TOLEDO, Ohio – A new three-year initiative aims to expand legal access in rural Northwest Ohio, where a shortage of attorneys has left many residents without essential legal services. The collaborative, named Lawyers = Justice: A Northwest Ohio Legal Collaborative, will operate clinics in Bowling Green and Lima, and is designed to create a pipeline for new lawyers to build sustainable practices in underserved communities.
The initiative brings together the Ohio State Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Foundation, the 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 program is supported by Michelle L. Kranz, founding partner of Zoll & Kranz and former president of the Ohio State Bar Association, who emphasized the critical nature of the issue.
"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," said Kranz. "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."
Across Ohio, 78 of the state's 88 counties are classified as legal deserts, defined as having fewer than one attorney per 1,000 residents. The shortage has far-reaching implications, from delayed estate planning and complicated property transfers to limited guidance in guardianship or custody matters. It also hampers farmers and landowners in navigating development, zoning, and environmental questions.
Lawyers = Justice will operate through two clinic locations. 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. Each year, the program 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.
Kranz, a Wood County resident whose family raises beef cattle, has direct familiarity with the people, businesses, and land-use concerns that define rural Northwest Ohio. Her tenure as president of the Ohio State Bar Association from 2023 to 2024 and her current trustee position with the Ohio State Bar Foundation have kept her focused on the attorney shortage. "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," she said. "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."
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 identified the initiative as a potential model for other Ohio regions facing comparable attorney shortages.
