Olympia, Washington – Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) has said that his legal professional staff no longer needs a 4-year degree, but his office won’t say if it actually hires anyone without a bachelor’s degree.
In a post on April 25, Ferguson’s campaign for governor of Washington talked about getting rid of the rule that legal professional staff have a college degree.
Ferguson said, “When I was Attorney General, I got rid of this requirement for my legal professional staff, and I will do the same thing when I become Governor to give more people in Washington opportunities and make sure we get the best people.”
As part of his economic growth plan, Ferguson kept talking about the policy change all through late April. If he is chosen governor, Ferguson will get rid of the requirement for a 4-year degree for most state jobs.
A request for public records sent to the Attorney General’s office shows that they don’t know of anyone working there who doesn’t have a four-year degree.
A spokesperson for the AG’s office said, “We don’t keep track of degrees held, so we don’t know how many legal professionals on staff don’t have 4-year degrees.”
According to the AG’s office, they don’t know if anyone without a 4-year degree has been able to get a job since the rules were changed, but applicants can show that they have appropriate experience instead of a degree.
“All Assistant Attorneys General working for the AGO must have Juris Doctor degrees right now…””Some of the other lawyers working for the AGO may or may not have four-year degrees,” the official said.
Ferguson wants to get rid of the requirement that you have a 4-year degree for most state jobs, but it’s not clear if anyone without a college degree has been able to get a job since his office got rid of it.
