Access to Justice group works to increase resources, attract attorneys to rural Kansas

Kansas Supreme Court Justice K.J. Wall says state programs to address rural attorney shortages and offer support for people who are representing themselves are filling gaps in the justice system. (Photo by Morgan Chilson/Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA — A “civil justice crisis” in state courts and across the country requires systemic change, and Kansas’ multifaceted approach is making a difference, a Kansas Supreme Court justice said Monday.

The state is addressing attorney shortages in rural areas and adding self-help resources for Kansans representing themselves, among other projects designed to make the legal system more accessible, said Justice K.J. Wall. He spoke at the third annual Kansas Access to Justice Summit, held at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. 

The summit is a collaboration of five Supreme Court committees, including the Rural Justice Initiative Committee, the Language Access Committee, and two Kansas Bar Association committees. 

“State courts across the United States handle about 98% of all civil disputes, which is pretty incredible, and the data suggests that at least one party is self-represented in approximately 75% of those civil cases, and it bumps up to 90% for debt collection,” Wall said. 

Kansas legal officials began creating virtual and onsite help centers, Wall said, as they recognized the increase in people who, by choice or because they can’t find or pay for an attorney, represent themselves.

“We’ve added 21 new court-based self-help centers in 2025 and two new library-based self-help centers,” he said.

A virtual self-help center that went online last year logs 11,000 visits daily, Wall said. Access to Justice grants totaling $900,000 support “critical legal aid,” translate forms into multiple languages, and support alternative dispute resolution services, such as mediation, he said. 

About 67% of all protection orders filed in the state last year were filed through an online protection order portal that’s been successful, he said. 

Legislation passed this year creates a standing Rural Justice Committee, the fruition of more than five years of work to encourage lawyers to move to rural communities, Wall said. 

“It’s in its infancy, but we’re looking to have programs kicking off in fiscal year 2027 and 2028,” he said.

Those will pay stipends to attorneys willing to locate in rural communities and also offer student loan payback options for practicing in rural areas, Wall said. 

Underlying the access issues is an increasing number of people who don’t trust the justice system, Wall said. 

Research indicates that low-income Americans felt they didn’t receive enough or any legal help for 92% of their civil problems, he said. 

“The bottom line is, I believe that fairness, equity and justice demand an institutional response, and that’s what we’re doing here,” Wall said. “I think that the response is not only morally justified, but I think it’s essential to the credibility of the judicial branch as a democratic institution.”

Institutions, in general, are facing an “incredible credibility crisis,” Wall said, with about 62% of Americans reporting a “great deal” or “some” trust in state court systems. 

“That’s a dramatic decline in comparison to decades prior,” he said. “Within that group, only 44% of Americans believe state courts provide equal justice to all. Data shows that there are more Americans than ever in our history that perceive a two-tier justice system, one for the connected and resourced, and another for everybody else.”

The cost of legal assistance and complex court processes are the top public concerns impacting those perceptions, Wall said.

Social science research shows that procedural justice reforms and access to justice measures like those being done in Kansas make a significant difference in the perception that there is an equity gap, he said. 

“Where these measures are available, litigants report statistically significantly higher perception of fairness,” Wall said. “They report greater trust in government institutions. They’re more likely to comply with court orders and to follow the law. That’s what we’re striving for.”

David Rebein is a trial lawyer in Dodge City, and past president of the Kansas Bar Association and the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association. In his rural community, steps being taken as part of the Access to Justice process are needed, he said in a call with Kansas Reflector. 

“We have a large immigrant population, and so you have people that are really not familiar with the system,” he said. “There might be a language barrier. There’s a lack of attorneys that are bilingual. Far and away the greater percentage of family law cases are people trying to represent themselves, without any training, without any information.”

Rural communities have trouble attracting attorneys to practice there for the same reasons that other professions struggle, such as doctors and accountants, Rebein said. Small towns fight the stigma that there’s nothing to do, that there aren’t enough people to socialize with and date, and that they somehow are a step down from urban centers, he said. 

However, opportunities in rural communities can be “tremendous,” he said, including legal work for utilities, oil and gas industry, and agriculture.

Isolation can be an issue, and Rebein said the state needs groups that support lawyers through professional advancement and support, and that can recruit lawyers to rural areas. He’d like to see that recruitment with all the focus and energy typically given to economic development. 

“In Dodge City, we have a cheese factory,” he said. “It took us 25 years to get it. It’s 600 jobs. We did everything. It was money from the state, money from the federal government. The community came together. The county came together. The city came together. And yet, when it comes to recruitment of professionals, we don’t do nearly that much.”