In re: Amendments to Rule 9, Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law in the State of Oklahoma

Summary

The Supreme Court of Oklahoma amended Rule 9 of the Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law in Oklahoma. The amendment addresses temporary permits to practice law, including eligibility, applications, public convenience and necessity, qualified legal services providers, and the disqualification of applicants who previously failed an Oklahoma bar examination.

Holdings

1. Rule 9 of the Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law in the State of Oklahoma is amended as set forth in Exhibit A.
2. Temporary permits may be granted, subject to Rule 9(C), until the conclusion of the next succeeding bar examination and reporting of its results upon recommendation of the Board of Bar Examiners, a showing of public convenience and necessity or extreme hardship in the private sector, and passage of the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination; applicants must file a temporary-permit application in addition to a regular bar-examination application.
3. A qualified legal services provider is a not-for-profit legal services organization primarily serving low-income clients or a legal department within a not-for-profit organization employing at least one full-time lawyer to provide legal services to low-income clients.
4. An applicant who has failed a prior Oklahoma Bar Examination is ineligible for a temporary permit to practice law in Oklahoma.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Rule 9 of the Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law in the State of Oklahoma should be amended.
2. What requirements and limitations should govern temporary permits to practice law under amended Rule 9.

Disposition

approved