GR 9 COVER SHEET   

Suggested Amendments ADMISSION AND PRACTICE RULES (APR)

Rules 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 11, & 28

Submitted by the Washington State Bar Association

A.           Name of Proponent:

Washington State Bar Association Daniel D. Clark, President

1325 Fourth Avenue, Suite 600

Seattle, WA 98101-2539

B.   Spokesperson:

Robert W. Henry, Associate Director for Regulatory Services Washington State Bar Association

1325 Fourth Avenue, Suite 600

Seattle, WA 98101-2539

roberth@wsba.org

C.           Purpose:

The primary purpose of the suggested amendments to the Admission and Practice Rules (APR) is to correct errors, clarify a rule, or update a rule to align with modern processes. The APR underwent significant amendments in January 2014 based on recommendations from an APR Task Force, and subsequently were amended significantly again in 2017 when LPOs and LLLTs were made members of the WSBA. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic, technological implementations, the advent of certain legal education degrees, and simple oversights in previous amendments have led to this effort to “clean-up” the APR. The suggested amendments were presented at the September 2022 WSBA Board of Governors meeting, where the Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve the amendments and submit them to the

Washington Supreme Court.

Only a few of the suggested amendments have a substantive change and even most of those are primarily to clarify the intent of the rule, incorporate current procedure, or reinstate a provision previously provided for in a temporary order of the Washington Supreme Court. The primary purposes of the suggested amendments with the most significant modifications are described below.

APR 2(a)(1) and (2): Allowing Judicial Members on the Board of Bar Examiners

and Law Clerk Board.

APR 2 grants the Board of Governors the power to appoint a Board of Bar Examiners and a Law Clerk Board. Currently, members of both boards must be active members of the WSBA. The suggested amendments would allow judicial members of the WSBA to serve on these boards also. Allowing judicial members to serve would increase the pool of potential volunteers to assist with filling the need for volunteers on these boards. In addition, it would be beneficial to have a judicial perspective on the Law Clerk Board as judicial members may serve as tutors in the APR 6 law clerk program.

APR 3(b)(3): Clarifying a Law Degree Is Required for Common Law Lawyer

Qualification for Bar Exam.

APR 3(b) sets forth the various ways in which a person can qualify for the lawyer bar examination1 in Washington. APR 3(b)(3) allows lawyers from jurisdictions where the common law of England is the basis of its jurisprudence to qualify for the bar exam if

1 There are other avenues lawyers from foreign jurisdictions may pursue for admission to practice law or licensure for the limited practice of law such as a house counsel license. However, this suggested amendment specifically addresses the qualifications for the bar examination and only for lawyers from common law jurisdictions with practice experience.

they have active legal experience for at least three of the five years preceding the filing of the application. The suggested amendment expressly adds a legal education requirement for these lawyers, as is the case in all other means of qualifying for the bar exam in Washington. See APR 3(b)(1), (2) and (4). It is also important to note that the language in the suggested amendment specifies that it must be a law degree that would qualify the applicant to practice law in the other jurisdiction. This addresses the fact that many law degrees in foreign jurisdictions are not the JD and in some cases may not be a graduate degree.

The suggested amendment is intended to be a clarification rather than a substantive change. The rule, when adopted, presumed the person applying for the bar exam from a common law jurisdiction would also have a law degree qualifying them to be admitted to practice law. In fact, this provision was included in the APR for the first time in September 1992 after someone petitioned the Board of Governors for an exception based on their graduation from a law school in England and their admission and practice experience in both England and California. See Supplemental Materials No. 1. This suggested amendment merely clarifies the original intent of this rule which is a law degree is required to qualify for the bar exam under this provision of APR 3(b).

APR 9(b)(4) & (5): Permitting Law Clerks Who Recently Completed the Law

Clerk Program and Recent LLM Graduates Who Qualify for the Bar Exam to Be

Licensed Legal Interns.

Currently, law students who have completed 2/3 of their law school education, APR 6 law clerks who have completed 5/8 of their law clerk program, and recent law school graduates can be licensed legal interns under APR 9. In a temporary order

issued as a result of the pandemic, the Washington Supreme Court also allowed law clerks who recently completed the law clerk program and those LLM graduates who qualify for the bar exam under APR 3(b)(4) to be licensed legal interns. See Supplemental Materials No. 2. The temporary order has since expired. The suggested amendments would reinstate those provisions of the order that expired and allow the following to apply for a APR 9 licensed legal intern license:

·         Law clerks who completed the APR 6 law clerk program as long as the intern application is submitted within nine months of completing the program; and

·         LLM graduates who qualify for the bar exam under APR 3(b)(4) as long as the intern application is filed within nine months of graduation.

Including these individuals who qualify to apply for the bar exam applies the same standard as is applied to J.D. graduates of law school who are permitted to apply under Rule 9 within nine months of graduation. This will allow these candidates for admission opportunities to gain valuable practical experience while preparing for the bar exam and awaiting bar exam results.

APR 9(d)(8): Misconduct and Action Against Rule 9 License.

The suggested amendments to this provision of APR 9 relate to misconduct by a licensed legal intern. The suggested amendments clarify and broaden the conduct that could, but would not necessarily, result in the WSBA taking action against the Rule 9 license. Importantly, it removes the language about forfeiture of the privilege to take the bar exam, as that privilege can only be denied by the Court following a character and fitness hearing under APR 20-24.3.

Suggested Amendments to Correct, Clarify, or Modernize Rules

The purposes of the remaining and vast majority of the suggested amendments

are to:

·         correct errors and omissions in previous submissions of suggested amendments;

·         clarify certain aspects of rules that cause confusion for either members, applicants, or staff. For example, with the advent of new law degrees such as Executive Juris Doctor (EJD), there is now a need to clarify the law degree referred to in APR 9 is the Juris Doctor (JD); and

·         modernize administrative processes to align with technological advances and implementation of online procedures. For example, applications are submitted online and documents are “delivered” to applicants and others electronically instead of via U.S. mail.

All suggested amendments in this category are identified in the following table:

D.           Hearing: A hearing is not requested.

E.           Expedited Consideration: Expedited consideration is not requested.

F.            Supporting Material:

1.    GR 9 Coversheet re 1991 Amendment to APR 3(b) and Related Documents [NOTE: This document could not be reproduced by Rules Committee Staff and is available upon request.]

2.    Order Temporarily Modifying APR, Dated May 15, 2020

FILED SUPREME COURT

STATE OF WASHINGTON MAY 15, 2020

BY SUSAN L. CARLSON CLERK

THE SUPREME COURT OF WASHINGTON

WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates special measures to allow for the safe administration of the bar exam and may affect the ability of some applicants to take the Bar exam in July, and

WHEREAS, Washington’s Admission and Practice Rule (APR) 9 permits eligible law school and law clerk students and graduates to engage in limited and supervised legal practice within the delineated scope of their APR 9 licenses, and

WHEREAS, the Court recognizes the benefit to members of the public who need legal services of continuing to authorize educated and trained APR 9 Licensed Legal Interns to provide assistance to clients, within the scope of their APR 9 licenses and supervision, and

WHEREAS, the Court has reviewed Washington’s APRs to consider whether any of its provisions should be modified in light of the COVID-19 pandemic,

The Court hereby unanimously enters the following order establishing temporary modifications to some provisions of the current APRs:

1)              APR 4(d)(1) is temporarily modified for the bar exams to be administered in Washington in July and September 2020 only, to allow for a minimum passing score of 266;

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ORDER TEMPORARILY MODIFYING ADMISSION AND PRACTICE RULES No. 25700-B-623

2)              Notwithstanding any provision of APR 3, the court authorizes the WSBA to modify exam procedures to the extent necessary for the safe and effective administration of the bar exam in July and September 2020.

3)              The provisions of APR 9(h) regarding the term of the license are modified so that no APR 9 license will be subject to termination solely because the APR 9 Licensed Legal Intern has been licensed for more than 30 consecutive months or for more than 18 months after graduation from an approved law school or completion of the APR 6 Law Clerk program;

4)              The provisions of APR 9(f)(6) regarding the limits on the number of Licensed Legal Interns that one Active lawyer may supervise at one time are modified so that: an Active lawyer in private practice may supervise up to three APR Licensed Legal Interns at one time; and an Active lawyer employed by a recognized institution of legal aid, legal assistance, public defense or similar programs furnishing legal assistance to indigents, or by the legal department of a state, county or municipality may supervise up to six APR 9 Licensed Legal Interns at one time; and

5)              The provisions of APR 9(b)(3) are modified to clarify that the term “graduate of an approved law school” includes all applicants with the educational requirements to qualify to sit for the lawyer bar examination, as established in APR 3(b)(1), (2), and (4).

The temporary modifications stated above will remain in effect until December 31, 2021, or until further order of the Court.

In recognition of the economic realities facing recent law school graduates, the Court takes this opportunity to express its support for efforts to ensure that any Licensed Legal Intern

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ORDER TEMPORARILY MODIFYING ADMISSION AND PRACTICE RULES No. 25700-B-623

who is covered by the eligibility provisions of APR 9(b)(3) shall receive monetary compensation in compliance with federal and state law governing employment or monetary compensation provided through grants or other funding sources.

DATED at Olympia, Washington this 15th day of May, 2020.

For the Court