Rule 14-807. Law
student and law graduate legal assistance.
(a) The purpose of
this rule is to provide eligible law school students and recent law school
graduates with supervised practical training in the practice of law for a
limited period of time and to assist the Bar and the judiciary to discharge
their responsibilities to help create a legal system which helps provide access
to those individuals of limited means.
(b) Subject to the
inherent power of each judge to have direct control of the proceedings in court
and the conduct of attorneys and others who appear before the judge, the courts
of
(c) In order to be
eligible to participate under this rule an individual must be either:
(c)(1) a law school
student who must have completed legal studies amounting to at least four
semesters or the equivalent if the school is not on a semester basis at an ABA
approved law school; or
(c)(2) a law school
graduate who must have graduated from an ABA approved law school and have
submitted an application for admission to the Bar in time for the first
regularly-scheduled bar examination after graduation.
(d) The law school student's
or graduate’s participation shall bee limited to
civil, misdemeanor or administrative cases.
(e) A law school
student's or graduate’s participation shall be under the direct and immediate
personal supervision and in the presence of a resident attorney admitted to
practice law before the court, except that the presence of the supervising
attorney shall not be required at default divorce proceedings which are not
contested and where the appearing party is represented by a non-profit public
service legal agency.
(f) The supervising
attorney is responsible for ensuring that the conduct of the law school student
or graduate complies with this rule which includes verifying the participant’s
eligibility.
(g) A law school student's
or graduate’s participationshall be agreed to by
written stipulation of counsel for all parties to the action and filed in the
case file.
(h) Before
participating under this rule, a law school graduate shall:
(h)(1) provide the
Bar’s admissions office with the name of his or her supervising attorney; and
(h)(2) provide the
Bar’s admissions office with a signed and dated authorization to release
information to the supervising attorney regarding the graduate’s Bar applicant
status; and
(h)(3) provide the
Bar’s admissions office with a signed and dated letter from the supervising
attorney stating that he or she has read this rule and agrees to comply with
its conditions.
(i)
A law school student shall not receive any compensation or remuneration of any
kind from the client on whose behalf the services are rendered.
(j) A law school
student’s or graduate’s eligibility to provide services under this rule
terminates upon the earlier occurrence of:
(j)(1) cessation of
enrollment unless by reason of graduation in the case of a law school student; or
(j)(2) in the case of
a law school graduate:
(j)(2)(A) failure to
submit a timely application for admission under (c)(2);
(j)(2)(B) the Bar’s admissions
office’s or its character and fitness committee’s decision to disallow the
graduate to take the first regularly-scheduled bar examination;
(j)(2)(C) notification
of the graduate’s failure to successfully pass the first regularly-scheduled
bar examination; or
(j)(2)(D) the
graduate’s failure to be admitted to practice at the first regularly-scheduled admission
ceremony.