Johnathan Fugate is working hard to get his law degree. This summer, Fugate got some experience that will help him earn and apply his degree by taking part in a summer employment initiative called WorkNow Kentucky, provided locally by Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP).

Through WorkNow Kentucky, Fugate was placed in a summer job in attorney Brian Couch’s law office in downtown Hyden. Overall, WorkNow Kentucky put over 4,750 eastern Kentuckians to work in positions with over 1,250 employers in 23 eastern Kentucky mountain counties.

In four months, WorkNow paid over $9.5 million in wages locally to help stimulate the eastern Kentucky economy.

Couch was overjoyed to be able to use Fugate as a law clerk, but says that was not primary goal in participating in WorkNow as an employer.

“I benefit from this program, but most importantly Johnathan is learning practical lawyering skills,” Couch said.

“Having him here takes stress away from me and reduces the time that I have to put into some cases, especially where a law clerk can provide research time, setting up pleadings, making my job less stressful, and maximizing efficiency and getting cases moving steadily,” Couch said.

“My hope for Johnathan is to be a practical lawyer: learn how to apply the law to a set of facts and use it,” Couch said.

He added that learning the business component is just as important to an attorney in private practice as the law.

“Knowing how to keep payroll, do taxes, and even how to bill clients is all important,” he said.

Fugate, who starts his second year of law school this fall, said he was ecstatic to gain the experience.

“Brian is helping me get real world experience and see what it is like to be a practicing attorney which is something they don’t teach in school,” Fugate said.

Couch hopes to expand his firm someday and “hang a shingle” in another eastern Kentucky town. He said its possible this summer’s relationship between student and mentor might grow to become a relationship between associates and help him do just that.

Fugate says most of his classmates had a hard time finding employment this summer, particularly with a law firm.

“All my classmates are taking unpaid positions to get experience.  As far as I know I am the only one getting paid,” he said.

Fugate is hoping the real world experience and networking opportunities he got through WorkNow will make understanding the law easier and help him complete law school and become a lawyer—something he has always wanted to do. 

He also knows that working in corporate law would not be the best fit for his personality. He plans to return home to practice when he graduates.

“It is one thing to say you are going to solve problems, but another to actually see a specific person overcome a situation and know that you directly influenced it,” Fugate said.

Funds for the WorkNow Kentucky program were provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund, and a cooperative effort of Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Cabinet for Education and Workforce Development.

For more information on EKCEP and its programs, visit  www.jobsight.org, www.ekcep.org, or become a fan on Facebook, www.facebook.com/ekcep.