Model Rule on Conditional Admission to the Bar: what it means, next steps
Approval of a recommendation as a Model Rule by the ABA House of Delegates marks the beginning of a process rather than the end.
For example, consider Report 112 on the docket at the 2008 Midyear Meeting in Los Angeles.
That recommendation outlines requirements for conditional admission to the practice of law and was introduced by the Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs with support from 13 additional entities.
The recommendation on conditional admission encourages law students to seek help for dependency or mental health issues by providing for conditional admission to practice law for up to five years after passing the bar examination. In return the new lawyers in this category must agree to meet monthly with a trained monitor, attend weekly support meetings and undergo randomized testing.
“We believe it’s important for the person to get help, with recovery the ultimate goal,“ said Judge Robert L. Childers, chair of the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs.
At the time the House of Delegates passed the recommendation, 18 states and Puerto Rico had enacted a similar rule. Adopting the Model Rule raises awareness of the issue in other states, said Childers.
Childers explained that states enacting the Model Rule can take one of two paths. “The State Board of Professional Responsibility, a representative from a law school in the state or the bar association can petition the state’s highest court to approve the rule. States alternately may decide to work with the Board of License Examiners without a formal petition to the court. That approach is not a shortcut; it is just a different approach.”
He explains that whichever approach is taken, the court or the Board of License Examiners may either accept the petition, accept it with comment, or reject it.
Childers believes that adopting this Model Rule is a process. “In 1988 only a handful of states had Lawyer Assistance Programs. Today only four or five states do not have one. In 20 to 25 years the profession has come a long way in recognizing the implications of stress on lawyers and taking action to address the issues that arise from that stress.”
His goal is that in five years, all states will have a rule similar to the Model Rule passed at the 2008 Midyear Meeting.
For a FAQ on the Model Rule on Conditional Admission to the Bar, click here. To read the Recommendation, click here.
