WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The Sedgwick County District Attorney is pushing for a law school in the county.
Marc Bennett says the vast majority of the state’s lawyers are concentrated in the northeast part of the state, where the only two law schools in Kansas are located.
He says the distance makes it challenging for people in other parts of the state to consider a career in law.
Bennett wants better access to the degree for people in Sedgwick County.
He says he’s been communicating with Sedgwick County Commissioners and with Washburn and KU about the potential for building a satellite campus in the Wichita area. He says both schools expressed interest in the idea.
Bennett says it would take time to set up a school, but having a satellite campus for KU or Washburn would be faster than creating a new law school entirely.
“We are in a crisis,” Bennett said.
Bennett blames a lack of people in law, particularly outside the northeast corner of the state.
“There’s four-year colleges all over. There’s only two law schools in Kansas, and it’s Washburn in Topeka and KU in Lawrence,” Bennett said.
Bennett says 65% of the state’s lawyers are located in five counties around the Kansas City area, and 15% live in Wichita.
“The other 99 counties in the state are fighting over the last 20% of the lawyers,” Bennett said.
He says a law school or satellite campus would allow more people in the southern half of the state and rural areas to consider the career as an option.
One private practice says the move could expand its applicant pool and resources.
“It will furnish lawyers at law firms in Wichita with student law clerks who can help reduce the price of having to have all the work and research done by lawyers charging full fare,” criminal defense lawyer Dan Monnat said.
For public defenders, more lawyers could help, but generally, lower pay compared to other kinds of attorneys is still a main challenge.
“It’s hard to match the pay parity, especially when you’re recruiting new attorneys right out of law school,” McKinnon said.
Discussion about a law school campus is still in the early stages, but Bennett says it’s important to have those conversations.
He says he’d like to have a graduating class by 2030, but realistically, it could take until 2035.
See the full story at KSN.com.