INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — Stefan May is a husband and father living in Michigan City.
Five years ago, he made the decision to attend law school but found out his options in Indiana were limited.
“Valparaiso University was the closest law school to me, but they had just closed down their program so there was really nothing around me,” said May.
Indiana has only three brick and mortar law schools—IU McKinney in Indianapolis, IU Maurer in Bloomington and Notre Dame in South Bend.
Meanwhile, more than half of Indiana’s counties are considered a legal desert, which is when a county has less than 1 lawyer for every 1,000 residents.
Stefan May attended Purdue Global Law School, a fully online law school, while working his security job.
“If it wasn't for that kind of environment of being able to attend online, I don't know if this would have been a possibility for me,” said May.
He graduated, passed the Indiana bar exam, and on May 12, he joined dozens of new Indiana attorneys at a swearing in ceremony.
May now works for a private law firm in Crown Point which handles criminal and civil cases.
“They say now that you're a lawyer, here's your new responsibilities,” said May. “I got my first couple of clients handed to me.”
The Indiana Supreme Court issued a ruling in February 2024 that allows graduates of online law schools not accredited by the American Bar Association to take the Indiana Bar exam as soon as they graduate.
The expansion of online law school is a solution to the state’s growing attorney shortage, one that is gaining traction.
It’s a problem WRTV Investigates exposed, one that is hurting our criminal justice system.
Purdue Global has seen an uptick in Indiana enrollment as a result of the new waiver system.
Since the new rule took effect in 2024, 11 Purdue Global graduates have been sworn in as Indiana lawyers.
“Our grads had an overall pass rate of 75 percent which compared to a statewide pass rate of 46 percent,” said Marty Pritikin, Dean of Purdue Global Law School. “We've seen a big increase of students just in the last couple of years since Indiana changed its rules that our grads could sit. In fact, we've seen a 900 percent increase.”
Nearly half of Purdue Global’s students in Indiana live in rural areas or small towns— the areas hardest hit by the lawyer shortage.
“It's not just about getting more lawyers into Indiana, but it's about getting more lawyers in the places that have shortages, and that's something that we, as an online law school, are helping to address,” said Pritikin. “We are in a day and age where most of the things a lawyer does can be done online, so it shouldn't be surprising that you can train to become a lawyer online.”
Purdue Global costs $53,000 for the entire program.
Law school borrowers graduate with an average law school debt of approximately $130,000, according to the Education Data Initiative.
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Critics of online law schools say students miss out on in-person networking and because they’re not accredited by the American Bar Association, graduates may be prohibited from taking the bar in certain states.
Monroe County prosecutor Erika Oliphant told WRTV Investigates in 2025 she is hesitant about online law school as a solution to the state’s attorney shortage.
“I do think we have to be careful because attorneys have a lot of trust and responsibility to their clients,” said Oliphant.
“I don’t necessarily think that 3 years has to be the magic number for law school maybe it could be a year and a half or maybe 2 years,” said Oliphant. “If we make sure the students are focused on the more practical areas of law versus the theoretical stuff, we could get them through faster.”
You can see our coverage on the state’s attorney shortage HERE.
