Bree Black Horse ’13, an Assistant U.S. Attorney based in Yakima, has been named the inaugural director of Seattle University School of Law’s new Central Washington Hybrid Hub. Developed in partnership with Heritage University in Toppenish, Washington, and officially launched earlier this month, the Hybrid Hub will provide a new path for aspiring lawyers in the region to earn a law degree without leaving their home communities.
As director, Black Horse will serve as a role model and legal education champion for regional high school and college students who are interested in pursuing legal careers. The role also encompasses teaching, where as an adjunct professor she will teach courses in subjects pertinent to the Central Washington region. Additionally, Black Horse will develop in-person programming and events to facilitate connections between Hybrid Hub students and area leaders in law, including Seattle U Law alumni.
“Bree is an extraordinary alumna who is doing pathbreaking work,” said Dean Anthony E. Varona. “She is an outstanding role model and educator who is deeply committed to achieving the goals that spurred the development of the Hybrid Hub concept: to diversify the legal profession by providing greater access to legal education, especially for members of historically marginalized communities.”
Central Washington is considered a “legal desert,” where there is a dearth of practicing attorneys to offer critical legal services to communities. Because the area lacks a law school, area residents who desired to practice law were required to uproot their lives and move to earn a law degree.
“Many aspiring law students in Central Washington have historically faced significant socioeconomic and cultural barriers when considering whether to pursue a legal education,” Black Horse said. “The Hybrid Hub is a testament to what can be achieved when community members and academic institutions come together to meaningfully address geographic gaps in educational accessibility in our region.”
Black Horse will also focus on connecting local students with mentors in the legal community while also expanding internship, externship, and clinical training opportunities available, all of which are critical to students’ professional development.
In 2023, Black Horse served as program director of the LSAC Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars Program, designed as a “pipeline” to law school for students in Central Washington. It helped to make a law degree more accessible to students, especially Latino/Latina/Latinx and Indigenous students, by helping them understand what it takes to apply to and become accepted to law school.
“The Hybrid Hub is a natural extension of this program,” she said. “The success of the LSAC Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars Program demonstrates there exists a profound interest in a
legal education from students in Central Washington and that the legal community in Central Washington is here to support their endeavors.”
In May, Black Horse was sworn in as the first Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northwest Region. Her position is a central component of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) MMIP Regional Outreach Program, which aids in the prevention and response of missing or murdered indigenous persons through the resolution of MMIP cases where federal jurisdiction exists, and through communication, collaboration and coordination with Federal, state, and Tribal governmental and non-governmental partners.
In March, Seattle U Law recognized Black Horse as its 2024 Woman of the Year during a ceremony, where Varona called her a “world-changer and trailblazer.”
Seattle U Law also launched a South Sound Hybrid Hub earlier this year with the University of Washington Tacoma, and will soon inaugurate an Alaska Hybrid Hub in Anchorage with the University of Alaska Anchorage.