S5:E15 - Getting and Keeping Rural Lawyers with Hannah Haksgaard

This episode is about the rural lawyer shortage, why it’s happening, why it matters, and what we can do about it. This is a new-to-us topic, and we’re so excited to share it with you because it’s way more important and impactful than we realized.

Lawyers have a crucial place in our small communities, from providing essential government services like prosecution to supporting small businesses and helping them thrive. Our guest, Hannah, is a law professor and author who took a deep dive into this issue, and we’re so glad she did. We learned a lot, and we think you will, too!

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About Hannah:

Hannah Haksgaard is a Professor at the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law, where she teaches and writes in the areas of property law, family law, and the rural practice of law.

Hannah’s new book, The Rural Lawyer: How to Incentivize Rural Law Practice and Help Small Communities Thrive, is available on Amazon or through your favorite local bookseller.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why do we have a rural lawyer shortage?

• Why that shortage matters

• How can we address it?
  

Resources Mentioned:

Hannah’s Book: https://a.co/d/1iJyV9j

Small Town Shout-Out!

This week’s shout-out is to the small town of Burke, SD. We love hearing what different people love about their small towns, and Burke sounds like a fantastic place to live. Meredith loves the Get Fit with Jenny classes, Kelsey’s all about the Farmer’s Market and the town’s gorgeous park space, and Cheyenne appreciates that the town is about love and legacy built on a foundation for the future. Wahoo, Burke, for being amazing in so many different ways!

New Segment Alert!

We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show: 

1. “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things. 
   

2. “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that. 
   

If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you! 

Subscribe and Review The Growing Small Towns Show!

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, please click on the images below for Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!

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