Vt. R. Bar Adm. 12

As amended through August 12, 2024

Rule 12 - Additional Cle and Experiential Requirements for Applicants Qualifying for Admission by Examination

(a)Requirements. An Applicant who qualifies for admission by examination must satisfy the following requirements.

(1)Continuing Legal Education (CLE). The Applicant must attend at least 15 hours of CLE on Vermont practice and procedure in courses approved by the Board of Mandatory Continuing Legal Education and certified by the Board of Bar Examiners as satisfying the requirements of this rule. A minimum of 9 of the 15 CLE hours must be earned by attendance at programs delivered either as Moderated Programming or Non-Moderated Programming with Interactivity as a Key Component, as those terms are defined in the Vermont Rules for Mandatory Continuing Legal Education. All CLE courses that satisfy this requirement must be completed no earlier than 1 year before, and no later than 1 year after the Applicant is admitted to the Vermont Bar. For good cause, the Board may extend the time necessary to satisfy this CLE requirement.

(2)Mentorship. The Vermont Bar, the Applicant must complete a mentorship under the supervision of a judge or attorney practicing in Vermont. The supervising judge or attorney must be admitted to the Vermont Bar for at least 3 years when the mentorship begins. The mentorship must last at least 6 months. For applicants for admission by examination, the mentorship can commence no earlier than the date applicants receive notice of having passed the bar exam. For applicants for admission by transferred UBE score, the mentorship can commence no earlier than the date applicants receive notice that they are eligible for admission. The mentorship must be completed within one year of the Applicant's admission to the Vermont Bar. For good cause, the Board may extend the time necessary to satisfy this mentorship requirement. To complete the mentorship, the Applicant must:

(A) meet regularly with the supervising judge or attorney, no less than 10 times, to discuss the Applicant's practice and issues relevant to Vermont practice and procedure; and

(B) engage in at least 40 hours of activities on the mentorship program list compiled by the Board of Mandatory Continuing Legal Education and certified by the Board of Bar Examiners as satisfying the requirements of this Rule.

(b)Reporting. The Applicant and supervising judge or attorney must certify completion of the requirements of Rule 12(a) within one year of the date of admission, or the Applicant's license will be suspended. In the event that an Applicant's license is suspended for failing to complete the requirements of Rule 12, the Applicant must submit a plan for completing the requirements. If the Applicant asserts that he or she has completed some portion of the requirements for the mentorship under Rule 12(a)(2), the Applicant must submit verification to support this assertion certified by the supervising judge or attorney. In its discretion, the Board may reinstate the Applicant's license pending successful completion of the plan approved by the Board.

Vt. R. Bar Adm. 12

Effective 4/18/2016; amended June 1, 2017, effective 8/1/2017; amended June 13, 2018, effective 8/13/2018; amended January 1, 2021, eff. 3/8/2021; amended February 7, 2022 eff. 4/11/2022.

Board's Notes-2022 Amendment

Rule 12(a)(2) is amended to allow applicants to commence their mentorship prior to admission to the bar, consistent with the clerkship that was required prior to the adoption of the UBE. This amendment does not apply to applicants admitted to the Vermont bar prior to the effective date of the amendment.

The references in Rule 12(a)(1) and (a)(2)(B) to the "the Board of Continuing Legal Education" are changed to "the Board of Mandatory Continuing Legal Education" to accurately reflect the name of that Board.

Board's Notes-2021 Amendment

Rules 12(a)(1) and 15(c) are amended to make the first-year CLE requirement consistent with recent changes to the Rules for Mandatory Continuing Legal Education. Specifically, the prior distinction between live and self-study in 12(a)(1) is replaced with the distinction between Moderated Programming, Non-Moderated Programming with Interactivity as a Key Component, and other. Further, the minimum number of hours of programming that is Moderated or Non-Moderated with Interactivity as a Key Component is increased from 6 to 9.

Board's Notes-2018 Amendment

Rule 12(a)(1) is revised to make the time period to take the first-year CLE courses for admittees by examination consistent with the corresponding time period for admittees without examination in Rule 15. In removing the reference to the bar exam, this revision also clarifies the corresponding time period for admittees by transferred UBE score.

Rule 12(a)(2) is revised to clarify that for good cause the Board can grant an extension to the time limit for satisfying the first-year mentorship requirement. This aligns Rule 12(a)(2) with Rule 12(a)(1), which similarly allows the Board to grant an extension for good cause shown to the time limit for satisfying the first-year CLE requirement.

Board's Note-2017 Amendment

This amendment provides a process by which an Applicant, who is newly admitted to the Vermont Bar, can rectify the untimely filing of a Mentorship Completion Certificate or other minor errors in the completion of the required Mentorship program. The amendment is drawn from a similar rule of the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board allowing admitted attorneys time to complete a make-up plan if they fail to have the requisite number of continuing legal education credits by the applicable biannual reporting deadline. See Rules for Mandatory Continuing Legal Education, § 10.

Board's Notes

Together with the adoption of the Uniform Bar Exam, new Rule 12 eliminates the former three-month clerkship requirement and replaces it with a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program and a post-admission mentorship program. The CLE requirement is similar to that already required of lawyers waiving into Vermont from other states. The purpose of the CLE program is to educate bar applicants and new lawyers about some unique features of Vermont law and to acclimate new lawyers to the Vermont legal community. The required CLE must be completed no later than one year after admission to the Vermont Bar.

The mentorship program requires a newly licensed lawyer to be mentored in the first year of practice by a judge or experienced attorney practicing law in Vermont. The program will help new lawyers become acclimated to the practice of law in Vermont and the Vermont legal community. The mentors will provide guidance to new lawyers as they begin their practice. The mentorship program requires personal contact between the mentor and the new lawyer to foster a personal connection that will continue beyond the formal program requirements. The mentorship program also requires the new lawyer to perform certain legal tasks or attend certain legal functions to gain exposure to proceedings, institutions, and organizations, as well as to observe experienced attorneys performing tasks that may be relevant to the new attorney's practice. The Board of Continuing Legal Education and Board of Bar Examiners will approve, and periodically revise, a recommended activities list for the mentorship program. The list affords substantial flexibility for new lawyers and their mentors to develop an individualized program that assures broad and relevant exposure to Vermont law, legal practice, and the legal culture.

The mentorship program must be completed within one year of admission to the Vermont Bar. The new program continues a valuable aspect of the former three-month clerkship by encouraging new attorneys to form mentoring relationships with experienced practitioners.