Case Title: IN THE MATTER OF APPLICATION OF HARLIN FOR ADMISSION BY EXAMINATION

Citation: 

Docket Number: SCBD-6352

State: oklahoma

Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court

Date: 2017-03-28T00:00:00Z

Document:
IN THE MATTER OF APPLICATION OF HARLIN FOR ADMISSION BY EXAMINATION  IN THE MATTER OF APPLICATION OF HARLIN FOR ADMISSION BY EXAMINATION 2017 OK 23 Case Number: SCBD-6352 Decided: 03/28/2017 THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA NOTICE: THIS OPINION HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED FOR PUBLICATION. UNTIL RELEASED, IT IS SUBJECT TO REVISION OR WITHDRAWAL. IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF CALEB ALEXANDER HARLIN FOR ADMISSION BY EXAMINATION TO THE OKLAHOMA BAR ASSOCIATION. BAR ADMISSION PROCEEDING ¶0 Applicant Caleb Alexander Harlin appeals from a decision of the Oklahoma Board of Bar Examiners denying his application for admission to the practice of law in Oklahoma by examination. As an attorney of a non-reciprocal jurisdiction who is not eligible for admission upon motion, the Applicant seeks admission to the practice of law in Oklahoma by examination under Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law in the State of Oklahoma. Upon review, we conclude Mr. Harlin has satisfied the requirements of Rule 4 and no issues remain outstanding. Mr. Harlin shall be allowed to take the Oklahoma bar exam. APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION BY EXAMINATION GRANTED Drew Neville, Charles E. Geister, III, & Emily S. Eleftherakis, Hartzog Conger Cason & Neville, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Petitioner Caleb Harlin. Patrick H. Kernan, Newton, O'Connor, Turner & Ketchum, P.C., Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Oklahoma Board of Bar Examiners. GURICH, V.C.J. ¶1 Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law in the State of Oklahoma (RGAP) allows for admission to the practice of law in Oklahoma by examination.1 The issue in this case is whether an attorney licensed in a non-reciprocal jurisdiction who applies to take the bar exam under § 1 of Rule 4 must meet the same requirements as a law student applying to take the bar exam under § 2 of Rule 4, specifically the undergraduate degree requirement found in § 2(a) of Rule 4. Facts & Procedural History ¶2 Mr. Harlin graduated from homeschool high school in Muskogee in July of 2003. After working for approximately a year, he applied for admission to the Juris Doctor program at Oak Brook College of Law and Public Policy in California. Oak Brook is a four-year program recognized by the State Bar of California, but is not accredited by the American Bar Association.2 In California, students who attend non-accredited ABA institutions are required, after their first year of study, to sit for and pass a bar exam called the First Year Law Students' Exam. The exam is a seven-hour test that consists of four essay questions and 100 multiple choice questions styled after the Multi-State Bar Examination. Mr. Harlin took California's First Year Law Students' Exam in October of 2006 and passed on his first attempt. ¶3 In December of 2009, he graduated cum laude from Oak Brook with a Juris Doctor degree. In February of 2010, Mr. Harlin sat for the California bar exam and passed on his first attempt. In June of 2010, he was sworn into the State Bar of California where he remains in good standing. Upon admission to the State Bar of California, Mr. Harlin began doing contract work with two different firms in the San Francisco area while living in Muskogee. His practice included assisting with several jury trials, arbitrations, mediations, appeals, and depositions primarily in the areas of personal injury and employment law. Mr. Harlin is also admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Central Districts of California, and the U.S. District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma. ¶4 After practicing for a year in California, Mr. Harlin contacted the Oklahoma Board of Bar Examiners (Board) and inquired about admission to practice law in Oklahoma.3 Mr. Harlin spoke with the Administrative Director of the Board, who informed him that under the RGAP he could not be admitted to practice in Oklahoma unless he obtained a law degree from an ABA accredited law school.4 During this conversation, there was no discussion regarding Mr. Harlin's lack of an undergraduate degree and whether such would be an impediment to seeking admission to the practice of law in Oklahoma. Pursuant to his discussion with the Administrative Director, and his understanding of the RGAP, Mr. Harlin applied to and was accepted to Oklahoma City University School of Law and began attending classes in the fall of 2012.5 ¶5 Oklahoma City University School of Law was aware that Mr. Harlin did not have an undergraduate degree. However, Oklahoma City University School of Law admitted Mr. Harlin pursuant to Standard 502(b) of the ABA Standards for Approval of "6 ¶6 During his time at Oklahoma City University School of Law, Mr. Harlin sought to perform licensed legal intern work under the supervision of an Oklahoma attorney. Thus, on October 15, 2013, he registered with the Board as a law student to become a Licensed Legal Intern.7 On November 19, 2013, the Administrative Director contacted Mr. Harlin by e-mail and advised him that "[o]ne of the requirements to register as a law student and for taking a bar exam is that an applicant has a certificate of graduation with a Bachelor's degree from a college whose credit hours are transferable to an Oklahoma law school."8 On November 20, 2013, Mr. Harlin replied to the Administrative Director and confirmed he did not have an undergraduate degree and that his degree was from the Oak Brook College of Law and Public Policy. The Administrative Director replied to Mr. Harlin that same day and notified him that she had not yet processed his application but that he could submit a statement to the Board explaining how he met the admission requirements of Rule 4. ¶7 On March 5, 2014, Mr. Harlin submitted a statement to the Administrative Director via e-mail wherein he set forth why he believed he satisfied the requirements of Rule 4 of the RGAP. On April 9, 2014, Mr. Harlin received a letter from the Board, notifying him that the "Board has determined that you do not meet the necessary filing requirements for a Law Student Registration application."9 The letter also advised Mr. Harlin that if he wished to apply and take the bar exam, he could "submit an Exam Application by Attorney prior to February 1, 2015."10 ¶8 On December 2, 2014, Mr. Harlin submitted an Exam Application by Attorney along with the $1,000.00 application fee. Unlike Mr. Harlin's law student registration application, the Board processed the Exam Application by Attorney and accepted the fee. On March 31, 2015, Mr. Harlin received a letter from Patrick Kernan, general counsel for the Board, notifying him of the Board's denial of his Exam Application by Attorney and his right to appeal such decision under Rule 11 of the RGAP.11 On April 15, 2015, Mr. Harlin timely requested a hearing under Rule 11 of the RGAP. ¶9 The Rule 11 hearing was held before the Board on November 4, 2015. At the hearing, Mr. Harlin argued that the Board had erred in denying his Exam Application by Attorney because under Rule 4, § 1 he was not required to satisfy the law student registration requirements of Rule 4, § 2, specifically the requirement that he obtain an undergraduate degree.12 On November 19, 2015, Mr. Harlin received a letter from the Board notifying him that the Board had again denied his application. The letter advised him that the Board had found that even as an attorney applying under § 1 of Rule 4, Mr. Harlin had to comply with all of the requirements of law student registration found in § 2, including obtaining an undergraduate degree. ¶10 Mr. Harlin timely appealed the decision of the Board to this Court on December 18, 2015. Briefing was completed on April 25, 2016, and the cause was assigned to this office on April 26, 2016. We note that during the pendency of the proceedings before the Board, Mr. Harlin graduated summa cum laude from Oklahoma City University School of Law in May of 2015 where he served on the Oklahoma City University Law Review and was voted by the faculty as the Most Outstanding Graduate of the Class of 2015. Standard of Review ¶11 In a proceeding to review the Board's decision denying an application for admission by examination, this Court reviews de novo the entire record tendered. Application of Sanger, 1993 OK 158, ¶ 12, 865 P.2d 338 , 344. The "findings of fact made by the Board are neither binding nor persuasive," and this Court "must pass on the sufficiency and weight of the evidence as a tribunal of first instance." Id., ¶ 13, 865 P.2d at 344-45. "The burden rests upon the applicant to show himself entitled to the relief sought." Id. Rule 4 ¶12 Rule 4 of the RGAP provides for admission to the practice of law in Oklahoma by examination.13 The issue in the case before us is whether an attorney applying to take the bar exam under § 1 of Rule 4 must meet the same requirements as a law student applying to take the bar exam under § 2 of Rule 4, specifically the undergraduate degree requirement found in § 2(a) of Rule 4. Rule 4, § 1 applies to any attorney licensed to practice law in a non-reciprocal jurisdiction who seeks to apply for admission to the Oklahoma Bar by examination. Under § 1, an attorney must meet "the requirements of this Rule, except that such attorney shall not be required to register as a law student."14 By its terms, § 1 specifically exempts attorney applicants from the law student registration requirements of § 2. Nothing in § 1 requires an attorney applicant to have an undergraduate degree. The only other registration requirement under § 1 is that an attorney applicant "provide at his or her own expense a report by the National Conference of Bar Examiners."15 ¶13 Section 2, on the other hand, specifically applies to applicants registering as law students: "No person shall be entitled to take an examination for admission to practice law in this state unless such person shall have registered as a law student filing the verified application for registration by the 15th day of October of the student's second year of law school on forms prescribed by the Board of Bar Examiners . . . ."16 Section 2 continues on, requiring an undergraduate degree, two sets of fingerprints, a recent photograph, and an NCBE Student Application Report for Character and Fitness at the applicant's expense. The Board concluded in its Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law that because all applicants, whether applying as law students or as attorneys from non-reciprocal jurisdictions, had to provide two sets of fingerprints, a recent photograph, and an NCBE character and fitness report as prescribed in § 2 of Rule 4, that the undergraduate degree requirement of § 2 must also necessarily apply to all applicants. We disagree. ¶14 The character and fitness report requirement of § 2 specifically differs from the character and fitness report required in § 1. Section 1 requires that "such attorney shall be required to provide at his or her own expense a report by the National Conference of Bar Examiners" whereas § 2 specifically requires an "NCBE Student Application Report for Character and Fitness at his or her own expense."17 Although the reports may, in substance, be similar, the plain language of Rule 4 again differentiates between an attorney applicant and a law student applicant. And contrary to the Board's interpretation, § 1 does not require an attorney applicant to provide two sets of fingerprints or a recent photograph. The fact that Mr. Harlin complied with all requests of the Board and provided his fingerprints and a recent photograph does not support the Board's position. Any applicant would comply with reasonable requests of this type of information rather than risk having his or her application denied based only on failure to submit such information. The Board also noted in its Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law that the "official eight page Exam Application by Attorney, approved by the Oklahoma Supreme Court," contains a section requiring an applicant to attach an "[o]fficial (certified) transcript(s) from schools granting undergraduate and law school degrees."18 However, the exam application does not control over the plain language of Rule 4.19 ¶ 15 Section 3 of Rule 4 applies to any application to take the bar exam because it does not specify whether it applies to attorney applicants or law student applicants. Section 3 of Rule 4 requires that an application be filed at "least six months prior to the date of examination," "contain proof of law school study . . . from a law school . . . accredited by the American Bar Association," and that the applicant "furnish evidence that a score satisfactory to the Board of Bar Examiners on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination has been attained."20 The record reflects that Mr. Harlin's application was filed at least six months prior to the date of the examination, that he has obtained a law degree from a law school accredited by the ABA, and has obtained a satisfactory score on the MPRE. Conclusion ¶16 We conclude that Mr. Harlin, as an attorney licensed to practice law in a non-reciprocal jurisdiction, has met the requirements of Rule 4 for admission to the practice of law in Oklahoma by examination and no outstanding requirements remain.21 The decision of the Board is reversed, and Mr. Harlin shall be allowed to take the Oklahoma bar exam. ¶17 ALL JUSTICES CONCUR FOOT