Washington State Admission by Motion Requirement Forum

Discussions related to the bar exam are found in this forum
Forum rules
Anonymous Posting

Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are sharing sensitive information about bar exam prep. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.

Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned."
Anonymous User
Posts: 428118
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Washington State Admission by Motion Requirement

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jun 28, 2021 1:40 pm

Does anyone know if Washington State's three-year minimum of active legal experience includes clerking? If I was admitted to the bar in X state in January 2020 while clerking, and clerked again in 2020-2021, will I hit my three-year minimum in January 2023?

Anonymous User
Posts: 428118
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Washington State Admission by Motion Requirement

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jul 17, 2021 1:42 am

I applied for a job in Washington State and had this same question. Never got an answer to it, but hopefully you'll have more luck.

User avatar
LawJunky

New
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2014 3:35 am

Re: Washington State Admission by Motion Requirement

Post by LawJunky » Sat Jul 17, 2021 1:45 am

I was admitted on motion in WA in 2018. No clerking required.

Ask away.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428118
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Washington State Admission by Motion Requirement

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jul 17, 2021 2:16 am

My question is merely were clerking counts as "active legal experience" for the purpose of the three year minimum, as long as I am admitted to the bar of another state while clerking.

User avatar
LawJunky

New
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2014 3:35 am

Re: Washington State Admission by Motion Requirement

Post by LawJunky » Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:47 pm

Isn't clerking working for a judge in a superior court or something? I would imagine that would be fine. They didn't really inquire deeply into my legal experience when I waived in. They did require that you provide recommendations from other attorneys. What state are you licensed in?

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


SamuelDanforth

Bronze
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:05 pm

Re: Washington State Admission by Motion Requirement

Post by SamuelDanforth » Mon Jul 26, 2021 12:02 pm

California

anon3030

New
Posts: 60
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2016 4:58 pm

Re: Washington State Admission by Motion Requirement

Post by anon3030 » Sat Sep 04, 2021 1:49 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Jun 28, 2021 1:40 pm
Does anyone know if Washington State's three-year minimum of active legal experience includes clerking? If I was admitted to the bar in X state in January 2020 while clerking, and clerked again in 2020-2021, will I hit my three-year minimum in January 2023?
Did you ever get an answer to this? I'm going to apply by motion soon and some of my 3 experience is clerking for a federal judge post-licensure. I assume it will count but the WA regulations are not clear.

anon3030

New
Posts: 60
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2016 4:58 pm

Re: Washington State Admission by Motion Requirement

Post by anon3030 » Tue Sep 07, 2021 10:05 am

I'm pretty sure this answers our question. This is from the FAQ on the WA bar website:

"Active legal experience means experience in the active practice of law as a lawyer, a teacher at an approved law school, or a judge of a court of general or appellate jurisdiction in the U.S or a common law jurisdiction. Other positions such as policy analyst, judicial clerkships, and document reviewer may qualify if the position requires a license to practice law to perform the job functions. You must also have an active license to practice law. For example, if you started your clerkship in August, but were not licensed until December you may count only that experience starting in December. The preceding months do not count."

So for me, I was licensed before I started my clerkship, so I think I am all good on the three years requirement.

SamuelDanforth

Bronze
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:05 pm

Re: Washington State Admission by Motion Requirement

Post by SamuelDanforth » Tue Sep 07, 2021 11:37 am

Interesting. I find the explanation a little confusing though. To the best of my knowledge, no judicial clerkship "requires a license to practice law to perform the job functions." However, the paragraph then goes on to say that the time spent clerking while licensed would count. Which I guess is all that matters.

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


Post Reply Post Anonymous Reply  

Return to “Bar Exam Prep and Discussion Forum”