Order Adopting Rule 304 of the Pennsylvania Bar Admission Rules ( 2019 )


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  • Rule 304. Limited Admission of Spouses of Active-Duty Service
    Members of the United States Uniformed Services
    An applicant may apply for limited admission to the practice of
    law in Pennsylvania as a spouse of an active-duty service
    member of the United States Uniformed Services if all
    requirements of this rule are satisfied.
    (a)   Qualifications.
    An applicant who seeks admission pursuant to this rule:
    (1) must be present in Pennsylvania as the spouse of
    an active-duty member of the United States Uniformed Services
    who is (A) assigned to duty in Pennsylvania or (B) assigned to
    duty outside the United States but whose last assignment within
    the United States was in Pennsylvania;
    (2) must satisfy the requirements of Rule 203(a)(1)
    and (2)(i) (related to completion of undergraduate studies and
    legal studies at a law school accredited by the American Bar
    Association) and Rule 203(b)(2) (related to character and fitness);
    (3) must not have taken and failed the Pennsylvania
    bar examination;
    (4) must be currently admitted as an attorney at law
    in the highest court of another state, commonwealth, territory
    or the District of Columbia;
    (5) must not currently be the subject of a pending
    disciplinary matter in any jurisdiction in which the applicant is
    admitted to the practice of law or be currently suspended or
    disbarred in any such jurisdiction;
    (6) must not have been disciplined for professional
    misconduct by any jurisdiction within the 10 years immediately
    preceding filing of the Pennsylvania application or been
    disbarred at any time by any jurisdiction; and
    (7) (A) must be employed and supervised by a
    Pennsylvania-licensed attorney who is in good standing and who
    is currently engaged in the practice of law in Pennsylvania; or
    (B) be employed by the federal government, the
    Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or a local government within
    Pennsylvania and supervised in that employment by a
    Pennsylvania-licensed attorney who is currently engaged in the
    practice of law in Pennsylvania.
    (b)   Procedure.
    (1) An applicant who seeks admission pursuant to this
    rule must submit to the Board of Law Examiners an affidavit
    confirming that the applicant satisfies the requirements of Rule
    304(a); that the applicant agrees to supplement his or her
    application with any information that might arise during the
    limited admission to practice that bears on any of the
    requirements of Rule 304(a); that the applicant agrees to notify
    the Prothonotary of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court of any
    information that might arise during the limited admission to
    practice that bears on any of the requirements of Rule 304(a);
    that the applicant has read, is familiar with and agrees to abide
    by the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct and the
    Pennsylvania Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement; that the
    applicant will comply with any obligations imposed by the
    Pennsylvania Continuing Legal Education Board; and that the
    applicant submits to the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania
    Supreme Court with respect to any and all disciplinary matters.
    (2) An applicant must submit to the Board of Law
    Examiners an affidavit of the Pennsylvania attorney who will,
    pursuant to Rule 304(a)(7), supervise the applicant if the
    application is granted. The supervising lawyer must confirm in
    the affidavit that he or she will (A) supervise the applicant in the
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    performance of the applicant’s legal work and (B) notify the
    Board in the event the applicant leaves the employ of the
    supervising attorney’s law firm or government entity or is
    otherwise no longer being supervised by that attorney.
    (3) The applicant must submit to the Board of Law
    Examiners the following:
    (A) certificates or official transcripts evidencing
    compliance with the provisions of Rule 304(a)(2) related to legal
    education;
    (B) a certificate of good standing from the highest
    court or the admissions authority of a state, commonwealth,
    territory or the District of Columbia in which the applicant is
    currently licensed to practice law;
    (C) a copy of the United States military orders of the
    applicant’s spouse establishing that the spouse is present in
    Pennsylvania because of military orders; and
    (D) any fee required by the Board of Law Examiners.
    (4) If an applicant satisfactorily completes the steps
    required by this rule and the Board determines that the
    applicant is qualified under this rule, the Board shall provide to
    the applicant a certificate recommending admission of a spouse
    of an active-duty service member.
    (5) At any time within six months of the issuance of a
    certificate recommending admission of a spouse of an active-
    duty service member, an applicant may file a motion with the
    Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, on a form
    prescribed by the Board for issuance of such a license. The
    applicant shall submit the form with the certificate
    recommending admission of a spouse of an active-duty service
    member along with any fee the Prothonotary may assess.
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    (6) Upon receipt of a properly supported motion, the
    Prothonotary shall enter the name of the applicant upon the
    docket of persons specially admitted to the bar of the Supreme
    Court of Pennsylvania subject to the restrictions of this rule.
    (c)   Limitations
    (1) An applicant who is granted limited admission under
    this rule and who continues to satisfy the requirements of Rule
    304(a) is entitled to all the same rights, privileges and benefits
    and is subject to the same duties, obligations and responsibilities
    as active members of the bar of the Supreme Court of
    Pennsylvania subject to the following limitations.
    (2) The limited admission provided by this rule shall
    terminate automatically upon the occurrence of any of the
    following:
    (A)   any of the provisions of Rule 304(a) are no longer
    satisfied or
    (B) the attorney admitted under this rule is admitted
    to the bar of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania under any other
    rule.
    (3) In the event Rule 304 (c)(2)(A) or (B) applies as a result
    of the death of the spouse of the attorney admitted under this
    rule, the termination of the limited admission provided by this
    rule will be subject to a six-month grace period.
    Official Note:
    For purposes of this rule, the “United States Uniformed Services”
    are defined to include the following: the United States Army; the
    United States Marine Corps; the United States Navy; the United
    States Air Force; the United States Coast Guard; the United
    States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; the National
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    Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps
    and any other entity designated as part of the United States
    Uniformed Services by the United States Department of Defense
    or the United States Department of Homeland Security. See 
    10 U.S.C. § 101
    (a)(4) and (5).
    The phrase “active duty” shall have the meaning given it in 
    10 U.S.C. § 101
    (d)(1).
    For purposes of Rule 304(a)(7), “practice of law” shall have the
    meaning set out in Rule 204.
    The supervision required by Rule 304(a)(7) must be sufficient to
    insure that the supervising attorney has knowledge of the
    specific conduct, ratifies the conduct, knows of the conduct at a
    time when its consequences may be avoided or mitigated and
    will assume responsibility for the supervised attorney’s work
    should the supervised attorney’s limited license terminate.
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Document Info

Docket Number: 787 Supreme Court Rules

Filed Date: 1/29/2019

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 1/29/2019