WSR 98-11-023

RULES OF COURT

STATE SUPREME COURT

[May 7, 1998]

The Washington State Bar Association having recommended the adoption of the proposed amendments to APR 6, 2 and 9, and the Court having determined that proposed amendments will aid in the prompt and orderly administration of justice and further determined that an emergency exists which necessitates an early adoption;

Now, therefore, it is hereby

ORDERED:

(a) That the proposed amendments as attached hereto are adopted.

(b) That pursuant to the emergency provisions of GR 9(i), the amendments will be published expeditiously and become effective upon publication.

DATED at Olympia, Washington this 7th day of May, 1998.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT

ADMISSION TO PRACTICE RULES (APR)

Rule 6 Law Clerk Program

(a) [No change.]

(b) Tutors. A lawyer may act as tutor for only one law clerk at a time. To be eligible to act as a tutor in the law clerk program, a lawyer shall:

(1) Be an active member in good standing of the Bar Association, provided that if a disciplinary sanction has been imposed upon the lawyer within the 5 years immediately preceding approval of the law clerk's application for enrollment, the Board of Governors shall have the discretion to accept or reject the lawyer as tutor;

(2) Have been actively and continuously engaged in the practice of law or have held the required judicial position for at least 10 years immediately preceding the filing of the law clerk's application for enrollment; and

(3) Provide a tutor's statement certifying to the law clerk's employment and to the tutor's eligibility, and agreeing to instruct and examine the law clerk in the curriculum prescribed by the Law Clerk Committee with the approval of the Board of Governors.

(c) Length of Study. A law clerk, whose application for enrollment has been accepted by the Board of Governors, shall study for 4 calendar years. Each calendar year shall consist of at least 48 weeks 12 months, with a minimum of 30 120 hours of study each week month, including the time spent in performing the duties of a law clerk. The tutor shall give personal supervision to the law clerk averaging at least 3 hours each week. "Personal supervision" is defined as time actually spent with the law clerk for the exposition and discussion of the law, the recitation of cases, and the critical analysis of the law clerk's written assignments.

(d) Course of Study. The subjects to be studied, the sequence in which they are to be studied, and any other matters pertaining thereto shall be as prescribed by the Law Clerk Committee with the approval of the Board of Governors.

(e) Examinations. All law clerks shall:

(1) Each month, complete a written examination prepared, administered, and graded by the tutor. The examination shall be answered without research, assistance, or reference to source materials during the examination;

(2) Annually, or at such other intervals as may be established by the Law Clerk Committee, appear with the tutor before the Law Clerk Committee for an oral evaluation of the law clerk's progress.

(f) Certificates. In addition to the tutor's statement required by section (b)(3) of this rule, the tutor shall submit, on forms provided by the Bar Association:

(1) A monthly certificate, accompanying the written examination, stating the number of hours the law clerk studied each week, the number of hours spent by the tutor in personal supervision each week, that the written examination was administered as required, and that, in the opinion of the tutor, the law clerk is progressing satisfactorily; and

(2) At the conclusion of the law clerk's course of study, a certificate stating that the law clerk has completed the prescribed length and course of study, and, in the tutor's opinion, is qualified to take the bar examination and is competent to practice law.

(g) Termination. The Board of Governors may direct a law clerk to change tutors, and may terminate the enrollment of law clerks or remove tutors from the program. The Law Clerk Committee may recommend to the Board of Governors that the enrollment of the law clerk in the program be terminated for:

(1) Failure to complete the prescribed length and course of study within 6 years from the date the law clerk's application for admission was accepted;

(2) Failure of the tutor to submit the monthly examinations and certificates at the end of each month in which they are due;

(3) Failure to comply with any of the requirements of the law clerk program; and

(4) Any other grounds deemed pertinent by the Law Clerk Committee.

(h) Advanced Standing. The Board of Governors may grant advanced standing to an enrolled law clerk who has attended either an approved or a non-approved law school.

(i) Effective Date. The revision of this rule shall not apply retroactively to any law clerk whose enrollment has been approved and accepted by the Board of Governors prior to the effective date of this revision. Each law clerk may complete the course of study under the version of the rule in effect on the date the application for enrollment to the law clerk program was accepted.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT

ADMISSION TO PRACTICE RULES (APR)

Rule 2 Board of Governors

(a) Powers. In addition to any other power or authority in other rules, the Board of Governors of the Bar Association (referred to in these rules as the Board of Governors) shall have the power and authority to:

(1) Appoint a Committee of Law Examiners (referred to in these rules as the Committee) from among the active members of the Bar Association for the purposes of assisting the Board of Governors in Conducting the bar examination and in supervising the law clerk program;

(2) Appoint a Law Clerk Committee from among the active members of the Bar Association for the purposes of assisting the Board of Governors in supervising the Law Clerk Program

(23) Approve or deny applications for permission to take the bar examination, to enroll in the law clerk program, or to engage in the limited practice of law under pertinent provisions of rules 8 and 9;

(34) Investigate all aspects of an applicant's qualifications to take the bar examination, to be admitted to the practice of law, to engage in the limited practice of law under pertinent provisions of rules 8 and 9, or to enroll in the law clerk program;

(45) Recommend to the Supreme Court the admission or rejection of each applicant who has passed the bar examination or who is applying to engage in the limited practice of law under pertinent provisions of rules 8 and 9;

(56) Approve law schools for the purposes of these rules and maintain a list of such approved law schools on file with the Clerk of the Supreme Court;

(67) Prescribe, with the approval of the Supreme Court, the amount of any fees required by these rules;

(78) Prescribe the form and content of any application, certificate, or other document referred to in these rules; and

(89) Perform any other functions and take any other actions provided for in these rules, or as may be delegated by the Supreme Court, or as may be necessary and proper to carry out its duties.

(b) Written Request. [No change.]

PROPOSED AMENDMENT

ADMISSION TO PRACTICE RULES (APR)

Rule 9. Legal Interns

(a) Admission to Limited Practice. Qualified law students, enrolled law clerks, and graduates of approved law schools may be admitted to the status of legal intern and be granted a limited license to engage in the practice of law only as provided in this rule. To qualify, an applicant must:

(1) Be a student duly enrolled and in good academic standing at an approved law school with legal studies completed amounting to not less than two-thirds of a prescribed 3-year course of study or five-eighths of a prescribed 4-year course of study, and have the written approval of the applicant's law school dean or a person designated by such dean; or

(2) Be an enrolled law clerk in compliance with the provisions of rule 6 with not less than three-fourths five-eighths of the prescribed 4-year course of study completed, and have the written approval of the tutor; or

(3) Make the application before the expiration of 9 months following graduation from an approved law school, and submit satisfactory evidence thereof to the Bar Association; and

(4) Pay such fees as may be set by the Board of Governors with the approval of the Supreme Court; and

(5) Certify in writing under oath that the applicant has read, is familiar with, and will abide by, the Rules of Professional Conduct and this rule.

(b) [No change.]

(c) [No change.]

(d) [No change.]

(e) [No change.]

Reviser's note: The typographical errors in the above material occurred in the copy filed by the State Supreme Court and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.

Reviser's note: The brackets and enclosed material in the text above occured in the copy filed by the State Supreme Court and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040..

© Washington State Code Reviser's Office