INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The co-chairs of a commission tackling Indiana’s lawyer shortage said Tuesday that Indiana’s lawyer shortage affects even those who never set foot in a courtroom.

Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Nancy Vaidik and Indiana Supreme Court Chief Administrative Officer Justin Forkner are leading a massive review of the state’s legal system by lawyers, advocacy groups, and state lawmakers.

Known as the Commission on Indiana’s Legal Future, the panel was formed in early April on the orders of Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush. Indiana has roughly 2.3 lawyers for every 1,000 residents, putting it among the bottom 10 states for the availability of legal help, and 49 of Indiana’s 92 counties have less than one lawyer for every 1,000 residents, the American Bar Association’s definition of a legal desert.

Vaidik said a lack of lawyers hurts people’s ability to deal with wills, estates, evictions, and a host of other legal issues. Moreover, if someone does have a case that actually goes to court, it can lead to a denial of justice.

“It’s a hard system to navigate and so people need help in navigation,” she said. “And if you want to talk about having access to justice and a good justice system, you need help to make it through.”

Forkner said a lack of lawyers hurts the ability of local governments to deliver services people need, too. He said local lawyers are needed to help draft bond proposals or even help advise library boards.

Although the commission’s final report isn’t due until July 1 of next year, Justice Rush directed it to release a set of interim recommendations by Aug. 1 of this year in order to provide state lawmakers material to work with during the 2025 legislative session.

Vaidik and Forkner presented the commission’s interim recommendations to the Indiana Supreme Court on Tuesday. They include several funding requests, such as providing startup funding to new lawyers who agree to practice in areas of high legal need and to nonprofit law firms and funding scholarships for law students who are willing to serve as prosecutors or public defenders. Commission members also want lawmakers to allow legal professionals other than fully licensed attorneys, such as paralegals or legal system navigators, to represent people in court if they do so through an Indiana Supreme Court-approved initiative.

Vaidik and Forkner said the recommendation on paralegals likely would have the most impact on the lawyer shortage. Vaidik said this would allow legal services to function more like a doctor’s office, where nurse practitioners and physician assistants handle routine matters while the doctors focus on tougher problems.

“Start where lawyers aren’t already, where the question is, is this better than nothing with the right qualifications on there,” Forkner said. “The only reason why (paralegals and navigators) can’t practice law now is we have never let them. We have good models in other states where they’ve tested this and they know what the consumer protection guardrails are.”

Vaidik said the Supreme Court will decide in September which recommendations it will lobby the General Assembly for. The commission already includes state lawmakers, so the legislature will be part of those discussions from the beginning. She said the commission also wants the public to weigh in on what is working and what is not. The commission’s online portal includes an option to submit comments as a member of the public. Vaidik and Forkner said they have already gotten excellent feedback from the public as well as from the legal profession.