Colorado Supreme Court
Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel
Promoting Professionalism. Protecting the Public.
Supreme
Court Adopts New Admissions Rules
By JIM COYLE
Summer 2014
The Colorado
Supreme Court has adopted a new set of Rules Governing Admission to the Practice
of Law, numbered C.R.C.P. 202-212. These new rules will replace C.R.C.P. 201.1
– 14, 220 – 223, and 226.5. The new set of rules are a comprehensive revision
of Chapter 18 of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure, and provide:
·
An updated, user-friendly format that includes
all rules governing admission in one location;
·
Expanded Supreme Court Advisory Committee
jurisdiction to include oversight of the admissions process;
·
Increased Advisory Committee membership to
include the Chairs of the Law Committee and Character and Fitness Committee;
·
Admissions staff functions incorporated into the
Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel;
·
Updated application and character and fitness
procedures, and clear standards in such procedures;
·
The use of the office of the Presiding
Disciplinary Judge in the hearing process for admissions cases, and updated
procedures for admissions hearings and Supreme Court review; and
·
Procedures for full Colorado licensure as well
as limited admissions and other authorizations to practice law.
Full Colorado Licensure
New Rule 203
addresses applications for full licensure. The rule concerning admission by
Colorado bar examination has not changed much, but moves the deadline date for
bar exam applications up to the first day of November preceding the February
bar exam and to the first day of April preceding the July bar exam. In
addition, this rule still requires all Colorado bar examination applicants to
successfully pass the multistate professional responsibility examination (MPRE)
and the course on professionalism.
New Rule
203.3 updates the procedure for admission on motion based upon the Uniform Bar
Examination (UBE) score transfer rule. Essentially, an applicant who has taken
the UBE in a jurisdiction other than Colorado, who earns a UBE score that is
passing in Colorado, and meets all other application requirements including
those involving character and fitness, can be admitted to practice law in
Colorado based upon the portable UBE score that remains valid for at least
three years.
In addition, a
qualified out-of-state attorney who is licensed in a jurisdiction that
recognizes reciprocal admission, may apply for admission on motion if that
attorney has been primarily engaged in the active practice of law in one or
more other jurisdictions in the United States for three of the five years
immediately preceding the date upon which the application was filed, and meets
all other requirements under such rule, including those involving character and
fitness.
Certifications to Practice Law
Rule 204
addresses provisional licenses or certifications to practice law. These
certifications include:
·
Rule 204.1 (single-client counsel
certification). This rule is based in substantial part on previous Rule 222 and
gives lawyers who are licensed and in good standing in other jurisdictions the
ability to practice law on behalf of a single client as if fully licensed in
Colorado. The rule is designed to accommodate in-house counsel who work for
national organizations and wish to relocate to Colorado, although this rule is
not limited to in-house counsel, as the ABA Model Rule is.
·
Rule 204.2 (foreign legal consultant
certification). This rule is based on the ABA Model Rule for the licensing and
practice of foreign legal consultants. This rule provides that an applicant who
is, and for at least the past five years has been, a member in good standing of
a recognized legal profession in a foreign country, may practice as a foreign
legal consultant in Colorado. Foreign legal consultants may maintain an office
in Colorado or may work for an organization other than a law firm. The rule
contains comprehensive disclosure requirements by both the applicant and the
organization. And, foreign legal consultants are limited in their ability to
practice law in Colorado: They may render legal services in Colorado only with
regard to matters authorized by the law of the foreign jurisdiction in which
the foreign legal consultant is admitted to practice. This requirement allows
foreign legal consultants to practice essentially as they would if they were
practicing in their “home” jurisdiction, but generally does not allow them to
advise on Colorado or U.S. law. It also avoids thorny questions of whether
foreign legal consultants may advise on international law, as the answers
depend on what is authorized by the foreign legal consultant’s home
jurisdiction.
·
Rule 204.3 (judge advocate certification). This
rule expands on current Rule 201.3(3) by providing clear guidelines on how to
apply for certification and clearer requirements regarding who is eligible to
apply for judge advocate certification. Most importantly, the rule allows
certified judge advocates to practice as if licensed in Colorado. Judge
advocates will no longer be limited to acting in the scope of their official
duties.
·
Rule 204.4 (military spouse certification). This
rule allows a simplified process for certification of spouses of members of the
U.S. Uniformed Services. The rule grants certified military spouses all the
rights and privileges of Colorado attorneys upon a demonstration of permanent
presence in Colorado as a spouse or legally recognized domestic partner of a
member of the U.S. Uniformed Services, but provides for automatic termination
of certification upon the happening of certain events, for example, the service
member is no longer a member of the U.S. Uniformed Services or the military
spouse is no longer a spouse of the service member.
·
Rule 204.5 (law professor certification). This
rule is based upon previous Rule 201.3(4). Like the military spouse rule, this
rule expands on current Rule 201.3(4) to better define who is eligible for
certification and what an applicant must do to be certified. While the current
rule is limited to a full-time (tenured or tenured-track) teacher at Colorado
law school, the new rule language applies, for example, to legal writing
instructors, who may not be tenured or tenured-track but who are equally
qualified to practice law in Colorado. Certified law professors are entitled to
the rights and privileges of licensed Colorado lawyers. But as in other rules,
certification terminates automatically upon the happening of certain events,
such as failure to maintain status as a law professor.
·
Rule 204.6 (pro bono counsel certification). This
rule is based upon previous Rule 223 but clarifies who is eligible for pro bono
counsel certification. Like the current rule, Rule 204.6 applies to licensed,
inactive Colorado attorneys and to attorneys not admitted in Colorado but who
are licensed in another U.S. jurisdiction. For attorneys not admitted in
Colorado, Rule 204.6 requires that they be domiciled in Colorado. The rule
provides that pro bono counsel may provide pro bono legal services under the
auspices of an entity described in C.R.C.P. 260.8(2), in accordance with Colo.
RPC 6.1.
Other Authorizations to Practice Law
New Rule 205
collects all other authorizations to practice law in one rule location. These
other authorizations include temporary practice by out-of-state attorneys,
temporary practice by foreign attorneys, pro hac vice authority before state
courts and state agencies for out-of-state and foreign attorneys, practice
pending admission, and law student practice.
·
Rule 205.1 (temporary practice by out-of-state
attorney). This rule is based upon previous Rule 220. The rule is edited for
clarity and consistency with other rules, and permits limited practice by
out-of-state attorneys. These out-of-state attorneys may not appear before
state courts or agencies unless they comply with applicable pro hac vice rules,
and can no longer practice if such attorneys become domiciled or have an office
in Colorado.
·
Rule 205.2 (temporary practice by foreign
attorney). This rule is based upon ABA Model Rule 5.5 but restructured to be
consistent with Rule 205.1 (temporary practice by out-of-state attorney). This
rule allows a foreign attorney to provide legal services in Colorado in limited
circumstances, for example, when the foreign attorney associates with a
Colorado attorney or where the legal services are governed primarily by
international law or the law of a non-U.S. jurisdiction. The rule makes clear
that a foreign attorney who wishes to provide legal services as a foreign legal
consultant must comply with the requirements of Rule 204.2. The rule also makes
clear that a temporary foreign practice attorney may not appear before a court
or agency until such foreign practice attorney complies with pro hac vice
requirements contained in Rule 205.5.
·
Rule 205.3 (pro hac vice authority before the
state courts – out-of-state attorney). This rule is based upon C.R.C.P. 221 and
the ABA Model Rule on pro hac vice admission. The rule maintains the substance
of C.R.C.P. 221 but is edited for style and consistency with the other rules. The
rule states what is required of an attorney applying for pro hac vice
admission, as well as what is required of the associated Colorado attorney. The
rule makes clear that the trial court before which pro hac vice admission is
sought retains full discretion whether to admit the attorney.
·
Rule 205.4 (pro hac vice authority before state
agencies – out-of state attorney). This rule is identical to C.R.C.P. 221.1
with the exception of new references to Rules 205.1 and 205.3.
·
Rule 205.5 (pro hac vice authority – foreign
attorney). This rule is based upon the ABA Model Rule on foreign attorney pro
hac vice admission and is structured like Rule 205.3. Foreign attorney
applicants are required to provide detailed information to the trial court, for
example, “any special experience, expertise, or other factor deemed to make it
particularly desirable that the applicant be permitted to represent the
client(s) the applicant proposes to represent. . . .” Like Rule 205.3, the rule
makes clear that the trial court has the ultimate discretion whether to admit
an applicant pro hac vice.
·
Rule 205.6 (practice pending admission). This
rule is based upon the ABA Model Rule on practice pending admission. The rule
allows a lawyer who is licensed in another jurisdiction and who has been
actively practicing law for three of the past five years to provide legal
services in Colorado for up to one year, pending admission to the Colorado bar.
The rule differs from the ABA Model Rule by requiring that the applicant must
first have submitted a complete application for admission by qualified
out-of-state attorney, on motion based upon UBE score transfer, or by
examination. The applicant must reasonably expect to fulfill all of the
requirements of admission and must associate with and be supervised by a
licensed Colorado attorney. The rule allows foreign legal consultants who are
licensed or certified in another jurisdiction, but not yet in Colorado, to
practice in Colorado. The rule also makes clear that attorneys authorized under
this rule may not appear before state courts or agencies unless admitted pro
hac vice.
·
Rule 205.7 (law student practice). This rule is
based upon C.R.C.P. 226.5 and C.R.S. §§ 12-5-116. These provisions of the
C.R.S. are appropriately incorporated here with the other admissions rules as a
function of the Supreme Court’s rule making authority. The language of the
statutes is essentially preserved as written by the legislature, with the
exception of changes adopted by the Court in June 2011. The only edits are to
numbering and style, to ensure consistency with other rules in this section. The
term “legal aid dispensaries” has been changed to “legal aid clinics” to better
reflect what these clinics are called in practice. In the past, the statutes
have functioned well and have served to provide legal services to populations
who might not otherwise receive them.
The
subcommittee that worked on these new rules includes attorneys Alec Rothrock,
Dan Vigil, Rich Nielson, Brian Zall, Christine Markman, Dick Reeve, Todd Wells,
Ginette Chapman, Matt Samuelson, Alan Obye, and Jim Coyle. In addition, extern
Erika Holmes also participated in work on behalf of the subcommittee. Judge Dan
Taubman of the Colorado Court of Appeals; Connie Talmage, Executive Director of
the Colorado Lawyers Committee; and Colorado attorney Peter Schwartz also
assisted in the drafting of Rule 204.6 (pro bono counsel certification). Thanks
also to staff members Jesse Nava and Cheryl Lilburn for their assistance in
keeping eighteen months of draft rules typed and organized.
A full copy
of Rule Change 2014(09) Chapter 18, Rules Governing Admission to the Practice
of Law in Colorado, can be found at: http://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Court_Probation/Supreme_Court/Rule_Changes/2014/2014(09)%20clean.PDF.
For fees
associated with such licensing, go to: http://www.coloradosupremecourt.us/BLE/ble_home.htm.
James C.
Coyle is Attorney Regulation Counsel for the Office of Attorney Regulation
Counsel, and was chair of the subcommittee that considered revisions to the admissions rules.