Washington program for lawyers without law school

Margie Alumbaugh soon hopes to sit for the state bar exam even though the working mother of two never went to law school.

The 36-year-old Ellensburg native has been studying to be an attorney while working full time as a legal secretary and later as a deputy prosecutor for the Kittitas County prosecutor's office.

She is one of about 45 current people around the state who hope to become attorneys by working in the legal profession at the same time they are tutored in the law by a senior attorney.

The program, overseen by the Washington State Bar Association, has been active for more than 70 years.

Washington is one of fewer than 10 states that provide a route for students to become lawyers without going through law school.

Alumbaugh, a single mom, and her two children, ages 10 and 13, have had to adjust to the time crunch caused by the four-year program. They spend homework time together in the evening, and Alumbaugh has to attend regular classes with Kittitas County Prosecuting Attorney Greg Zempel, her primary tutor, as well as other attorneys in the office.

"It's a real time issue. Obviously, it feels like there's not enough hours in the day for all of it," she said. Alumbaugh, who earned a bachelor's degree in law and justice from Central Washington University, started with the prosecutor's office in 2002 and was promoted in February to become a deputy prosecutor under a legal rule that allows law students waiting for the bar exam to practice under supervision.

She previously worked as a secretary, attended Yakima Valley Community College and ran a day-care center from her home. She had considered law school, but it wasn't realistic since she wanted to stay in Ellensburg, where family members have helped with her children. So she pursued the alternate route - formally known as the law clerk program - and got Zempel to be her sponsor.

"It's been a really great experience, and I'm glad I did it. It's definitely an option for people who are looking to become an attorney," Alumbaugh said.

She expects to stay with the Kittitas County Prosecutor's office for the near future and then see where her new legal career takes her.

Participants and officials involved with the law clerk program say the option works - for the right people.

Before Yakima attorney Jim Tree decided to tutor his son-in-law, he encouraged him to go to law school.

For Tree, a graduate of the Brigham Young University Law School, that seemed a more fun option than working full-time, going to school and balancing family life.

Family ties played in Tim Anderson's favor. Tree knew that he was a smart go-getter who would be able to balance competing demands.

"I wouldn't do it if a stranger came along. It's too much responsibility and time and effort," Tree said.

Tree estimated that being a tutor - preparing classes and writing tests - adds five or six hours of work to his week.

For Anderson, that number is more like 15.

He works as a paralegal at Tree Law Office, goes home to dinner and the kids, studies for at least two hours, makes sure his wife still recognizes him and then heads for bed. On Saturdays, he studies for another few hours.

Still, he says he's happy with the heavy load.

He graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho and went to work for Wal-Mart's Sam's Club as a buyer at the company's Arkansas headquarters.

But he was looking for a way to become a lawyer.

"After going back into the real world, I really wasn't interested in going back to law school (and) a 700-square-foot apartment," said Anderson, who has two young children and another on the way.

He learned about the law clerk program while roaming through the state bar's Web site.

About 230 people have graduated from the program since the 1930s, about 150 of them since 1984. The Washington State Bar Association formally established standards in 1934.

The law clerk program formalized the long-standing practice of serving as an apprentice under an attorney in order to become a practicing lawyer.

In order to qualify for the program, candidates must have a bachelor's degree and a full-time job with their sponsoring attorney. Monthly tests are given by the tutor.

Unlike full-time law school, which takes three years, the law clerk program takes four years.

Accepted students pay $1,500 every year to the state bar. The expense is far less than that of part-time or full-time law school - anywhere from $20,000 to $42,000 a year.

The state bar says the goal is to have students study and learn the same things law students receive in the classroom - such as constitutional law, torts and criminal procedure.

The sponsoring attorney develops the curriculum and must have it reviewed by the bar, which also reviews student progress.

The chair of the state bar's law clerk board is Andy Brassington of Yakima, who went through the program and worked as an attorney before starting a winery supply company.

Talia Clever, a program coordinator for the state bar, said the bar's Board of Governors has remained supportive of the program, partly because of its long tradition and partly because it provides a way for more people to become attorneys.

Clever said law clerk candidates are intended to be equal to law school graduates in terms of education. Those in the law clerk program will likely have more practical experience when they sit for the bar exam.

The down side, however, is that students who complete the program and pass the bar are more limited in their career options. They are likely to work only in Washington because most other states - and many jobs in the legal profession - require attendance at an accredited law school.

But Zempel, the Kittitas County prosecutor, said he's supportive of the program. Attorneys probably wouldn't know whether their colleague in the courtroom attended law school or took another path to practice law. "Once you're an attorney, you're an attorney. You see a bar number there and you don't think about it," Zempel said.

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Information from: Yakima Herald-Republic, http://www.yakimaherald.com