IN RE AMENDMENT OF RULES GOVERNING ADMISSION TO PRACTICE OF LAW

2014 OK 94, 2014 Okla. LEXIS 117
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedNovember 10, 2014
StatusPublished

This text of 2014 OK 94 (IN RE AMENDMENT OF RULES GOVERNING ADMISSION TO PRACTICE OF LAW) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
IN RE AMENDMENT OF RULES GOVERNING ADMISSION TO PRACTICE OF LAW, 2014 OK 94, 2014 Okla. LEXIS 117 (Okla. 2014).

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OSCN Found Document:IN RE AMENDMENT OF RULES GOVERNING ADMISSION TO PRACTICE OF LAW
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IN RE AMENDMENT OF RULES GOVERNING ADMISSION TO PRACTICE OF LAW
2014 OK 94
Decided: 11/10/2014
THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA


Cite as: 2014 OK 94, __ P.3d __

NOTICE: THIS OPINION HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED FOR PUBLICATION. UNTIL RELEASED, IT IS SUBJECT TO REVISION OR WITHDRAWAL.


In re: Amendment of the Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law in the State of Oklahoma.

ORDER

¶1 The Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law in the State of Oklahoma, attached hereto, are hereby amended, effective immediately.

¶2 These rules shall be codified as Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law in the State of Oklahoma, 5 O.S. Supp. 2014, Ch. 1, App 5.

DONE BY ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT IN CONFERENCE THIS 10th DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2014.

/S/CHIEF JUSTICE

COLBERT, C.J., REIF, V.C.J., WATT, COMBS, GURICH, JJ. - CONCUR

KAUGER, WINCHESTER, EDMONDSON, TAYLOR, JJ. - CONCUR IN PART; DISSENT IN PART

TAYLOR, J., with whom KAUGER, WINCHESTER, EDMONDSON, JJ. join,
CONCURRING IN PART, DISSENTING IN PART:

"I dissent to the Amendments to Sections 5 & 6 under Rule 2."


Rules Governing Admission
to the Practice Of Law
in the State of Oklahoma

Adopted and Promulgated by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma in Revised Form on the 10th day of November, 2014.

PREAMBLE

Applicant's Duty Of Candor

Each applicant for admission to the bar has a duty to be candid and to make full, careful and accurate responses and disclosures in all phases of the application and admission process. Each applicant must respond fully to all inquiries. It is not proper for an applicant to give either a highly selective or sketchy description of past events reflecting on the applicant's qualifications for admission to the bar. An applicant who violates this duty may be denied admission to the bar.

RULE ONE

The Board of Bar Examiners is charged with recommending applicants for admission to the practice of law in the State of Oklahoma. The Court is not bound by the recommendations of the Board and may take any such action as it deems appropriate.

To be admitted to the practice of law in the State of Oklahoma, the applicant:

Section 1. shall have good moral character, due respect for the law, and fitness to practice law;

Section 2. shall be at least 18 years of age;

Section 3. shall have met all the conditions and requirements hereinafter set forth which may be applicable;

Section 4. shall take the following oath and file the same with the Clerk of the Supreme Court:

"I do solemnly swear that I will support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma; that I will do no falsehood, or consent that any be done in court, and if I know of any I will give knowledge thereof to the judges of the court, or some one of them, that it may be reformed; I will not wittingly, willingly or knowingly promote, sue, or procure to be sued, any false or unlawful suit, or give aid or consent to the same; I will delay no person for lucre or malice, but will act in the office of attorney in all courts according to my best learning and discretion with all good fidelity as well to the court as to my client, so help me God."

Section 5. shall have signed the Roll of Attorneys; provided, however, that if the applicant is unable, by reason of absence, to sign the Roll, applicant may grant, in writing, the power of attorney to the Administrative Director of the Board of Bar Examiners to sign said Roll of Attorneys for applicant.

RULE TWO

Admission Upon Motion
Without Examination

For purposes of this Rule, the term "reciprocal state" shall mean a state which grants Oklahoma judges and lawyers the right of admission on motion, without the requirement of taking an examination and whose requirements for admission are similar to Oklahoma's admission upon motion without examination standards.

The following persons, when found by the Board of Bar Examiners to be qualified under Section 1 and 2 of Rule One, may be admitted by the Supreme Court to the practice of law in the State of Oklahoma upon the recommendation and motion of the Board, without examination:

Section 1. Persons who are graduates of an American Bar Association approved law school, have been lawfully admitted to practice and are in good standing on active status in a reciprocal state, and have engaged in the actual and continuous practice of law in a reciprocal state for at least five of the seven years immediately preceding application for admission under this Rule. The years of practice earned in multiple reciprocal jurisdictions cannot be combined.

For the purposes of this section, "practice of law" shall mean:

a) Private practice as a sole practitioner or for a law firm, legal services office, legal clinic or similar entity, provided such practice was subsequent to being admitted to the practice of law in the reciprocal jurisdiction in which that practice occurred;

b) Practice as an attorney for a corporation, partnership, trust, individual or other entity, provided such practice was subsequent to being admitted to the practice of law in the reciprocal jurisdiction in which the practice occurred and involved the primary duties of furnishing legal counsel, drafting legal documents and pleadings, interpreting and giving advice regarding the law, or preparing, trying, or presenting cases before courts, executive departments, administrative bureaus, or agencies;

c) Practice as an attorney for the federal, state, local government (including a territory, district, commonwealth or possession of the United States), branch of the armed services, or sovereign Indian nation with the same primary duties as described in Section 1(b) above;

d) Employment as a judge, magistrate, referee, or similar official for the federal, state, or local government (including a territory, district, commonwealth or possession of the United States), provided that such employment is available only to attorneys;

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2014 OK 94, 2014 Okla. LEXIS 117, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-amendment-of-rules-governing-admission-to-practice-of-law-okla-2014.