STATEHOUSE (Feb. 6, 2025) – State Rep. Greg Steuerwald (R-Avon) authored legislation to establish a scholarship for public service attorneys to encourage more Hoosiers to practice law in rural areas.
According to a report from the Commission on Indiana’s Legal Future, on which Steuerwald serves, Indiana ranks in the bottom 10 states for its number of practicing attorneys. More than half of Indiana’s counties have fewer than one lawyer per 1,000 residents, which meets the American Bar Association’s definition of a legal desert.
“The criminal justice system impacts the safety of all Hoosiers, and Indiana has a growing shortage of public service attorneys, especially in rural areas,” Steuerwald said. “For our courts to properly enforce justice, we need to find a way to make it more financially feasible for new attorneys to practice in smaller communities.”
To attract and retain more deputy prosecutors and public defenders throughout the state, House Bill 1049 would establish the County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Public Defender Scholarship Program. The scholarship would be awarded to students enrolled in accredited, Indiana-based law schools who commit to working in the state as full-time deputy prosecuting attorneys or public defenders for at least five years.
Scholarship amounts would be $20,000 annually for up to three years for full-time students and $15,000 annually for up to four years for part-time students, which is approximately 70% of total tuition. Recipients would need to meet certain academic standards and commit to the five-year work requirement.
Other recommendations from the Commission on Indiana’s Legal Future to reduce legal deserts include investing in law firms that use a nonprofit business model to provide representation to lower-income individuals on a sliding scale fee structure, and establishing a legal incubator program to provide essential infrastructure to new law firms until they can function independently.
The House Education Committee unanimously passed HB 1049, which now goes to the House Ways and Means Committee for consideration. For more information, visit iga.in.gov.
