The shortage of young attorneys in Vermont is raising concerns about access to legal services, a situation that poses a potential threat to the justice system’s effectiveness. This challenge has prompted the Vermont Supreme Court to assemble a statewide commission of legal professionals to explore solutions.
The newly formed commission, comprising experts from various legal backgrounds, will convene in November to identify the regions within Vermont that lack sufficient legal representation and to propose strategies for improvement. Josh Diamond, president of the Vermont Bar Association, emphasized the gravity of the issue, stating, “If people can’t access the courts, that’s a real problem for our democracy.”
In Vermont’s rural areas, such as the Northeast Kingdom and southern parts of the state, the number of practicing attorneys is dwindling, with many nearing retirement age. With over half of the state’s attorneys aged over 56, the future availability of legal services is in jeopardy, a concern echoed by Defender General Matt Valerio: “The bottom line is we don’t have enough lawyers to do the work in Vermont.”
The commission aims to identify “legal deserts,” defined by the American Bar Association as areas with fewer than one attorney per 1,000 residents, and to understand where legal resources are most scarce. The initiative is co-chaired by Associate Justice Harold E. Eaton of the Vermont Supreme Court and Michael Kennedy, Bar Counsel for the Vermont Judiciary, with participants including representatives from the attorney general’s office, defender general’s office, and Vermont Law and Graduate School.
A recent 2025 report from the Vermont Supreme Court underscores the age disparity among attorneys, with as many aged over 80 as there are under 30. Young lawyers face hurdles such as high student loans and comparatively lower salaries in Vermont, deterring them from establishing their careers in the state, according to Diamond.
Vermont Law School, the state’s only law school, primarily attracts out-of-state students, most of whom leave after graduation. A 2021 report revealed that less than 10% of its students are Vermonters, with a similar percentage remaining in the state post-graduation. Additional barriers such as the lack of affordable housing and childcare further impede young attorneys from settling in Vermont.
Diversity among attorneys is another issue, as Diamond noted the difficulty in recruiting minority lawyers due to the lack of community and affinity groups. Similarly, Valerio has faced challenges in hiring public defenders, noting a shift from candidates coming to them to needing to recruit from outside Vermont.
Conflict of interest issues arise when there are few attorneys available, complicating cases where a public defender has previously represented a party involved. This scarcity extends to civil law, where organizations like Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid, according to Executive Director Sam Abel-Palmer, struggle with resources to meet the growing demand, especially in family and eviction cases.
To address these challenges, Kennedy, co-chair of the commission, suggests looking at successful models from other states. “I hope what we’re able to do is look to see what has worked in other jurisdictions, what hasn’t worked, and use that to inform any decision we make,” he said.
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This article originally appeared on VTDigger and was shared through a collaboration with The Associated Press.
