Harvesters of Hope Expands Legal Access in Alabama
The nonprofit program is placing new attorneys in six counties identified as underserved legal deserts.
Updated on Oct. 15, 2026 in Criminal Justice
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Harvesters of Hope, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, has expanded its legal services into Limestone and five other Alabama counties. The initiative aims to address the shortage of attorneys in rural areas where there is one lawyer or fewer for every 1,000 residents.
Why it matters
The program seeks to recruit attorneys to underserved areas with limited access to legal services. By providing resources like business planning templates and financial stipends, the nonprofit aims to bridge the gap in regions currently lacking sufficient legal representation.
The organization has placed 16 lawyers across the state, now covering 43 percent of all identified legal deserts. A legal desert is defined by the nonprofit as any county with one lawyer or fewer for every 1,000 residents.
The players
Harvesters of Hope
This is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that launched in 2024 as an outreach initiative of the Alabama State Bar.
Anna-Kate Thomas
She is an attorney who began practicing law in Athens as part of the nonprofit expansion.
Calvin Burroughs
He is an attorney who opened a new legal practice in Dadeville.
Lee Ozmint
He is an attorney who opened a new legal practice in Livingston.
Austin Underwood
He is an attorney who is opening a practice in Tuscumbia.
The details
Six new attorneys are opening or preparing to open practices in Limestone, Tallapoosa, Sumter, DeKalb, Colbert, and Chambers counties. Participants in the program receive professional memberships, training, mentorship, and a financial stipend alongside practice management tools.
Timeline
Harvesters of Hope launched as an outreach initiative in 2024.
The nonprofit expanded into six new counties on October 15, 2026.
Emily Milford will begin practicing in LaFayette later this year.
Legal Context
The initiative represents a focused effort to address the historical lack of rural legal representation in Alabama. This expansion follows patterns established by the Alabama State Bar to decentralize legal services and extend professional infrastructure into historically underserved regions.
Residents in the newly served counties will gain access to local legal counsel where services were previously unavailable. This program reduces the need for residents to travel long distances to secure professional legal representation for local matters.
The takeaway
Access to local legal representation remains a significant hurdle for residents in rural areas across the state. Programs that bundle mentorship with practice management tools provide a viable blueprint for addressing these legal deserts.
What happens next
Emily Milford is scheduled to begin practicing law in LaFayette later this year.
Further reading
Learn more about the evolving landscape of Criminal Justice in Alabama.
More information
To learn more about Harvesters of Hope, visit their official website.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Athens The News Courier.
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