A new charter school with a unique mission plans to open next year in Indianapolis. Its goal is to interest more kids in the legal profession.

Indiana has fewer than three attorneys for every 1,000 residents, which puts it among the ten states with the biggest attorney shortages, according to the American Bar Association.

And there are more jobs than applicants for public defenders, who represent people in criminal cases who can’t afford a lawyer.

Chicago-based Legal Prep Charter Academy plans to open an Indianapolis location, for middle and high-school students to get a head start on a range of law careers.

CEO Sam Finkelstein said he sees the potential.

“The city has both a need and an opportunity,” said Finkelstein. “There’s a statewide shortage of legal professionals – especially in underserved communities, rural communities – and we believe that we can start getting at that problem with education. Our model helps students see themselves in careers they may never have imagined.”

He said they’ll focus first on enrolling kids in 6th and 9th grades, with a projection of 825 students in grades 6 through 12 by the 2029-2030 school year.

He added that the school will offer a rigorous college prep education built around law and leadership.

Big-city law firms with competitive starting salaries are leaving smaller, rural law firms struggling to hire and retain attorneys.

Last year, a Commission on Indiana’s Legal Future was formed to discuss strategies to meet the state’s legal drought.

Finkelstein said the Legal Prep Academy will be located near downtown Indianapolis – not far from the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

He said he hopes to see corporate and legal professionals interact with students to enhance their academic success.

“We came into this wanting to be able to access our legal community partners, be somewhat proximate to McKinney,” said Finkelstein, “and really be able to offer our kids not just the opportunity to visit these institutions and these businesses once in a while, but to be able to do some really cool partnerships with them.”

The Indiana Supreme Court has also approved a start-up subsidy for lawyers practicing in high-need areas, student loan assistance for those practicing in legal deserts, and technology development in detention facilities to improve remote meeting capability between attorneys and incarcerated clients.