LSC Talk Justice Ep 119 - Building the Next Generation of Rural Lawyers

Originally released on November 25, 2025. A recent report from LSC’s Rural Justice Task Force, “Justice Where We Live: Promising Practices from Rural Communities,” dives into a multitude of programs and approaches that address the biggest challenges to accessing civil justice in rural America. One issue is the scarcity of attorneys in rural areas, often called “legal deserts.” This episode highlights three programs working to create a pipeline of new rural lawyers.
Hosted by Lee Rawles.

Lee Rawles joined the ABA Journal in 2010 as a web producer. She has also worked for the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal and Legacy.com. She holds an M.S. in New Media from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and a B.S. in journalism from the University of Illinois.
Lee is the host of ABA Journal: Modern Law Library, the 2016 Lisagor Award winner for Best Podcast.

Ana Laurel (she/her/ella) is a Staff Attorney at Texas Riogrande Legal Aid, where she works on real property, environmental justice, estate planning, disaster, and foreclosure issues. Ana began at TRLA as an Equal Justice Works Rural Summer Legal Corps fellow during law school and returned to TRLA as an Equal Justice Works fellow after graduation. Ana holds a J.D. from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University (2019), where she earned her Indian Legal Certificate.

Kate Rosier serves as the Assistant Dean for Institutional Advancement and the Executive Director of the Indian Legal Program at Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Rosier leads the ILP’s recruitment and has worked with over 1000 Native American students. In 2015 she was responsible for bringing together a team from various law schools and programs to launch the national Native American Pathway to Law Initiative. Rosier received her JD from the University of Utah.

Professor Schutz grew up in rural Nebraska and attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney for his undergraduate training. He attended law school at the University of Nebraska College of Law (’03), clerked in the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals for the Hon. C. Arlen Beam, and joined the law faculty of his alma mater after a one-year stint at Cornell Law School. He has directed the Rural Law Opportunity Program since its inception in 2017.