THE COURTS
Title 204—JUDICIAL SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS
PART IV. ADMISSION TO PRACTICE LAW
[ 204 PA. CODE CH. 71 ]
Proposed Amendment to Pennsylvania Bar Admission Rule 204
[54 Pa.B. 3907]
[Saturday, July 13, 2024]Notice is hereby given that the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners (Board) is considering recommending to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that it amend Rule 204 of the Pennsylvania Bar Admission Rules concerning admission by reciprocity, i.e. admission without taking the bar examination for attorneys admitted in jurisdictions with which Pennsylvania has a reciprocal arrangement and who have practiced law for five of the last seven years. The amendment is set forth in Annex A. Additions to the text of the rule are shown in bold and underlined, deletions are shown in bold and brackets.
The proposed amendment reorganizes Rule 204 by delineating a definition section and moving that section to the beginning of the rule. This change is partly to emphasize the existing requirement that all attorneys seeking admission by reciprocity must meet the definition of ''practice of law,'' as well as the other requirements of the rule.
This section also expands the definition of the ''practice of law,'' which will permit more attorneys from other jurisdictions to qualify for admission by reciprocity. Currently, seven enumerated categories of legal activities count as the practice of law. While time spent as an attorney in a defender or legal services program will count, the time does not count when the employing organization is not a local, state, or federal agency. The proposed amendment changes this. Work as an independent contractor is not specifically excluded in Rule 204, but it does not easily fit the definition. The Board's proposal will count time an attorney spends working as an independent contractor for a law firm providing those legal services are such that they require attorney licensure. In addition, the Board has interpreted the practice requirement of Rule 204 to require the attorney be legally permitted to work without supervision. The proposal will count two years of supervised practice, which will allow attorneys who moved to a new jurisdiction and practiced under supervision for a short time until getting licensed to have that practice time count towards the rule requirement. The rule retains the requirement that an attorney be admitted in a state and on active status at the time of any practice for the work to count. Thus, work as a judicial law clerk before admission to the bar will not count towards the requirement.
The Board also seeks to include definitions of ''licensing state'' as ''the state where an attorney holds an active law license.'' Additionally, the Board seeks to include in the rule the manner in which it has consistently calculated qualifying practice time. As outlined on the Board's website, the Board interprets ''a major portion of time and energy to the practice of law'' as more than 50 percent of the attorney's time, calculated by weeks. Every week in which an applicant practiced law more than 20 hours constitutes a qualifying week. See www.pabarexam.org/non-bar-exam-admission/204_interpretation.htm.
In addition to delineating a definition section, the Board's proposed amendment reorganizes the requirements section of the rule. Under subsection (b), the proposed amendment requires an applicant to have a law degree from an accredited law school, be a member of the bar of a reciprocal state on active status, and present a certificate of good standing where the applicant is active and has been admitted. This latter item is a change from the existing rule in that applicants would no longer have to provide certificates of good standing from all jurisdictions where the attorney has ever been admitted, whether or not the attorney is still active in that jurisdiction. The proposed amendment retains the prohibition on admission for attorneys who are disbarred or suspended from practice.
Additionally, under subsection (b)(4) the Board clarifies the applicant must meet one of three criteria. Those criteria include that the applicant has taken and passed the bar examination in a reciprocal state and devoted a majority of time to the practice of law in one or more states for five of the last seven years prior to the filing date of the application, that the applicant has been admitted in a reciprocal state and devoted a majority of time to the practice of law in one or more reciprocal states for five of the last seven years preceding the date of filing the application, or that the applicant earned a score on the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) in a reciprocal state sufficient to qualify for admission by score transfer and the applicant devoted a majority of time to the practice of law in one or more states for more than three of the last five years preceding filing the application. Subsections (b)(4)(A) and (B) are existing requirements. Subsection (b)(4)(C) was added to allow candidates who successfully completed the UBE to establish competency for admission for up to five after sitting for the UBE where they earned their qualifying score, provided they have three years of consistent practice time since attaining it. These candidates would not have to wait to pursue admission in Pennsylvania, when they are in the ''gap,'' which occurs at the point that they may no longer gain admission by transferring their qualifying UBE score and prior to five years elapsing since they have taken the exam.
The Board also seeks to amend the rule to allow remote practice to count towards admission. Currently, Pa.B.A.R. 204 specifies that the practice of law occur ''in a state that affirmatively permitted such activity by a lawyer not admitted to practice law in the jurisdiction.'' This precludes the Board from counting remote work in most cases. Additionally, remote work arrangements tend to be of a significant duration and not temporary work that may be authorized by the state in which the attorney worked. To permit counting remote practice, the Board proposes to remove the language quoted in this paragraph and retain the language that prohibits counting the unauthorized practice of law. In 204(c), the Board specifically recognizes remote practice as qualifying practice time provided the applicant meets all the other 204 requirements. The Board also proposes a two-year limitation on counting the time an attorney practices remotely while located outside the United States. Additionally, the Board defines licensing state, remote location, and the remote practice of law.
Other limitations and restrictions are proposed for the amount of time that will count when an attorney is practicing while under supervision. While the Board proposes to count the practice time of an attorney who practiced temporarily, under supervision, in a jurisdiction in which the attorney was not licensed, the Board does not intend to count an unlimited amount of practice time in this capacity. Additionally, if an attorney practices in a state that required an attorney to obtain a limited or specialized license, the attorney must have attained that license, i.e. practice as an in-house corporate counsel, for the practice time to count. Finally, the Board emphasized that it will count practice time only if that applicant was admitted to the bar of a state at the time of the work and on active status.
Given the above, the Board seeks to amend Rule 204 as outlined above, to clarify the rule, to permit it to count other types of practice toward the five of the last seven years required for admission by reciprocity, and to close the gap created when it adopted Rule 206 regarding transfer of qualifying UBE scores.
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments regarding the proposed amendments to the Executive Director, Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners, Pennsylvania Judicial Center, 601 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 3600, P.O. Box 62535, Harrisburg, PA 17106-2535, no later than August 16, 2024.
By The Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners
Supreme Court of PennsylvaniaGICINE P. BRIGNOLA,
Executive Director
Annex A
TITLE 204. JUDICIAL SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS
PART IV. ADMISSION TO PRACTICE LAW
CHAPTER 71. PENNSYLVANIA BAR ADMISSION RULES
Subchapter B. ADMISSION TO THE BAR GENERALLY
IN GENERAL Rule 204. Admission by reciprocity.
[As an alternative to satisfying the requirements of Rule 203, an attorney, licensed to practice law in another state, may be admitted to the bar of this Commonwealth if the applicant meets the following requirements:
(1) Has completed the study of law at and received without exception an earned Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor degree from a law school that was an accredited law school at the time the applicant matriculated or graduated.
(2) Is a member of the bar of a reciprocal state on active status at the time of filing of the application for admission to the bar of this Commonwealth.
(3) Presentation of a certificate of good standing from the highest court or agency having jurisdiction over admission to the bar and the practice of law in every state or jurisdiction in which the applicant has been admitted to practice law, stating that the applicant is in good professional standing at the bar of such court or such state. An applicant who is disbarred or suspended for disciplinary reasons from the practice of law in another jurisdiction at the time of filing an application for admission to the bar shall not be eligible for admission to the bar of this Commonwealth.
(4) Presentation of proof satisfactory to the Board that the applicant has for a period of five years of the last seven years immediately preceding the date of filing of the application for admission to the bar of this Commonwealth devoted a major portion of time and energy to the practice of law in one or more states.
(5) Presentation of proof satisfactory to the Board that the applicant has either taken and passed the bar examination in a reciprocal state or has devoted a major portion of time and energy to the practice of law in a reciprocal state for five years of the last seven years immediately preceding the date on which an application was filed under this Rule.
(6) Satisfaction of the requirements of Paragraphs (a)(1), (b)(2) and (b)(3) of Rule 203.]
(a) Definitions. This rule also incorporates definitions found in Rule 102. For purposes of this rule, the following defined terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them below:
(1) Practice of law. [For purposes of this rule, the phrase ''practice of law'' is defined as engaging] Engaging in any of the [following legal activities, provided such activities were performed in a state in which the applicant was admitted to practice law or in a state that affirmatively permitted such activity by a lawyer not admitted to practice law in the jurisdiction] nine enumerated legal activities below, provided:
(A) such activities were performed in a state in which the applicant was admitted to practice law, or
(B) if not, such activities must not have constituted the unauthorized practice of law in the state in which the activities were performed or in the state in which the clients receiving the legal services were located at the time the work occurred:
(i) Representation of one or more clients in the private practice of law.
(ii) Providing legal services as an attorney with a defender services program, legal services program, or a local, state, or federal agency.
(iii) Teaching law full time at an accredited law school, college or university in the United States, provided a substantial portion of such time was spent teaching at an accredited law school.
(iv) Service as a judge in a local, state, or federal[, state or local] court of record.
(v) Service full time as a judicial law clerk to any judge of any court of the United States or of any state or territory of the United States.
(vi) Service as corporate counsel.
(vii) Performing legal functions while serving on active duty in the United States military service as a judge advocate as defined in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 801, as amended.
(viii) Work as an independent contractor for a law firm providing legal services requiring attorney licensure.
(ix) Providing legal services as an attorney in a jurisdiction in which the attorney is not licensed, provided that the work is temporary and performed under the supervision of an attorney licensed in the jurisdiction.
[The term ''practice of law'' shall not include providing legal services in any of the above referenced areas, when such services as undertaken constituted the unauthorized practice of law in the state in which the legal services were performed or in the state in which the clients receiving the unauthorized services were located.]
(2) Licensing State. The state where an attorney holds an active law license.
(3) Remote Location. The location where an attorney is physically present when practicing law, but where the attorney is not licensed to practice.
(4) Remote Practice of Law. When an attorney is engaged in the practice of law authorized by the attorney's licensing state and the attorney does so from a remote location and the attorney's physical presence in the remote location is incidental and not for the practice of law.
(5) Majority. Majority is more than 50 percent of the attorney's time, calculated by weeks. Every week in which an applicant practiced law more than 20 hours constitutes a qualifying week.
(b) Requirements. As an alternative to satisfying the requirements of Rule 203, an attorney, licensed to practice law in another state, may be admitted to the bar of this Commonwealth if the applicant, except where indicated, meets all the following requirements:
(1) Has completed the study of law at and received without exception an earned Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor degree from a law school that was an accredited law school at the time the applicant matriculated or graduated.
(2) Is a member of the bar of a reciprocal state on active status at the time of filing of the application for admission to the bar of this Commonwealth.
(3) Presentation of a certificate of good standing from the highest court or agency having jurisdiction over admission to the bar and the practice of law in every state, federal, or specialty court in which the applicant has been admitted and is on active status. An applicant who is disbarred or suspended for disciplinary reasons from the practice of law in any jurisdiction at the time of filing an application for admission to the bar shall not be eligible for admission to the bar of this Commonwealth.
(4) Presentation of proof satisfactory to the Board that the applicant meets of one of the following:
(A) That the applicant has taken and passed the bar examination in a reciprocal state and the applicant has devoted a majority of time to the practice of law in one or more states for a period of five years of the last seven years immediately preceding the date of filing of the application for admission to the bar of this Commonwealth.
(B) That the applicant has gained admission in a reciprocal state and the applicant has devoted a majority of time to the practice of law in one or more reciprocal states for a period of five years of the last seven years immediately preceding the date of filing of the application for admission to the bar of this Commonwealth.
(C) That the applicant has earned a score on the Uniform Bar Examination in a reciprocal state that would have qualified for transfer under Pa.B.A.R. 206, and the applicant has devoted a majority of time to the practice of law in one or more states for a period of more than three of five years since sitting for the UBE exam in which the applicant earned the qualifying UBE score. The practice time must occur within the five years immediately preceding the date of filing of the application for admission to the bar of this Commonwealth. And
(5) Satisfaction of the requirements of Paragraphs (a)(1), (b)(2) and (b)(3) of Rule 203.
(c) Remote practice of law. Remote practice of law will count towards qualifying practice time of this rule provided the applicant meets all the requirements of this rule.
(d) Limitations and Restrictions.
(1) When an attorney who is licensed and on active status practices law under supervision in a state or federal jurisdiction in which the attorney is not licensed in order not to constitute the unauthorized practice of law, the Board will count a maximum of two years of supervised practice toward the practice requirements of Rule 204.
(2) When an attorney has practiced law remotely while located outside of the United States, the Board will count a maximum of two years of remote practice toward the practice requirements of Rule 204.
(3) If at the time the attorney practiced in a state, the state required an attorney to obtain a limited or other specialized license in order to practice, the attorney must have obtained such license for the practice time to count toward admission under this rule.
(4) When calculating the number of weeks of practice that count under this rule, the Board will not count more than one week of time in situations in which the attorney worked a high number of hours during that week, nor will the Board average the hours an attorney worked over a period of weeks to increase the number of weeks that count.
(5) For practice time to count it must have occurred after the applicant was admitted to the bar of a state.
Adopted July 1, 1972. Amended June 6, 1977; July 22, 1977, imd. effective; Nov. 15, 1978, effective Dec. 2, 1978; Dec. 17, 1981, effective 30 days after Jan 9 1982; June 30, 1983, imd. effective; Aug. 22, 1986, imd. effective; June 16, 1993, imd. effective; Jan. 31, 1997, imd. effective; April 6, 1999, imd. effective; Nov. 23, 1999, imd. effective; May 25, 2000, imd. effective; March 30, 2004, effective Sept. 27, 2004; April 28, 2009, imd. effective; Oct. 14, 2011, effective in 30 days (Nov. 14, 2011); Jan. 4, 2022, effective Jan. 12, 2022.[.]
Official Note: The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania cannot be reciprocal with itself. Therefore, an applicant who does not take the bar examination in a reciprocal state may not have work performed in Pennsylvania, even if authorized, count towards the practice requirement of this rule.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 24-974. Filed for public inspection July 12, 2024, 9:00 a.m.]
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