The University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law has started Arkansas’s first law firm incubator program to address the shortage of attorneys in the state. 

While the national per capita ratio is 4.11 attorneys per 1,000 residents, Arkansas averages just 2.04 attorneys per 1,000 residents, according to studies by Arkansas Access to Justice.

In the state’s 25 least populated counties, the ratio was .64 attorneys per 1,000 residents in 2015. In addition, the population of attorneys in rural counties is aging. According to a 2015 Arkansas Access to Justice Policy Brief, seven of these 25 counties have no attorneys who were licensed in this millennium. Only 14 attorneys moved to one of these 25 counties between 2008 and 2013.

Since many lawyers in rural counties serve as a county or city attorney in addition to having a private practice, local residents may have to wait even longer for legal assistance or be forced to represent themselves.

The Rural Practice Incubator program is designed to help with the attorney need in rural Arkansas counties by supporting new attorneys to set up innovative business practices in underserved rural communities.

“Bowen is already reaching out to fill this gap,” said Amy Pritchard, director of the incubator program and visiting assistant professor of law. “Our students are involved in existing programs in rural counties such as the Delta Experience and the Delta Clinic, the Business Innovations Clinic, and the Judicial and Prosecutor Practica. The Rural Practice Incubator is the next logical step to helping Arkansas’s residents and the legal community as a whole.”

The incubator program is open to Bowen alumni and current students who are graduating in May 2018. To be considered for the program, applicants will submit a statement of interest explaining why they are interested in a solo legal practice, how they chose their county of practice, and why they wish to practice there. They will also submit a transcript, recommendations, and a short business plan. Participants must pass the Arkansas bar exam before entering the program and will be required to maintain legal malpractice insurance.

Four participants will be selected for the first cohort, which will be announced in the fall after the results of the July bar exam are released. New participants will be selected every six months to a year following the original cohort. During the 18-month term, participants will build the necessary skills, professional network, and client base to continue their practice.

“The Rural Practice Incubator is a perfect example of Bowen’s core values of professionalism, public services, and access to justice in action,” said Bowen Dean John DiPippa. “Our graduates want to give back to their communities and fulfill their dreams of becoming thriving, practicing attorneys.”

Participants will receive training and mentoring with Pritchard and local attorneys, legal document templates and forms, access to legal referrals and scholarships for continuing legal education, an office space, if available, with a desk and chair, and a $3,000 stipend for business-related expenses.