[Opinion] • February 2025

Low-Hanging Fruit

Why attorneys should consider practicing in a small town.

Written By Cindi Barela Graham

Why would anyone want to practice law in a small town? Consider some of these reasons:

More Opportunities

1. Less competition for clients: With fewer lawyers around, there will be plenty of business for you.

2. Easy to get involved: Be a big fish in a small pond.

3. Shortage of lawyers: Small towns across the U.S. are feeling the effects of rural flight. Because 20-somethings are not returning to smaller rural towns after getting their education, rural locales are not attracting young professionals, including lawyers.¹ In 2023, 10,000 baby boomers will have retired each day, contributing to the shortage of lawyers in smaller towns.² Legal issues continue to arise in smaller towns, just like in larger communities, and currently, there is a plethora of work in some legal fields. More experienced lawyers are booked a month or more out; less experienced lawyers are seizing the opportunities left open by the glut. District attorneys’ and county attorneys’ offices are left with numerous unfilled positions. (As a former prosecutor, I can tell you that prosecuting, especially misdemeanors, is the most fun you can have practicing law.)

4. Great cases: While the city may be smaller, the cases may not be. I sit on a couple of law-related statewide boards, and in discussing cases, it is clear that I have received more complex cases than many attorneys in my same legal field in larger cities. Perhaps this is because in bigger cities, clients seek out firms specializing in one particular area. Where I live, no local firm specializes only in one legal area.

MORE CONGENIAL LEGAL COMMUNITY
While not without strife, generally lawyers in smaller locales must work together on any number of matters. Guaranteed to have cases opposite each other regularly, lawyers in smaller cities learn to work against each other without burning bridges. The result is a congenial legal community. When I first started my private practice, I had numerous referrals from other lawyers beginning the day I got my phone number. And never did a lawyer refuse to help me when I asked for it. From sharing their forms to giving me advice, other lawyers were always willing to help when I asked.

QUALITY OF LIFE

1. Little to no commute time: Recently, I had an 8 a.m. meeting via phone with a colleague in Austin. Immediately before the phone call began, my husband said he needed a ride to work. At precisely 8 a.m., I called my colleague and explained that I needed to drop my husband off at work and would call her back as soon as I got into my office. At exactly 8:13 a.m., I called her from my office phone. She was amazed. My husband works a mile from our house. His office is about three miles from my office. Going across town takes 20 minutes during rush hour (if you can call it that!). We do not live our lives planning around rush hour.

2. Much more affordable housing costs typically: Unlike larger markets, real estate in smaller towns and cities does not have the same highs and lows that larger cities do, and thus housing costs remain fairly stable for the most part. Where I live, the median home price is $243,700 versus Texas median home prices of $335,494 in the month of October 2024.³

3. Good schools: In my town, we have great public schools. Additionally, we have several private schools. Our local community college, Amarillo College, was recognized as one of two winners of the 2023 Aspen Prize of Community College Excellence.⁴ This prize recognizes the top community college throughout the nation with outstanding achievements in six critical areas of student success and is a very coveted recognition in the world of community colleges. And, in 2021, Amarillo College received a $15 million gift from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott as recognition for the college’s high impact in the community.⁵

4. Sense of community: Small towns may lack the culture found in bigger cities but make up for it with community events like parades, rodeos, and community markets. Our neighborhood blocks off streets to make it safer for the many trick-or-treaters each Halloween. Consider too that many smaller cities still have orchestras, ballet programs, and minor league baseball teams.

5. Less pollution: Smaller cities don’t have the air pollution that bigger cities have.⁶

6. Security and safety: While not without crime, many smaller cities or towns do not have the crime of bigger cities.⁷ People routinely take walks in our neighborhood, and the children still play outside. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people were out strolling the neighborhood all day.

YOU KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS
We know our neighbors. We watch each other’s houses when out of town. We watch their kids grow up. We return their dogs when they get out. We safeguard their Amazon deliveries. We share our contacts for landscapers and painters. We refer each other business.

YOU KNOW YOUR DOCTORS
Not only do you know your doctors, but they also know you. You will see them at the grocery store or at church. My parents live in Dallas. My father was having issues first diagnosed as Alzheimer’s disease. He took medicine for several years yet saw no improvement. We questioned his doctors. He was going to a prominent medical facility so we thought he was in some of the best hands possible. While talking with a local neurologist with whom my husband and I had become friends over the years, I mentioned that my father had symptoms atypical for people with Alzheimer’s. Our friend suggested that we bring my father in to see him the next time he was in town. So, the next time my parents were coming to town, I called our friend. Rather than going to his office, he suggested he come over to our house. So, I had him over for dinner. After spending the evening with us, the doctor said he thought my father was indeed misdiagnosed. He referred us to a neurologist in Dallas who confirmed that my father did not have Alzheimer’s but instead had hydrocephalus. I have a similar story with regard to my mother and her rheumatoid arthritis.

THE PEOPLE WITH WHOM YOU DO BUSINESS KNOW YOU AND YOU KNOW THEM
Doing business locally means a lot. From our boutique shops to our local car dealerships, it is nice knowing that spending at a local business is putting food on the table for someone you know. Our dry cleaner owner is in our supper club, as is our stockbroker. The manager at our local grocery store knows our names. Two of our state representatives live within a block of my house (Admittedly, I live on the county line!). Local business owners and workers will refer you to business or hire you themselves. As a divorce attorney, you would think that once I opposed a party, they would never want to see me again. However, I have several people with whom I do business regularly and yet I represented their ex-spouse. One of these is an appraiser who I routinely hire in my divorce cases.

YOU KNOW THE JUDGE
Whether it is the federal judge, a district court judge, county court at law judge, or justice of the peace, you likely know them and they know you. The judge may have been a former partner, current neighbor, or someone you see at functions on a regular basis.

FLYING IN AND OUT IS A BREEZE
Depending on where you live, if your small town has an airport (think Amarillo, Lubbock, El Paso, or Corpus Christi), then getting to other locations may be very easy. In my town, I know the TSA agents because I fly regularly. It is always nice to see a friendly face when going through security!

INDUSTRY IN SOME SMALL TOWNS IS STILL BIG BUSINESS
Many businesses in smaller towns still want local attorneys. And, in smaller towns and cities, those business owners will know who you are. They will seek you out.

LOW-HANGING FRUIT
Because small towns and cities are in need of lawyers and because people and businesses still have legal needs, there is a lot of work for anyone wanting to practice law. The legal work is there for the picking, and the fruit is within easy reach.

While we don’t have the bright lights of the big city, those of us attorneys in smaller towns know that bright lights diminish one’s view of the stars overhead. So whether you are just starting your legal career or you are looking for a new legal path, consider a smaller town or city. The opportunities are plentiful and lucrative; all you have to do is pick it!

CINDI BARELA GRAHAM is a family law attorney in Amarillo, where she has practiced since 1990 after leaving the Dallas area. She is the chair of the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Barela Graham serves on the Supreme Court of Texas Advisory Committee. She is certified in family law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Barela Graham was a member of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors from 2005 to 2008. She served as president of the Panhandle Family Law Association and was one of three founding members of the Amarillo Area Women’s Bar Association.