Bar initiative aims to turn lawyers into entrepreneurs

After spending 20 years in Indianapolis practicing corporate law, Alyn Brown moved to Brown County with a vision.

“We plan on staying in Nashville for a long time,” he said. “My dream scenario is a small-town practice where I get to help all the neighbors with their issues and problems. And in my romanticized version of it, I’m friends with everybody, and life is great.”

But running a business is not a topic taught in law school. That’s why Brown became one of 15 lawyers in the inaugural 2026 Rural Practice Academy (RPA). The 12-month entrepreneurial incubator aims to equip attorneys with the tools and skills needed to build sustainable solo practices in underserved areas.

The Indiana State Bar Association (ISBA) developed the program to address the state’s “legal deserts.” More than half of Indiana’s counties have fewer than one attorney per 1,000 residents. In addition, communities with attorneys may still lack certain legal specialties, said Joe Skeel, ISBA executive director.

“In theory, the one or two or five attorneys, however many you have in this county, it’s possible that none of them do family law or wills,” he said. “You have to go beyond your county. And sometimes that may mean bigger cities. The question is, ‘Will those attorneys have time?’ … It’s not just slow representation; it’s no representation in some areas.”

The RPA attorneys paid $1,400 in tuition, with partners such as LexisNexis, Clio and the ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference contributing to the program’s cost. In return, the lawyers will receive about 50 continuing legal education hours through virtual workshops and in-person sessions that include practical training from the bar association, a peer network, mentorship, resources and support.

Learning to run a business

Two sessions into the RPA, the selected attorneys seek to gain essential small business knowledge, such as marketing and practice management, to ensure their enterprises become profitable and efficient. Larry Morrison spent 25 years in law enforcement before going to law school and starting his practice in Morgantown several years ago. He wants to learn more about brand awareness.

“You go to law school, and you never think that you’re going to be a business owner. And it’s a completely different animal than being an attorney,” he said. “I’m sitting here working and wondering where my clients are at. And you have clients sitting out there who are wondering where they can find an attorney.”

Besides marketing, participants hope that networking with peers and finding mentors will help them navigate their individual challenges of running a rural practice. For instance, Brown has little courtroom experience despite his lengthy career in corporate law.

“I’m looking forward to having a group of people that are hopefully struggling with some of these same kinds of weird things and having a good place to ask questions, get some answers and have a good chuckle about the fact that I have no clue which side of the room I’m supposed to sit on,” he said.

The lawyers are also interested in learning the best ways to serve their communities. Morrison spoke of the need to relate to clients and understand the rural mindset, such as a farmer trying to preserve his business for the next generation.

“[My wife and I] had seen different situations that had come up over the years where someone could use legal representation but either couldn’t afford it or didn’t know how to get it,” he said. “We decided we were going to try to help those people who may have been on the fence and didn’t want to go to a bigger city and find an attorney.”

Attracting future leaders, judges

Brown’s goal for a small-town practice similar to that of the fictional lawyer Atticus Finch in the book and movie “To Kill A Mockingbird” is just one ideal that ISBA leaders believe might draw interest in the RPA. The participants range from being fresh out of law school to starting a second career as an attorney to investing decades in practicing law.

“[The program] is designed for anybody who wants to launch and develop a rural practice,” said Christine Cordial, RPA director and ISBA director of justice initiatives. “One of the early discussions was, ‘Who exactly is this going to serve?’ … And it ended up being a mixed bag.”

Cordial sees the program as not only helping attorneys become entrepreneurs but also community leaders. She mentioned that rural lawyers often serve on boards and committees, acting as “solutions providers” in small towns and cities. Brown exemplifies this phenomenon, having become town attorney after his predecessor retired last fall.

Cordial said, “There’s nothing but good things when a law firm can come to a community that doesn’t have enough help to meet the needs of not only the individuals but also the businesses and the larger neighborhoods and the community as a whole.”

Skeel also hopes the RPA will eventually help fill the judicial pipeline. An impending “silver tsunami” — the older workforce reaching retirement age without enough younger people to fill the positions — could be detrimental for legal systems in rural areas.

“If there are no lawyers in these communities, there eventually will be no judges,” said Skeel. “When your judicial system is based on county trial courts — we’re not there yet — but you could end up in the future with a county that has no functioning judicial system.”

‘A top-down, bottom-up approach’

The RPA program has already begun fostering high-level networking opportunities, including a July reception at St. Elmo Steak House in Indianapolis.

“We got to meet and greet and shake hands with Justice [Geoffrey G.] Slaughter from the Indiana Supreme Court and Judge [Nancy H.] Vaidik from the Court of Appeals,” said participant Michelle Voirol, a part-time public defender who’s developing a private practice in southern Indiana 25 years into her career. “We have a well-rounded, excellent selection of candidates for this program. They are outstanding people.”

After four more virtual sessions and two additional in-person meetings, the attorneys will graduate in June 2027 at the Solo and Small Firm Conference in French Lick and integrate into a statewide network. The ISBA envisions the RPA serving as a scalable model for other states looking to revitalize their rural legal landscapes and ensure equal access to justice.

“What we’re trying to do is to be the organization that bridges that gap between communities in need and those who are willing to serve,” Skeel said.

Besides establishing the RPA as recommended by the Commission on Indiana’s Legal Future, the ISBA aims to address the rural attorney shortage by engaging community leaders to offer recruitment incentives, promoting practice efficiencies like artificial intelligence and advocating for a nurse practitioner model of allied legal professionals.

“We’re taking a top-down, bottom-up approach. We’re working both sides, trying to train up the army of people who are ready to go, but also educate the people in these communities about the importance of meeting attorneys,” Skeel said.

Attorneys interested in applying for the 2027-2028 RPA class may fill out a form to be notified when applications are available.•