She has been the chief advocate for Vermont Legal Aid, the chair of the state Assembly's judiciary committee and, for the last six years, a Superior Court judge known for her pioneering efforts in family law. It's a resumé that any law school graduate would be proud of. Just one thing is missing: Amy Davenport never went to law school.
Davenport earned her right to practice in an ancient and now almost obsolete manner. In the late 1970s, she "read" the law in Vermont--meaning she completed a four-year, 25-hour-a-week apprenticeship with a member of the state bar association. She took the bar exam in 1983, passed on her first attempt and started practicing. In a tradition that harkens back to colonial times, Vermont is one of eight states that allows attorneys to be licensed without graduating from law school.
Davenport, 49, majored in political science at Stanford and says she always wanted to attend law school but an early marriage and a child postponed her plans. When she divorced and found herself a single mother, she began training as a paralegal. She still wanted to be a lawyer but, since she had to work, she could not afford to go to school full time. Davenport, who is now married to fellow attorney, John Durrance, and has two children: Will, 22, and Charis, 10, says that, at the time, the apprenticeship program seemed to offer her the best of both worlds.
Davenport impressed many in the state with her commitment to helping families in trouble, supporting the rights of battered wives and of children caught up in custody battles. "Amy was a primary mover in the creation of a family court system in Vermont," says John Wesley, a longtime friend and a colleague on the bench. In 1990, Davenport witnessed that creation when then-Gov. Madeleine Kunin established a family court to join Vermont's two other types of court, civil and criminal. Kunin also appointed Davenport as one of the 30 superior court judges who rotate among these courts.
Davenport says that some people are critical because she didn't spend three years in school. "Others say, what a great way to learn the law," she says, "because it's so practical."
Richard Cassidy, chair of the Vermont Board of Examiners, has heard the debate. "From time to time, there will be a discussion of quality control," he says. "But strong lawyers like Amy Davenport are a real headache because it makes it hard for us to eliminate the program."
-- Felicia Paik, '88.
