A new academic partnership between Emporia State University and Washburn University School of Law will benefit ESU students who want to become attorneys and help address the problem of legal representation across much of the state. The partnership allows students to complete a bachelor’s degree as well as a law degree in six years.
The 3+3 program of Law Early Admission Program, where students spend three years at each school, is the fifth such agreement between Washburn Law and other Kansas institutions. Like the other partnerships, this collaboration between the two institutions underscores their shared commitment to excellence, innovation and service to their communities.
“Students from any major can be part of this program and their first major can be their specialty when they go to law school,” explained Mary Shivley, associate dean of the ESU Honors College and coordinator for the new pre-law program.
To complete both degrees in six years, students in the program use their first three years at Emporia State to complete all of the required academic classes for their chosen major. They will have 91 hours completed when they transfer to Washburn University School of Law.
During their first year of law school, they will take 29 hours of legal classes, which will transfer back to Emporia State as the remaining hours needed for a 120-hour bachelor’s degree.
After that, they continue with two more years of law school, which includes work in Washburn Law's Centers for Excellence, intense clinic programs, meaningful externships and extracurricular activities that bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Jeffrey Jackson, dean of the Washburn University School of Law, looks forward to more ESU students in the law school.
“Through the years, Washburn Law School has seen many students from Emporia State,” he said. “Due to the quality of education they received at emporia state, they come to us pretty well primed for success with a work ethic that allows them to make it through the program, pass the bar and get a job.”
Filling the shortage of attorneys in the state of Kansas is key, according to Justice Marla Luckert, representing the Kansas Supreme Court.
“Kansas faces a critical shortage of attorneys that results in an access to justice barrier for Kansans who need legal advice,” she said. “The new partnership between Emporia State University and Washburn University School of Law provides the opportunity for Emporia State students to get a degree faster and with less expense and will hopefully encourage more of them to become attorneys. The students will benefit, Kansas will benefit and Kansans will benefit.”
Leaders of the program at Emporia State plan to provide opportunities for students to learn from practicing attorneys before they even get to law school. This type of mentorship is already happening. Angel Zimmerman, managing partner of Zimmerman & Zimmerman PA in Topeka, is an ESU and Washburn Law alum. During the current academic year, she has mentored Lily Reynolds, an ESU student who graduates in two weeks and will enter Washburn Law in the fall.
“Tying a student in with mentors is so important,” Zimmerman said. “Also Washburn is in Topeka where the Kansas Bar Association is, the Kansas Supreme Court is, and, for female attorneys, the Kansas Women Attorneys Association.”
From an academic standpoint, Brent Thomas, ESU provost and vice president for academic affairs, considers these types of partnerships as beneficial for both institutions, despite a reputation as longtime rivals.
“We can still have the Turnpike Tussle in athletics and the canned food drive competitions among students,” he said. “This program, however, is a new ‘Turnpike Alliance’ that benefits both Washburn and Emporia State.”
For more information about the Law Early Admission Program, reach out to Mary Shivley at mshivley@emporia.edu or 620.341.5894 or go online to https://www.emporia.edu/academics-majors/pre-professional-programs/pre-law/.