Rule 49 - Board of Governors of State Bar to Govern Admission to Practice Law; Fees; Board of Bar Examiners1. Board of bar examiners. With the approval of the supreme court, the board of bar examiners, in consultation with the board of governors of the state bar, shall have the power to fix and determine the qualifications for admission to practice law in this state, and shall have the power to fix and collect fees from all applicants for admission to practice law in this state, which fees shall be paid into the treasury of the state bar. 2. Composition of board of bar examiners; hiring of graders. The board of bar examiners shall be responsible to the supreme court and shall govern the administration of the bar examination. The board is comprised of fourteen members and the immediate past chair as an ex officio member. A majority of the board of bar examiners shall be appointed by the supreme court, and a minority shall be appointed by the board of governors. The supreme court shall appoint one of the members to chair the board. The board of bar examiners may hire as many qualified graders as the chair deems necessary to assist the board in the writing and grading of the essay examination. Any grader employed by the board of bar examiners shall be an active member of the state bar and shall be appointed for a period of time not to exceed the term of the board member to whom the grader is assigned. Graders shall be paid in accordance with a schedule proposed by the chair of the board of bar examiners and approved by the board of governors.
3. Committee on moral character and fitness; duties and composition. The committee on moral character and fitness is a subcommittee of the board of bar examiners, and has all those powers and duties delegated under the supreme court rules to the board of bar examiners relating to the conduct of investigations and hearings, and the submission of reports and recommendations to the supreme court respecting the ethical and moral fitness of applicants for admission to practice law in this state. The committee on moral character and fitness shall be composed of thirteen members who are active members of the state bar, and up to four lay members who are professionals with expertise in fields that are germane to the determination of character and fitness issues confronted by the committee. Seven of the attorney members shall be appointed by the supreme court, and six of the attorney members shall be appointed by the board of governors. The board of governors shall also appoint the lay members of the committee. The supreme court shall appoint one of the attorney members to chair the committee. For each formal hearing the committee may be divided by its chair into as many hearing panels as the chair believes is necessary to conduct hearings in that district. A hearing panel shall be composed of a minimum of three members, one of whom, at the chair's discretion, may be a non-lawyer. The chair shall assign applicants for hearings to the panels and may sit as chair or designate an attorney to sit as acting chair in his or her place.
For those applicants whose applications reflect conduct or information warranting further inquiry, but not necessarily warranting a formal hearing, the chair (or a committee member or members, as determined by the chair) and the director of admissions may conduct an informal hearing in an attempt to counsel an applicant or to resolve a matter informally. If the matter is not resolved to the satisfaction of the chair, a formal hearing may be held.
For those applicants whose applications reflect conduct or information warranting further inquiry, but not necessarily warranting an informal hearing, the admissions director, after consultation with the chair of the C & F Committee, may conduct an informal interview in an attempt to counsel an applicant, to resolve the matter informally or to determine whether a hearing (formal or informal) is required.
4. Committee on functional equivalency; duties and composition. The committee on functional equivalency is a subcommittee of the board of bar examiners, and shall have all those powers and duties delegated under the supreme court rules to the board of bar examiners relating to the conduct of investigations and hearings and the submission of reports and recommendations to the board of bar examiners and the supreme court respecting those petitioners seeking certification pursuant to Rule 51.5. The committee on functional equivalency shall be composed of seven members who are active members of the state bar. Four of the members shall be appointed by the supreme court, and three members shall be appointed by the board of governors. The supreme court shall appoint one of the members to chair the committee. 5. Board of bar examiners and subcommittees; terms of members. The terms of the members of the board of bar examiners and its subcommittees shall be staggered. Each member shall be appointed for a term of three years; however, no member of the board of governors shall serve simultaneously on the board of bar examiners or on one of its subcommittees. The immediate past chair of the board of bar examiners serves as an ex officio member of the board for one year following expiration of his or her tenure as chair. There is no limit on the number of terms an attorney may serve on the board of bar examiners or one of its subcommittees. 6. Authority of board of bar examiners. The board of bar examiners has the power: (a) To interview and examine applicants, determine their qualifications for admission to practice, recommend to the supreme court for admission applicants who fulfill requirements, and recommend to the supreme court the rejection of those who fail to meet requirements. (b) To recommend directly to the supreme court changes in qualifications for admission. The board of bar examiners, however, shall consult with the board of governors before any recommendation is presented to the court. 7. Director of admissions. The board of governors shall appoint a director of admissions, and as many assistants as are necessary to administer the admissions process and bar examination. The appointment of the admissions director shall be made only after consultation with the board of bar examiners. The admissions director shall have the responsibility to administer the bar examination, to carry out all the specific duties of the admissions director as hereinafter provided in these rules and shall serve as secretary to the board of bar examiners. 8. Administrative policies, procedures and guidelines for admission to practice law. The board of bar examiners, the clerk of the supreme court and the admissions director shall, as approved by the supreme court, jointly define, adopt and publish specific administrative policies, procedures and guidelines consistent with these rules: (a) To ensure timely and efficient admissions to the bar, accurate, fair and confidential administration of the bar examination and the reporting of the bar examination results to the supreme court. (b) To inform applicants in a timely and accurate manner of all requirements pertaining to applications for and admission to practice and all pertinent procedures relating to the administration, processing and grading of the bar examination. (c) The provisions of these Rules shall prevail over any conflicting provisions in the administrative policies, procedures and guidelines. Last amended effective 8/24/2015.