One of my favorite things about being involved with bar associations is the opportunity to bring smart and diverse lawyers and legal professionals around the table to compare notes and problem solve. And it is a good thing I feel that way because I can assure you, when you are a board member or officer of the Ohio State Bar Association, it just comes with the territory.
Over the last year, I have been pleased to represent our association at the National Conference of Bar Presidents in Denver, the ABA Bar Leadership Institute in Chicago and the Great Rivers Bar Conference in Savannah, just to name a few. These conferences bring in top-notch experts on a host of relevant and timely topics, and by design, leave plenty of room for networking and conversation.
I have been part of discussions around civility, AI, DE&I, succession planning, specialized dockets and drug courts, not to mention, all the ways bar associations can support members as the practice of law evolves. I always come back from these trips better informed, inspired and proud of the strong reputation the Ohio Bar enjoys nationally. We are seen as a leader among bars, and I would be remiss if I did not thank our CEO Mary Amos Augsburger and all the leaders who came before me who built that strong foundation. (I will do my best over the next eight months to keep it that way!)
Our First Ohio Bar Leaders Summit
This year, we decided to create a similar experience right here in Ohio. In August, we hosted our inaugural Ohio Bar Leaders Summit (BLS) with representatives from bar associations and foundations around the state including county and metro bars, affinity bars, leaders from the Supreme Court, the Ohio State Bar Foundation, the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation and OBLIC, as well as members of our own board of governors, council of delegates and committee and section leaders. We brought in one of our favorite national experts Mary Byers as our facilitator. Mary is co-author of “Race for Relevance: 5 Radical Changes for Associations.” She has worked with 300+ associations across the country, including us, the Toledo Bar and Akron Bar to advise and provide training on how to stay ahead of the curve and to lead the associations of the future. Mary likes to say: “collaboration is the new currency,” and our goal with this summit was to provide a unique forum where we could learn from one another while taking a deeper dive into the challenges facing the profession, legal trends that will affect us in the coming years as well as best practices for navigating it all.
Honestly, one day was not enough time for this lively bunch. This became evident to me as I watched the conversations spill over into the lobby following each presentation and roundtable. I also saw many participants from different backgrounds and communities, who didn’t know one another before the summit, swapping business cards in hopes of connecting in the future. For my part, I just appreciated hearing different perspectives on a number of the issues already on the Ohio Bar’s docket that could impact the future of the practice of law.
Rural Practice Gap
One of the top priorities for the Ohio Bar and a major challenge we discussed at the BLS is the problem that we have too few lawyers to serve Ohio’s population, and it is especially pronounced in our rural areas. Our Rural Practice Gap Task Force, which I chair, recently looked at data from the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation showing us the average age of attorneys who hold IOLTA accounts (those who handle client funds, essentially private practitioners) by county. While the median age of private practitioners statewide is 54.4, in many Ohio counties, more than half of the lawyers are over the age of 55. That percentage rises to 60-70% in our more rural areas where there are fewer lawyers overall. At the same time many of our baby boomers are starting to think about winding down their practices, we have seen a steady overall decline in students going to law school and taking the bar. Couple that with the fact that many of our younger lawyers are attracted to more urban areas of the state, we have our work cut out for us. It is a complex problem that will require multifaceted solutions.
One part of the solution on the horizon is the Rural Practice Incentive Program. That is where, thanks to legislation we pushed for last General Assembly and funding allocated in the state budget bill this session, lawyers who practice in underserved communities will be able to apply for up to $50,000 in student loan forgiveness if they remain in the community for five years. The Ohio Department of Higher Education is now working to promulgate the rules and prepare to accept applications. This will certainly help, but all those smart people around the table I talked about have more work to do. We are pleased to be working with Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy, who has made this issue a priority, as well as lawyers, law firm leaders, legislators, law school deans and many others. Be on the lookout for our report and recommendations this spring and I welcome any thoughts or ideas you may have on what we can do.
"ChatGPT may have been able to pass the bar exam ... I, for one, still have my money on the human lawyers."
NextGen Bar Exam
As we think about priming that new attorney pipeline, there is another big discussion around the bar exam. After many years of research, the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) has announced that the current Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) will be replaced by Next Generation Bar Exam (NextGen) starting in July of 2026. The last time the UBE will be available to administer in the 41 jurisdictions that currently use it, Ohio included, is July of 2027. So, change is coming, and Ohio has some decisions to make, according to Director of Attorney Services at the Supreme Court of Ohio Gina Palmer, who gave us an update at the BLS.
Ohio could choose to adopt the NextGen whole cloth, adopt the NextGen with an Ohio law component or opt to create its own exam. Do not expect Ohio to rush into this change right out of the gate for July of 2026, but do expect to learn more in coming months as the Supreme Court recognizes that there are aspiring lawyers and law schools (not to mention bar leaders) who are anxious to know the rules of the game well in advance of the implementation so we can prepare as a larger legal community.
Curious about NextGen? NCBE has set up a website at nextgenbarexam.ncbex.org where you can learn more, review sample questions and stay tuned as more details become available.
Non-Lawyer Legal Service Providers
The bar exam is certainly a rite of passage, not to mention, one piece of the rigorous and ongoing education, training and testing lawyers undergo for the privilege of practicing law and advising their clients. At the BLS, we also got an update from Ohio Bar General Counsel Desiree Blankenship on the trend in some states towards allowing more legal services to be performed by non-lawyers.
While there are a handful of states in various stages of implementation and consideration, the Supreme Court in the state of Washington voted to sunset its first in the nation Limited License Legal Technicians program due to the cost and the small number of interested candidates. Though often discussed as a possible solution to the access to justice gap and the rise in pro se litigants, Ohio has not made any formal moves in this direction. And while we are open to the continued development of programs that employ trained courthouse facilitators to guide pro se litigants and more innovations and funding to better connect the under-represented with attorneys, the Ohio Bar continues to oppose allowing non-lawyers to practice law without the supervision of a licensed attorney.
We will certainly keep our eye on this trend, but I think the question now will be how the rise in AI will impact these efforts. ChatGPT may have been able to pass the bar exam, but I have yet to meet a bot that can creatively apply that knowledge while adhering to our core professional values of independence, integrity, confidentiality and the duty to act in the best interest of our clients. I, for one, still have my money on the human lawyers.
Wellness and Mental Health
And if we want to keep all these great human minds limber, good mental health must continue to be a focus. Studies have shown that more than half of lawyers report feeling dissatisfied and when it comes to depression, anxiety and substance abuse, we struggle at higher rates than other professions. In our own membership surveys, you are telling us that work-life balance (as well as workload and staying current law changes) is among the biggest professional challenges you face.
At BLS, we discussed the need to tackle this issue as a profession and to ensure that each of us has access to trusted resources and proven strategies so that we make the time to prioritize our overall health and wellness. At the Ohio Bar, we have established our Wellness Advisory Board, made up of dedicated member volunteers who are developing programming and content to support you. Their work will continue, and they always welcome your input. Learn more at ohiobar.org/wellness.
