I was reading an article in the ABA Journal last week entitled “A Day at the Virtual Office” (online excerpt of article). One of the issues the author, G.M. Filisko, raised was that clients may wonder whether their attorney is licensed to practice because they don’t have a framed diploma from law school hanging behind the attorney’s desk (or at least you can’t see it online).
This issue is not solely an issue virtual law offices face. Anyone can put up a shingle and create the appearance of a law practice. That is why its important to make sure that your attorney is a legitimate member of your state bar association if you have any doubts whatsoever.
These days its easy to check in Washington. Just go to the Lawyer Directory of the WA State Bar Association and type in your attorneys full name. The search will include their address, email, phone, bar number, and their status. If an attorney’s status is active it means they are practicing law. If they are inactive it means they are not practicing. A lawyer might choose to go on inactive status for a number of reasons like their current job does not involve the practice of law. Bar fees are cheaper for someone on inactive status so most people don’t want to pay extra for something they don’t use.
It is more difficult to know whether or not your attorney graduated from the law school they claim to have attended. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects students’ educational records from being publicly known. A student may choose to allow their information to be open to the public but they must request that it be open. As I was writing this blog entry I contacted my own alma mater CUNY School of Law to ask about my status and discovered that my status was closed. I am now in the process of opening up at least that much information to public inquiry. I think most graduating law students don’t realize when they sign those releases that this information is closed to the public and prospective employers.
Its important to know that just because your attorney passed the WA state Bar, doesn’t mean that they went to law school. Under the WA State Court Rule 3 a person may complete a law clerk program in place of attending law school. WA State Court Rule 6 outlines the requirements of the program a person must meet before they are qualified to sit for the bar exam. Some people believe that this is not as good as going to law school. Others believe that this path ensures more hands-on learning. For myself, I think there are many ways to skin a cat and that there shouldn’t be only one way to become a lawyer.
In any case, if you have any questions about whether or not your attorney is licensed to practice first try to find them in the WSBA’s Lawyer Directory. If you can’t find them there then you should contact the Washington State Bar Association and let them know about the inconsistency.
For the record, my full name is Kathryn C. Sheehan and my partner’s full name is Charlene Quincey.
