Updated: Sept. 6, 2024

APR 9 Licensed Legal Interns 

Admission and Practice Rule (APR) 9 grants a limited license to law students, APR 6 law clerks, and recent law school graduates to practice law under the supervision of a lawyer who has at least three years of active legal experience. APR 9 Licensed Legal Interns gain valuable supervised practice and courtroom experience through law school legal clinics, public and nonprofit programs, and private firms.

Interested in applying? Please read the following:

Qualifications

To be eligible to apply for a Washington Supreme Court Rule 9 Legal Intern License:

  • Possess good moral character and fitness to practice law, APR 20-24.3 AND
  • Be enrolled and in good academic standing in a J.D. program at an ABA-accredited law school with two-thirds of a three-year program completed or five-eighths of a four-year program completed OR
  • Be enrolled in the APR 6 Law Clerk Program and have completed five-eighths of program; OR
  • Be a J.D graduate of an ABA-accredited law school who has not been admitted to the practice of law in any state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia; OR
  • Have completed the APR 6 Law Clerk Program and not been admitted to the practice of law in any state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia; OR
  • Be a LL.M. graduate of an ABA-accredited law school with an LL.M. that meets the requirements of APR 3(b)(4) and who qualifies under APR 3(b)(4) to take the Washington lawyer bar examination, and who has not been admitted to the practice of law in any state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia. 

You may apply up to nine months after graduating with a J.D or an LL.M. from an ABA-approved law school or completion of the APR 6 law clerk program.

How to Apply

To apply for a Rule 9 Legal Intern License, please review the information below.

  • Read the application instructions and all questions carefully. You most likely will need to attach additional explanations and addendums. Failure to provide a complete application will result in delays.
  • Complete the APR 9 Legal Intern Application online and include the $50 application fee.
  • The only applicants exempt from the $50 fee are students enrolled in full-time clinics through their law school that provide free legal services for low-income clients. Externships and other legal aid organizations do not qualify. Applicants who are exempt from the fee will have to pay later if they change their supervision to a non-clinical setting.
  • We no longer require original signatures and will accept copies or electronic signatures.
  • If you are already licensed, you do not need to re-apply on the new online admissions site. Please use the Change of Supervisor form.

Receiving Your License

The review process for APR 9 Licensed Legal Intern applications proceeds as follows. 

  1. WSBA receives application and payment. Payment is processed.
  2. WSBA staff reviews application. WSBA contacts applicant regarding any missing items or discrepancies via the online admissions portal.
  3. If appropriate under factors outlined in APR 20-24.3 regarding good moral character and fitness to practice law, the application is referred to Regulatory Counsel for review. More applicant information may be requested.
  4. After an application is submitted and approved, the application is forwarded to the Washington Supreme Court with recommendation for order admitting the applicant to limited practice in Washington.
  5. The Washington Supreme Court returns an order granting admission for the applicant to practice as authorized by APR 9. WSBA staff issues an electronic ID card to the applicant's online application site and forwards to the supervising lawyer by email.  Applicants may not act as a Rule 9 Licensed Legal Intern until they receive an ID card and supervision officially begins.

From start to finish, this can take up to four weeks, unless a character and fitness issue requires additional investigation or a hearing. 

NOTE: Failure to provide complete answers with requisite supplementary documentation will result in delays beyond this timeline.

Change of Supervision

  • Use the Change of Supervision form to add or change a supervising lawyer, or to extend the supervision date of a current supervising lawyer.
  • If the Licensed Legal Intern is leaving a clinical program and the new supervisor is not part of a clinical program and the intern has not previously paid the application fee, the fee is $50.
  • There is no fee to make changes to supervision if an application fee of $50 has already been paid.
  • Submit the change of supervision form to your Rule 9 user home page under "change of supervision".

 

Please direct questions about Rule 9 Licensed Legal Interns to rule9@wsba.org or 206-727-8209.

Please Note :

All applicants are subject to a character and fitness review prior to being admitted to practice law in Washington. Factors considered by Admissions staff and Regulatory Counsel when determining whether an applicant should be referred to the Character and Fitness Board are set forth in Admission and Practice Rule APR 20–24.3.

Any discrepancy or conflict between the information provided here and the rules and regulations set by the Washington Supreme Court, or the Bylaws and policies of the Washington State Bar Association, is unintentional and will be resolved in favor of strict compliance with the rules, regulations, Bylaws and policies.