County underserved by lawyers
Staff writer
With nine licensed lawyers in the county, several of them not actually practicing, and only two offices where a customer could hire a lawyer, Marion County is among the least-served counties for legal services.
The Rural Justice Initiative, a committee to examine unmet legal needs in rural Kansas, will study the issue for 18 months and submit recommendations to the state Supreme Court.
Although only half the state’s population lives in Douglas, Johnson, Leavenworth, Sedgwick, Shawnee, and Wyandotte counties, 80% of the state’s lawyers do.
The state has 1,500 lawyers to serve 1.26 million residents who live in the remaining 99 counties.
County numbers include district judges who are registered attorneys and attorneys who work in a professional capacity but may not represent clients.
Marion County has the lowest number of lawyers in the 8th Judicial District. Marion County has one lawyer for every 1,301 residents.
Morris County has 10, Dickinson County has 16, and Geary County has 29.
The state average for rural counties is one lawyer for every 808 residents.
Lawyer Bob Brookens and the Karstetter & Bina law firm have offices in Marion. Karstetter & Bina’s primary office is in McPherson.