RULE 5
RECOMMENDATION FOR ADMISSION; ORDER ADMITTING
TO PRACTICE; PAYMENT OF MEMBERSHIP FEE;
OATH OF ATTORNEY; RESIDENT AGENT
(a) Recommendation for Admission. The Board of Governors shall
recommend to the Supreme Court the admission or rejection of each
applicant who has passed the bar examination and who has complied
with the preadmission education requirement set forth in this rule. A
recommendation for admission shall be based upon the Board of
Governors determination, after investigation, that the applicant
appears to be of good moral character and in all respects qualified
to engage in the practice of law. All recommendations of the Board of
Governors shall be accompanied by the applicant?s application for
examination and any other documents deemed pertinent by the Board of
Governors or requested by the Supreme Court. The recommendation and
all accompanying documents and papers shall be kept by the Clerk of
the Supreme Court in a separate file which shall not be a public record.
(b) Preadmission Education Requirement. Before an applicant who
has passed the bar examination, or who qualifies for admission
without passing the bar examination, may be admitted, the applicant
must complete a minimum of 4 hours education in a curriculum and
under circumstances approved by the Board of Governors. These
courses will be offered at no cost to the applicant.
(c) Order Admitting to Practice. After examining the
recommendation and accompanying papers transmitted by the Board of
Governors, the Supreme Court may enter such order in each case as it
deems advisable. For those applicants it deems qualified, the Supreme
Court shall enter an order admitting them to the practice of law,
conditioned upon such applicants:
(1) Taking and filing with the Clerk of the Supreme Court the Oath
of Attorney within 1 year from the date the bar examination results
are made public, except for good cause shown; and
(2) Paying to the Bar Association its membership fee for the
current year; and
(3) Designating a resident agent if required to do so by section (e).
(d) Oath of Attorney. The Oath of Attorney must be taken before a
judge elected or appointed to an elected position, sitting in open
court, in the state of Washington. In the event a successful
applicant is outside the state of Washington and the Chief Justice is
satisfied that it is impossible or impractical for the applicant to
take the oath before a judge elected or appointed to an elected
position in this state, the Chief Justice may, upon proper
application setting forth all the circumstances, designate a person
authorized by law to administer oaths, before whom the applicant may
appear and take said oath.
(e) Contents of Oath. The oath which all applicants shall take is as follows:
OATH OF ATTORNEY
State of Washington, County of _______________ ss.
I, _______________, do solemnly declare:
1. I am fully subject to the laws of the State of Washington and
the laws of the United States and will abide by the same.
2. I will support the constitution of the State of Washington and
the constitution of the United States.
3. I will abide by the Rules of Professional Conduct approved by
the Supreme Court of the State of Washington.
4. I will maintain the respect due to the courts of justice and
judicial officers.
5. I will not counsel, or maintain any suit, or proceeding, which
shall appear to me to be unjust, or any defense except as I believe
to be honestly debatable under the law, unless it is in defense of a
person charged with a public offense. I will employ for the purpose
of maintaining the causes confided to me only those means consistent
with truth and honor. I will never seek to mislead the judge or jury
by any artifice or false statement.
6. I will maintain the confidence and preserve inviolate the
secrets of my client, and will accept no compensation in connection
with the business of my client unless this compensation is from or
with the knowledge and approval of the client or with the approval of
the court.
7. I will abstain from all offensive personalities, and advance no
fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness
unless required by the justice of the cause with which I am charged.
8. I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself,
the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay unjustly the
cause of any person.
______________________________________
(signature)
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me this _____ day of __________, 20__.
______________________________________
Judge
(f) Nonresident Lawyers; Resident Agent. There shall be no
requirement that an applicant or a member of the Bar Association be a
resident or a bona fide resident in the state of Washington. Every
active member of the Bar Association who does not live or maintain an
office in the state of Washington shall file with the Bar Association
the name and address of an agent within this state for the purpose of
receiving service of process or of any other document required or
permitted by statute or court rule to be served or delivered to a
resident lawyer. Service or delivery to such agent shall be deemed
service upon or delivery to the lawyer.
[Amended effective July 9, 1965; March 10, 1971; April 26, 1974; May 14, 1982;
September 1, 1984; October 11, 1985; June 25, 2002; amended effective June 1, 2006.]
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