Rule 4 - RULE 2(A) APPLICANT - ATTORNEY ADMISSION ON EXAMINATIONa.General. Article II, Rule 2(a) of the Supreme Court Rules provides limited examination requirements for individuals who have been admitted as an attorney of the highest court of any state, district or territory of the United States prior to applying for admission to the Rhode Island Bar upon examination. This Rule of Practice sets forth the rules governing admission to the in Rhode Island Bar on examination pursuant to Article II, Rule 2(a).b.Petitions for Admission to the Rhode Island Bar. Every person applying for admission to the Rhode Island Bar upon examination under Article II, Rule 2(a) shall electronically file with the Supreme Court a Petition for Admission to the Rhode Island Bar available on RISCAP under oath, and shall satisfy the Board that he/she has met all requirements set forth in Rule 2(a) and further promulgated herein. i.Prerequisites for Article II, Rule 2(a) Applicants. Petitions received from individuals who have not first met the following requirements shall be rejected: 1)Article II, Rule 1. The applicant shall meet the requirements set forth in Article II, Rule 1(a), (b) and (d) of the Supreme Court Rules: (a) Citizenship. All applicants shall be citizens of the United States or legal residents, of good character.(b) Age. All applicants shall be at least twenty-one (21) years of age.(c)Past Bar Examination Results. No person who has failed five (5) or more bar examinations, whether in Rhode Island or in any combination of states, districts, and territories of the United States, will be permitted to take the Rhode Island Bar Examination, and no special order excepting any such person from this five (5) examination limit will be granted by the Court. Failure to achieve the minimum passing score required by the rules in place at the time of the administration of the UBE in any jurisdiction constitutes a failed bar examination for purposes of this rule.2)Legal Experience. The applicant shall have been engaged in the full-time active practice of law or full-time teaching of law for at least five (5) years of the last ten (10) years immediately preceding the filing of his or her Petition. See, e.g., In re Stanton, 828 A.2d 529 (R.I. 2003). (a)Positions Qualifying as the Practice of Law. Only employment as an attorney qualifies as the practice of law for admission pursuant to Article II, Rule 2(a), except that full-time employment as a judicial law clerk while licensed to practice law in another jurisdiction and full-time employment as a judicial officer will be considered the practice of law for purposes of Article II, Rule 2(a). (b)Positions Qualifying as the Teaching of Law. Only full-time positions teaching law at a law school accredited by the American Bar Association qualify as the teaching of law for admission pursuant to Article II, Rule 2(a).3) All prerequisites for admission must be satisfied as of the application deadline, must be satisfied throughout the pendency of a Petition for Admission, and must be satisfied as of the applicable application deadline for the next examination if an applicant has deferred his/her Petition or is retaking the examination.ii.Petitions. All Petitions for admission pursuant to Article II, Rule 2(a) shall be filed and processed in conformity with Practice Rules 2(b)(ii) (viii) (x), except that Petitions from persons seeking admission pursuant to Article II, Rule 2(a) must be filed with the Supreme Court between July 1 and September 1 of the preceding year in which they intend to take the February examination and between December 1 and February 1 of the year in which they intend to take the July examination.
c.Character and Fitness Assessment. Practice Rule 2(c) shall apply to all Petition seeking admission to the Rhode Island Bar pursuant to Article II, Rule 2(a). Petition seeking admission pursuant to Article II, Rule 2(a) and must submit to a character investigation conducted by the NCBE. Rule 2(a) applicants and Rule 2(a) applicants who defer their Petitions or who retake the examination shall promptly respond to inquiries from the NCBE regarding their pending investigation.d.Examination.The Board shall examine Petition seeking admission to the Rhode Island Bar under Article II, Rule 2(a) during the regularly scheduled examinations described in Practice Rule 2(d)(i). The examination shall be administered in accordance with the Supreme Court Rules and Practice Rule 2(d), provided that: i. Article II, Rule 2(a) Petition shall be required to take only the MPT and MEE, portions of the examination; ii.Total Score. The maximum aggregate raw score on the MPT of each Article II, Rule 2(a) applicant shall be scaled in the same manner as Petition who sat for the Rhode Island Bar Examination pursuant to Rule 1. The applicant's written scaled score on the MPT and MEE is the applicant's "total scaled Score" andiii.Passing Score. A minimum total scaled Score of 135 shall be required of each Article II, Rule 2(a) applicant to pass the Rhode Island Bar Examination. Article II, Rule 2(a) Petition who receive a Total Scaled Score lower than 135 fail the examination. The Board will not entertain waivers of the minimum passing score.e.Examination Results, Retaking the Bar Examination and Failure to Satisfy Requirements for Admission. Practice Rules 2(e)( g) shall apply to the examination and admission of Petition seeking admission to the Rhode Island Bar under Article II, Rule 2(a). Petition seeking admission pursuant to Article II, Rule 2(a) must request a supplemental character report from the NCBE for each subsequent examination. Requests for a supplemental report must be received by the applicable Petitions deadline and shall include a separate payment to the NCBE in the amount of the fee for the NCBE supplemental report.R.I. Brd. Bar Exam. R. Prac. Admiss. Examin. 4
Amended effective 3/5/2019; amended effective (with the administration of the February 2021 bar examination) 2/1/2021.