Highline College Legal Studies Dept.

04/16/2026

Highline Paralegal Graduates land jobs at Washington State Attorney General’s Office
Many graduates of Highline’s Paralegal Programs are now working as paralegals at the Washington Attorney General’s Office. One of them is Najmia Khatibi who obtained her first legal professional job upon completing her AAS Paralegal. After working in two other paralegal positions for nonprofit organizations, Najmia was hired by the A.G.’s Civil Rights Division. Najmia says:

“Here at the AGO, paralegals play a leading role in cases and provide comprehensive support to the attorneys they work with. This includes reading court rules, drafting shells, proofreading briefs, and performing cite-checking… One of the best aspects of my role is that I am not limited to working with just one court or becoming familiar with only one set of rules. We work statewide, and I have had experience with the Washington Court of Appeals, Division II; the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington; Thurston County Superior Court; and several other courts.

I truly love my job and enjoy working with the attorneys. They value my contributions, want me to be part of their teams, and support me unconditionally.”

In addition to frequent job openings for paralegals, The A.G. now has an internship program for paralegal students as well. The internships take place in Spring and Fall quarters. Interested students should contact their legal studies faculty advisor.

03/20/2026

Did you know that many graduates of Highline College’s AAS Paralegal and Paralegal Plus programs go on to law school? Here are three examples...

AAS:
Marissa Dewberry had always wanted to be a lawyer, but others thought her dream was unrealistic. As a single mom, even attending college seemed out of reach. When Marissa began her studies at Highline, she was the first in her family to attend college. She worked hard because, as she says, “I wanted to proceed as if I were going to finish.” Marissa did complete her AAS degree in paralegal studies and obtained a full-time job at King County Housing Justice Project. While working full time, she completed her bachelors’ degree, and began studying for the LSAT. Marissa took on each step, “as if” she could complete it.

Paralegal Plus:
Amy Larson wanted to be a legal professional to do public interest work for underserved communities. Amy started the Highline College Paralegal Plus program “to establish a base of legal knowledge” from which she could study for the LSAT and apply to law school. “Learning to do legal research and analysis in our program made preparing for law school less overwhelming.” While completing her studies at Highline, Amy applied for admission to the University of Kansas Law School and was admitted on a full scholarship. Amy is now completing her second year at law school and is already doing legal aid work. As Amy says, “It only gets easier!”

Many students in Highline’s Paralegal Program were lawyers in other countries and use the program as a step toward re-establishing their legal careers. O example is Marwa Al-Masri. Marwa started by taking ESL courses at Highline before entering the Paralegal Plus program. She gained her first U.S. legal professional experience as a student in the program’s required internship. Upon completing her Paralegal Plus certificate, Marwa was hired by the King County Bar Association as Domestic Violence Advocate. Last year Marwa was admitted to Seattle University Law School’s LLM program for international lawyers. She recently took the Washington bar exam and is looking forward to the results.

02/25/2026

Legal Studies has a new online look! Please see our new website at: https://www.highline.edu/academics-pathways/legal-studies/

Looking for the Job and Internship Page? Here you go!
https://www.highline.edu/academics-pathways/legal-studies/careers.html

Paralegals work closely with attorneys and play a vital role in law offices, courts, corporations, government agencies, and legal aid organizations. Paralegals interview clients and witnesses, gather and organize evidence, research the law, prepare legal documents, and support attorneys at trial.

05/30/2025

New student and alumni opportunities have recently been posted on our Legal Studies Job Openings Page! Come and check them out at https://legal.highline.edu/careers/job-openings/

02/18/2025

URGENT: Highline College Legal Studies seeks to retain a half-time project manager @ $45/hr to promote and manage our expanding law firm and alumni-relations. Interested persons should contact Bruce Lamb at [email protected] or call at (206) 427-9958.

02/03/2025

Stay safe out there Thunderbirds ❄️

Due to severe weather conditions, Highline College is closed for Monday February 3rd. All operations and classes, including online classes, are canceled.

02/03/2025

Due to weather conditions, Highline College will open at 11 AM on Monday, February 3 with all classes beginning at NOON. All operations prior to 11 AM are canceled. All classes, including online classes, scheduled before noon are canceled.

11/26/2024

Diversity Legal Scholarship! Come check it out at: https://legal.highline.edu/news/

11/18/2024

New job postings on:
https://legal.highline.edu/careers/job-openings/
Come and check it out!

11/01/2024

Washington State Bar News posted a wonderful article, highlighting two of Highline’s very own alumni.

Follow the link to read more:

https://wabarnews.org/2024/10/08/far-from-home/

09/18/2024

Fall quarter is starting on Monday, see you soon thunderbirds!