Four Ohio partners have launched a new three-year initiative, Lawyers = Justice: A Northwest Ohio Legal Collaborative, aimed at expanding legal access for rural residents and creating pathways for attorneys to build long-term practices in underserved communities. The collaborative brings together the Ohio State Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Foundation, University of Toledo College of Law, and Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law. Funding includes a $1.465 million grant from the Ohio State Bar Foundation, supplemented by in-kind contributions from the participating law schools and the Ohio Bar.
The initiative is spearheaded by Michelle L. Kranz, founding partner of Zoll & Kranz and former president of the Ohio State Bar Association. Kranz emphasized the importance of addressing legal deserts: "A legal problem can threaten a family's stability, a farm's future or a small business's survival, and those consequences do not become less serious because the nearest attorney is an hour away. This initiative addresses today's need for counsel while creating a real reason for young lawyers to put down roots in the communities they serve."
Lawyers = Justice will operate through two clinic locations: Bowling Green and Lima. The University of Toledo will oversee the Bowling Green clinic, serving residents across Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Ottawa, and Wood counties. Ohio Northern will expand its existing Lima clinic to reach income-eligible residents of Allen, Auglaize, Hardin, Putnam, and Van Wert counties. The program is designed to extend beyond short-term legal assistance. Each year, it plans to support four newly licensed attorney fellows as they develop sustainable private practices in the region, while providing up to 40 law students with supervised, hands-on experience working alongside rural clients. Organizers project that the combined efforts of the clinics and fellows could expand legal access for approximately 720 people annually.
Residents are expected to receive assistance with matters that affect daily life, including family law, estate planning, real estate, consumer protection, small-business concerns, criminal law, and agriculture-related issues. Fellows will also provide representation to individuals who earn too much to qualify for legal aid but face difficulty covering traditional legal fees.
The rural attorney shortage is a sustained area of focus for Kranz, who served as president of the Ohio State Bar Association from 2023 to 2024 and currently holds a trustee position with the Ohio State Bar Foundation. As a Wood County resident whose family raises beef cattle, she has direct familiarity with the people, businesses, and land-use concerns that define rural Northwest Ohio. Across the state, 78 of Ohio's 88 counties are classified as legal deserts, defined as having fewer than one attorney per 1,000 residents. The shortage reaches beyond courtroom access. It can delay estate planning, complicate property transfers, leave families without guidance in guardianship or custody matters, and limit the ability of farmers and landowners to navigate development, zoning, and environmental questions.
"Rural communities need lawyers who understand that a land-use decision, an estate plan and the future of a family operation may all be connected. Building that kind of trust takes time. By pairing practical service with training and mentorship, Lawyers = Justice gives new attorneys the opportunity to become part of the community rather than simply pass through it," said Kranz.
Recruitment of attorney fellows and law students is expected to begin in September 2026, with both clinics targeted to be fully staffed and operational later in the fall. The participating organizations have also identified the initiative as a potential model for other Ohio regions facing comparable attorney shortages.
