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State Public Defender warns of staffing gaps, urges local lawyers to help
Summary
State Public Defender Patty Bennett told the Wyoming State Bar board that vacancies and turnover—especially in Gillette, Sheridan and Rock Springs—are straining the office and that payment competition and fewer clinic feeders are limiting recruitment; she urged private attorneys and law-school clinics to partner with the office.
State Public Defender Patty Bennett told the Wyoming State Bar Board of Officers & Commissioners on April 24 that her office is facing persistent vacancies and turnover that are undermining capacity to handle appointed work in several counties.
Bennett said two attorneys left the Gillette office recently and four positions there remain open. Contractors have been used to fill work but cannot sustainably handle misdemeanor appointments in Campbell County. She said the office also has an existing vacancy in Sheridan and expects one in Rock Springs shortly.
“Contract attorneys are very expensive and not a long‑term solution,” Bennett said. She told the board she would like to hire two full‑time attorneys in Gillette but has struggled to match salaries offered out of state; she said recent hires left for positions in Montana and Alaska that paid more.
Bennett described a gap between law‑school training—“more academic than clinic focused,” she said—and the hands‑on trial skills public defenders need, and proposed strengthening clinical partnerships so new lawyers are trial‑ready after structured training.
President‑Elect Alison O. Gee said she had raised the staffing issue with the Governor’s office and understood pay increases were being discussed; Bennett said salary offers being considered were expected to be in the neighborhood of $70,000 but she did not have final figures.
Bennett asked board members to encourage lawyers in their communities to take appointed cases and to host recruitment conversations; she also said judges have been supportive of outreach. Several board members suggested the University of Wyoming’s clinics might triage lower‑level matters and serve as feeder programs.
The board did not take formal action but noted the staffing update and discussion were intended to prompt local outreach, continued coordination with the Governor’s office, and consideration of training programs to build a pipeline of trial‑ready public defenders.
