Pennsylvania Code › 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 203 - Admission by bar examination

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
Bar
					 Examination.
The general requirements for permission to sit for the
					 bar examination are:
(1) Receipt of an
					 undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university or the receipt of
					 an education which, in the opinion of the Board, is the equivalent of an
					 undergraduate college or university education.
(2)
(i)
					 Except as provided in subparagraph 2(ii) of this Rule, completion of the study
					 of law at and receipt without exception of 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. See Rule 205 (relating to admission by
					 bar examination for graduates with foreign law degrees) for standards
					 applicable to graduates of foreign law schools; or
(ii) completion of the study of law at and
					 receipt without exception of an earned Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor degree
					 from a law school located within the boundaries of the United States of America
					 that was not an accredited law school either at the time the applicant
					 matriculated or graduated, provided that the applicant is a member of the bar
					 of a reciprocal state and meets the following qualifications:
(A) Presentation of a certificate from the
					 highest court or agency of such state having jurisdiction over admission to the
					 bar and the practice of law stating that the applicant is in good standing at
					 the bar of such court or such state.
(B) 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:
(i) engaged in
					 the practice of law in a reciprocal state or states outside this Commonwealth.
					 For purposes of this paragraph, the phrase "engaged in the practice of law" is
					 defined as "devoting a major portion of one's time and energy to the rendering
					 of legal services"; or
(ii) engaged
					 full-time in the teaching of law at one or more accredited law schools in the
					 United States; or
(iii) engaged
					 primarily in the performance of 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, regardless of the location
					 of the service.
Service under subparagraphs (i), (ii), and (iii) may be
						combined to satisfy the five year service requirement of this
						subparagraph.
(3) Presentation of a certificate of good
					 standing from the highest court or the 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 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 permission to sit for the bar examination shall not be eligible to sit for
					 the bar examination.