From abajournal.com

 

Seven people pass test to become nation's first legal technicians

Posted Jun 02, 2015 05:45 am CDT

By Debra Cassens Weiss

 

Michelle Cummings is one of seven people who passed Washington state's limited license legal technician exam. ABA Journal file photo by Tim Matsui.

 

Seven people have cleared a major hurdle to become the nation’s first limited license legal technicians.

Nine people took Washington state’s first exam for limited license legal technicians, and seven of them passed, according to LawSites by Robert Ambrogi, who wrote about Washington state’s new program for the ABA Journal.

Washington is the first state with a program to allow limited license legal technicians to help litigants prepare legal documents and provide advice on legal procedures without a lawyer’s supervision. The seven applicants passed a test to work in domestic relations, the first practice area open to technicians in Washington’s program.

The seven people will still have to show they have insurance and 3,000 hours of supervised experience. A licensing fee and trust account reporting are also required.

Among those who passed is Michelle Cummings, who was featured in Ambrogi’s ABA Journal article. She told Ambrogi she planned to work to work at a two-lawyer law firm in Auburn, Washington.