A CONTINUING PARTNERSHIP
FOR RURAL JUSTICE IN NORTH DAKOTA
K AT H R Y N R . L . R A N D
Dean, University of North Dakota
School of Law
In 2012, led by Judge Gail Hagerty,
then-president of the State Bar
Association of North Dakota (SBAND),
a modest proposal for a pilot “Rural
Justice” program garnered support from
SBAND, the UND School of Law, and
the North Dakota Supreme Court. As
Judge Hagerty described it, the proposal
was “a first step” in addressing the legal
needs in the state’s rural communities.
Through the partnership among SBAND,
the state courts, and the law school, the
proposal resulted in “two or three summer
clerkships for law students with judges
who are chambered in and live in rural
communities—communities of 15,000
or fewer residents.” The initial clerkships
would come with a modest stipend to
offset the student’s living expenses.
After successfully securing funding for the
stipends through the state court budget in
the 2013 Legislative Session, the program
launched in summer 2014. A local
paper reported one student’s successful
experience in the program:
Josh Wolfe of Esmond, who is entering
his third year at the UND law school, has
been clerking [for] Judge John McClintock
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THE GAVEL
as he presides over court proceedings in
Pierce, McHenry and Rolette counties.
[Wolfe] spent his college years in Fargo
and Grand Forks, [but wanted to explore
the possibility of practicing in a smaller
town]. “You have to think about your
future and if you can see yourself in a
rural community,” Wolfe said. “It would
be something I would be interested in. I
don’t mind the slower pace that a small
town like Rugby has to offer.” While the
community may be slower paced, the court
schedule is not. “The court docket has been
pretty full and lively,” Wolfe said. “The
same cases that I think you will see in
Fargo or Minot, you are going to see in
Rugby and the surrounding communities.”
McClintock said it may be one of the
biggest eye-openers for students that law
in a small town is just as dynamic as a big
city practice. It can be more diverse, with
more general law and less specialization,
he said.
Wolfe, who now practices in Minot with
Olson & Burns, was just the beginning of
the Rural Justice Program’s success. Wi th
stories like Wolfe’s, the law school set
out to expand the Rural Justice Program
to provide additional opportunities and
incentives for UND law students to pursue
legal careers in North Dakota, particularly
in rural communities.
In 2015, thanks to generous support
from the Edson and Margaret Larson
Foundation, the law school added four
additional student summer stipends to
the Rural Justice Program. These stipends
were for students working in a law firm,
state’s attorney office, or indigent defense
services in any North Dakota community
other than Grand Forks, Fargo, Bismarck,
or Minot. Students also needed to secure a
position with a qualifying employer (paid
or unpaid) and perform at least 400 hours
of legal work over the summer.
Tyler Erickson, a current 3L student, was
one of the first recipients. He first took
a summer position with the Nehring
Law Office in Williston. “My experience
at Nehring Law helped me solidify my
decision to practice in Williston, North
Dakota, because it further educated me
on North Dakota’s legal system and
showed me the community’s need for
honest and hardworking attorneys.” The
following summer, Erickson accepted
an internship with the Williston Public