
The online law school said this barrier to entry is part of the reason for the shortage.
Clark County Indiana Prosecutor Jeremy Mull said the public sector is getting hit the hardest, from public defenders to his own office.
"Years ago, I used to hear a lot of people say there's too many attorneys," he said. "There's too many lawyers. And maybe that was the case 15 years ago. But I can tell you as an elected prosecutor, that that's no longer the case."
He said the impact is burnout.
"This is the sort of business that if you're short manpower, you do the work anyway," Mull said. "And the result of that is just a large amount of burnout from the people doing it. It's just going to result in them having very little, if any, free time to recharge to spend with their families."
Mulls is hopeful this will help fill the shortage.
"[It's] not necessarily the case that individuals coming from those law schools are going to be better attorneys are more capable than individuals coming from other law schools that don't have that [ABA accreditation]," Mull said.
He added they can "still have quality candidates" if they allow people the opportunity to become attorneys if they came from other law schools.
Kari Price, a practicing attorney in Louisville and former Assistant County Attorney, agrees with Mull.
But, Price said he hopes the students this would help would pay it back to communities in Indiana seeing a shortage.
"Will there ever be any requirements to direct those lawyers, appoint those lawyers in areas where lawyers are really, really needed?" he asked.
Price also raised concerns about the lack of in-person practice because the Concord Law School is online. He suggested a one to two-year hands-on internship requirement immediately after they pass the bar.
"Experience matters, hands-on experience matters," he said.
Concord Law School's website states that it provides external opportunities, a moot court program and a legal incubator program.
As part of the proposal consideration process, the Indiana Supreme Court established a working group to evaluate the school. The group made 16 recommendations to which Concord Law responded.
See the Concord Law School at Purdue University Global's statement:
Like many states, Indiana has a dearth of lawyers serving its rural and even certain urban communities.
With only one part-time law school program located in Indianapolis, the opportunity to attend an in-person law school is simply not possible for many working Hoosiers due to geography, work, military service obligations, dependent care responsibilities, or other factors. We believe a fully online law school holds the promise of helping to address this “justice gap” by giving residents of underserved communities the chance to attend school where they live, and then to serve those same communities once they graduate.
Concord Law School has been delivering a quality online legal education for 25 years, so allowing its graduates to become licensed in Indiana means our state doesn’t need to choose between increasing access and maintaining high standards. This proposal seeks to supplement, not supplant, the many contributions of our state's existing law schools, and in this way help ensure more Hoosiers have access to legal education and legal services.
- Steve Schultz, Purdue University General Counsel
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