Project aims to make rural legal help more accessible

The Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law (ONU Law) has partnered with the Ohio State Bar Association (Ohio Bar), Ohio State Bar Foundation (OSBF) and the University of Toledo College of Law (Toledo Law) on a new initiative designed to bring more legal help directly to rural communities. For many rural Ohioans, a legal problem can quickly become a family, housing, financial, farming or small business crisis — especially when affordable legal help is difficult to find close to home. Across Ohio, 78 of 88 counties are considered legal deserts, with fewer than one lawyer per 1,000 residents. In several Northwest Ohio counties, the shortage is even more pronounced as many current attorneys are near retirement, and too few new lawyers are entering the profession. "Lawyers = Justice: A Northwest Ohio Legal Collaborative" aims to help residents address legal problems earlier, closer to home and before those problems become more disruptive and costly. The collaborative will support new lawyers, train law students and expand local legal clinics, including the ONU Law clinic in Lima. The clinic has been in existence since the 1970s and serves residents of Allen, Auglaize and Hardin counties, said Lianne Parahoo, assistant director and staff attorney. The work primarily focuses on domestic relations, such as divorce and custody cases, along with estate planning. Additionally, the clinic has helped nonprofit organizations to form and gain tax-exempt status. "It allows students to really put into effect what they've learned in the classroom," Parahoo said. Students can draft paperwork, file claims and motions and represent clients in court, she said. All of this is under the supervision of a licensed attorney, and it gives students a chance to get hands-on practical knowledge and also connect one-on-one with clients, she said. Through Lawyers = Justice, ONU Law will bring in another staff attorney and two law fellows (recent graduates who have passed the bar), who will supervise law school clinic students seeking hands-on experience working with clients. Lawyers = Justice is funded through a $1.465 million grant from the Ohio State Bar Foundation. Along with in-kind support, the grant will support fellow stipends, clinic operations, staffing, office space, technology infrastructure, outreach and travel across the region for an initial three-year term. The partners hope to expand the program beyond the first three years and explore whether the model can be replicated in other parts of Ohio facing similar attorney shortages. The initiative will create a hybrid fellowship-clinic model that will support four newly licensed lawyer fellows each year as they build sustainable private practices in underserved Northwest Ohio communities and provide up to 40 law students annually with hands-on, clinical experience serving rural clients under the supervision of experienced lawyers and law school faculty. It is expected to expand access to legal services for an estimated 720 people each year through the fellows' private practices and new or enhanced satellite legal clinics. The clinics are expected to help residents with essential legal needs, including family law, estate planning, real estate, consumer protection, small business issues, criminal law and other matters that affect daily life and community stability. The attorney fellows are expected to provide affordable representation to individuals, families, farmers and small businesses, including those who may not qualify for legal aid but still cannot easily afford traditional legal services. ONU Law will manage a clinic in Lima that will initially serve income-eligible residents in Allen, Auglaize, Hardin, Putnam and Van Wert counties. "This initiative is a natural fit for us," said Bryan Ward, interim dean of ONU Law. "ONU Law is one of the few law schools in the country located in a rural region, so we understand firsthand the vital role lawyers play in supporting underserved rural communities. For decades, our legal clinic has connected people with the legal help they need while giving our students meaningful, hands-on experience serving real clients. This initiative builds on that commitment by expanding access to legal services beyond Allen and Hardin counties and preparing the next generation of lawyers to make a difference where they are needed most." Toledo Law will manage a clinic in Bowling Green that will initially serve residents in Hancock, Fulton, Henry, Ottawa and Wood counties. Rebecca Zietlow, dean of Toledo Law, noted that this collaborative clinic is one of the first of its kind in the country. Through the collaboration of the various partners, "this clinic helps to meet a crucial need in this state — the lack of rural access to justice," Zietlow said. Lawyers = Justice also aims to build a long-term path from law school to rural practice through mentoring, skills training and community-based experience. Parahoo said the new initiative is intended to help build relationships and networks within the legal community and hopefully establish a pipeline of lawyers who, after graduation, may select to open their own rural practices. ONU Law is already advertising for a staff attorney to head the Lawyers = Justice clinic. Parahoo said they hope to accept applications in late fall or winter from community members needing legal help, with the legal clinic students able to provide that help in court in spring 2027. Lawyers = Justice aligns with Ohio's newly established Northwest Regional Hub Pilot for indigent defense and the recently expanded Rural Practice Incentive Program, which provides loan repayment for newer attorneys who agree to practice in underserved communities for at least three years. Both were funded as part of House Bill 96, the state budget bill for FY2026-27, at the urging of the Ohio Bar.