Lincoln, NE — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has launched the Nebraska Children’s Justice and Legal Advocacy Center to address the shortage of attorneys in rural areas. According to Michelle Paxton, an assistant professor of law at UNL, 12 rural counties in Nebraska have no attorneys, and 22 have fewer than three.
“That means children and families and community members across the state have many barriers in accessing representation they may desperately need,” said Paxton.
Cheyenne County Judge Derek Weimer, although not involved with the center, noted the absence of a generation of attorneys in rural communities. “The bar has tried to do things, the big bar, the Nebraska bar association has a rural practice initiative where they try to connect young or outgoing law students, incoming new lawyers if you will, with rural practices,” said Weimer. He emphasized that the issue is access to justice. “It isn’t that the court won’t take the case, it’s that they don’t know how to get it to the court,” he said…