MANHATTAN — The Kansas Farm Bureau (KFB) Legal Foundation’s Rural Law Practice Grant will pay new attorneys up to $16,500 to open their legal practice in rural Kansas.


“Kansas farmers and ranchers need sound legal advice across a broad range of issues, especially as operations expand and become more complex,” Wendee Grady, Kansas Farm Bureau Legal Foundation director says. “This grant will help defray the cost of education and encourage new attorneys to open a rural practice and improve the quality of life for farmers, ranchers and all rural Kansans.”


The KFB Legal Foundation board will select up to three recipients each year from law students in the fall semester before their anticipated graduation date. The selection process will favor applicants who demonstrate a strong desire to live and work in rural Kansas, understand the legal issues farmers and ranchers commonly face, have high academic achievements and show a financial need. Rural Kansas is defined as anywhere outside Douglas, Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee or Wyandotte counties.


Recipients will receive the grant money in three installments, with the first $5,500 paid after passing the bar examination and starting practice in rural Kansas. The remaining installments will be paid after a recipient’s continued practice in rural Kansas for one and two years, respectively.
KFB’s Legal Foundation will accept applications on and between Sept. 1 and Nov. 1. Applicants must complete the application and submit it with a résumé, transcript and letter of recommendation. For more information about the Rural Law Practice Grant or to view an application, visit www.kfb.org/legalfoundation.