JEFFERSON CITY – A Missouri Bar committee is asking rural residents to share their experiences accessing lawyers and legal services. Responses will help the bar identify trends and inform recommendations to combat barriers to legal services.
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The Missouri Bar’s Special Committee on Rural Practice is inviting residents of rural Missouri counties to take a short survey about their experiences hiring lawyers and accessing legal services. Residents taking the survey will provide valuable information that can inform potential policy and program recommendations from the committee to help ensure adequate legal services for all Missouri residents.
“Across Missouri, we are hearing real concerns about access to legal services in rural communities,” said Shelly Dreyer, 2024-2025 Missouri Bar president. “While we know there are challenges, we don’t yet fully understand the scope of the issue.”
Residents can take the survey at: SurveyMonkey.com/r/RuralLegalSurvey
Among other questions, the survey asks participants if they’ve ever struggled to find a lawyer, how far they would be willing to travel to hire a lawyer, and if they would be interested in virtual legal appointments.
No individual responses will be made public, and all responses will remain anonymous.
Dreyer, who practices in Joplin, is co-chairing the special committee with 2nd Judicial Circuit Judge Corey Moon, a member of The Missouri Bar Board of Governors and resident of rural northeast Missouri. More than 30 lawyers from across the state make up the committee, which was launched in 2025. It is also conducting surveys and interviews with rural lawyers and judges.
“The Missouri Bar’s mission is to improve the lives of Missourians. That’s why this committee’s work is so important — it brings together data and perspectives to determine whether a shortage of attorneys exists in rural Missouri and what it means for access to justice,” Dreyer said. |