Rule 3.0 - Admission by Examination(a)Course of study. - Unless otherwise specified herein, any person who wishes to take the bar examination in the State of West Virginia shall satisfy the Board that he or she has completed a full course of study in a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, or its equivalent, and has been granted and holds a degree of L.L.B. or J.D., or their equivalents, and a degree of A.B. or B.S., or higher degree, from an accredited college or university, or its equivalent. (b)Policy on equivalency. - The Board of Law Examiners will consider the following circumstances to be the equivalent of completion of a full course of study in a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, and an applicant meeting the standards set forth herein shall be presumed to be eligible to take the West Virginia Bar Examination; providing that all other requirements set forth in Rule 3.0, et seq., for admission to the bar examination are met; Provided, That graduates of correspondence law courses, including law schools providing more than 50% of classes as Internet-based classes, shall not be eligible to take the West Virginia Bar Examination. (1) The applicant is a graduate of a non-ABA accredited law school who has successfully passed the bar examination of another state, the District of Columbia, or commonwealth or territory of the United States, and has been admitted to practice in such state, district, commonwealth, or territory, or (2)(A) The applicant is a graduate of a non-ABA accredited law school, which school is of such stature that its graduates are eligible to take the bar examination of the state, District of Columbia, commonwealth or territory of the United States in which such law school is located, and (B) The applicant has completed three (3) years of law office study and work in this state as a legal assistant or paralegal, under the supervision of an attorney or attorneys admitted to practice in West Virginia, and (C) Two attorneys admitted to practice in West Virginia, at least one of whom shall have actively supervised the applicant for a period of not less than six months, certify to the Board that they believe that the applicant is knowledgeable in the law, competent to practice law, and of good moral character, or (3)(A) The applicant is a graduate of a reputable law school which, although not accredited by the ABA, has been determined by the Board of Law Examiners to be substantially the equivalent of an ABA-accredited school. (B) The Board shall consider applications for admission under paragraph 3 only at a regular meeting of the Board, with the Board's determination to become effective commencing with the next successive examination. All information required for such determination must be provided to the Board at least 60 days prior to its regular meeting. The Board reserves the right to require additional information from the applicant or the institution if it determines that it has insufficient information to make a determination of equivalency. (C) Once a determination of substantial equivalency has been made by the Board, the graduates of such school shall be presumed eligible to take the West Virginia Bar Examination for such period as the Board may designate unless a situation arises requiring review at an earlier time. Said determination may be renewed by the Board. Upon expiration of said determination, the institution or the applicant shall have the burden of establishing that said institution continues to be substantially the equivalent of an ABA-accredited law school, or (4)(A) The applicant is a graduate of a law school of a foreign country where the common law of England exists as the basis of its jurisprudence, and (B) The educational requirements for admission to the bar in said country are substantially the same as those of this State, and that the applicant has satisfied those requirements, and (C) The applicant has successfully completed study at an ABA- accredited law school, with a minimum of 30 credit hours of basic courses selected from the following areas of law: Professional Responsibility/Legal Ethics, Contracts, Property (Real and Personal), Uniform Commercial Code, Criminal Law, Evidence, Business Organizations/Corporations, Domestic Relations, Wills, Trusts and Estates, Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Torts, Federal Taxation and Conflict of Laws, and which such study shall be completed within a period of 36 calendar months from the date of the inception of such study. The burden of establishing eligibility to take the bar examination to the satisfaction of the Board of Law Examiners shall be on the applicant and upon the institution seeking admission to the bar examination for its graduates. The applicant or the institution shall furnish to the Board all information and documents necessary to enable the Board to make a determination as to whether or not the requirements of this policy have been met. Any costs incurred by the Board in the determination of equivalency under this Rule shall be assessed against the applicant.
The Board may require the applicant to appear before the Board at its next regular meeting if the Board determines that it has insufficient information upon which to make a decision. Decisions by the Board pursuant to this policy shall be subject to the administrative hearing procedure provided by Rule 6.0 of the Rules for Admission to the Practice of Law in West Virginia.
W.V. R. Admis. Prac. Law. 3.0
As amended by order entered June 24, 1992, effective 7/1/1992; by order entered June 14, 1995, effective 9/1/1995; by order entered November 20, 2012, effective 1/1/2013.