Opinion
Delivered December 20, 1993
On June 18, 1991, the Arkansas Board of Law Examiners filed with the Court proposed changes to the Rules Governing Admission to the Bar. Those proposals were later amended and resubmitted on April 22, 1992. No changes to Rule XV, Student Practice, were submitted during that period of time.
By Per Curiam of May 18, 1992, we adopted the amended rules as proposed by the Board. In that per curiam, we inadvertently omitted any reference to unamended Rule XV.
Although the Court has some concerns regarding the provisions of Rule XV in its present form, it was not our intent to omit the Rule. Therefore, we now republish Rule XV in its entirety. Further, we refer Rule XV to the Board of Law Examiners for study and recommendations to the Court.
Rule XV
STUDENT PRACTICE
A. Purpose
The bench and the bar are primarily responsible for providing competent legal services for all persons, including those unable to pay for these services. As one means of providing assistance to lawyers who represent clients unable to pay for such services and to encourage law schools to provide clinical instruction in trial work of varying kinds, this rule is adopted.
B. Activities
1. An eligible law student may appear in any court or before any administrative tribunal in this State on behalf of any indigent person if the person on whose behalf he or she is appearing has indicated in writing his or her consent to that appearance and the supervising lawyer has also indicated in writing approval of that appearance, in the following matters:
(a) Any civil matter. In such cases the supervising lawyer is not required to be personally present in court if both (a) the court or administrative tribunal before whom an appearance is being made, after reasonable advance notice in writing, and (b) the person on whose behalf an appearance is being made, consent to his or her absence.
(b) Any criminal matter in which the defendant does not have the right to the assignment of counsel under any constitutional provision, statute, or rule of this court. In such cases the supervising lawyer is not required to be personally present in court if both (a) the court of [or] administrative tribunal before whom an appearance is being made, after reasonable advance notice in writing, and (b) the persona on whose behalf an appearance is being made, consents to his or her absence.
(c) Any criminal matter in which the defendant has the right to the assignment of counsel under any constitutional provision, statute, or rule of this court. In such cases the supervising lawyer must be personally present throughout the proceedings and shall be fully responsible for the manner in which they are conducted.
2. An eligible law student may also appear in any criminal matter on behalf of the State with the written approval of the prosecuting attorney or his or her authorized representative and of the supervising lawyer.
3. In each case the written consent and approval referred to above shall be filed in the record of the case and shall be brought to the attention of the judge of the court or the presiding officer of the administrative tribunal.
C. Requirements and Limitations
In order to make an appearance pursuant to this rule, the law student must:
1. Be duly enrolled in this State in law school approved by the American Bar Association.
2. Have completed legal studies amounting to at least four (4) semesters, or the equivalent if the school is on some basis other than a semester basis.
3. Have certified by the dean of his or her law school as being of good character and competent legal ability, and as being adequately trained to perform as a legal intern.
4. Be introduced to the court in which he or she is appearing by an attorney admitted to practice in that court.
5. Neither ask for nor receive any compensation of any kind for his services in connection with any court appearance.
6. Certify in writing that he or she has read and is familiar with the Model Rules of Professional Conduct adopted by this court.
D. Certification
The certification of a student by the law school dean:
1. Shall be filed with the Clerk of this Court and, unless it is sooner withdrawn, it shall remain in effect until the expiration of eighteen (18) months after it is filed, or until the announcement of the results of the first bar examination following the student's graduation, whichever is earlier. For any student who passes that examination or who is admitted to the bar without taking an examination the certification shall continue in effect until the date he or she is admitted to the bar.
2. May be withdrawn by the dean at any time by mailing a notice to that effect to the Clerk of this Court. It is not necessary that the notice state the cause for withdrawal.
3. May be terminated by this Court at any time without notice or hearing and without any showing of cause. Notice of the termination may be filed with the Clerk of the Court.
4. After a law student has appeared in a trial court on one or more occasions, a judge of the trial court may terminate the authority of any such student to appear subsequently in the court or division thereof over which he presides, for good cause.
E. Other Activities.
1. In addition, an eligible law student may engage in other activities, under the general supervision of a member of the bar of this Court, but outside the personal presence of that lawyer, including:
(a) Preparation of pleadings and other documents to be filed in any matter in which the student is eligible to appear, but such pleadings or documents must signed by the supervising lawyer.
(b) Preparation of briefs, abstracts, and other documents to be filed in appellate courts of this State, but such documents must be signed by the supervising lawyer.
(c) Each document or pleading must contain the name of the eligible law student who has participated in drafting it. If he participated in drafting only a portion of it, that fact may be mentioned.
F. Supervision
The member of the bar under whose supervision an eligible law student does any of the things permitted by this rule shall:
1. Be a lawyer whose service as a supervising lawyer for this program is approved by the dean of the law school in which the law student is enrolled.
2. Assume personal professional responsibility for the student's guidance in any work undertaken and for supervising the quality of the student's work.
3. Assist the student in his or her preparation to the extent the supervising lawyer considers it necessary.
G. Miscellaneous
Nothing contained in this rule shall affect the right of my person who is not admitted to practice law to do anything that he or she might lawfully do prior to the adoption of this rule. [Adopted April 27, 1987.]