 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
arizona
bar admission administrative agency:
secretary
committee on examinations and character and fitness
supreme court, state of arizona
1501 west washington, suite 104
phoenix, az 85007-3231
tel: 602/364-0371
website:
http://www.supreme.state.az.us/admis/
website: http://www.azbar.org/
bar admission options:
without bar examination
1. law professors: a full-time arizona law school faculty member may be admitted
without examination if the faculty member has:
a) graduated from a law school provisionally or fully approved by the aba at the
time of applicant's graduation;
b) been admitted by examination to the bar of another state or the district of
columbia; and
c) passed a character and fitness investigation.
2. legal services exception (rule 40): an attorney who has been admitted to practice law in any u.s. jurisdiction for at least two years and who is employed full-time by an approved legal services organization in this state which provides legal assistance to indigents in civil matters, free-of-charge, may be admitted to practice for up to two years in arizona without taking the bar examination.
note: on april 25, 2003, the state bar board of governors voted 18-1 not to adopt a multijurisdictional practice task force recommendation to permit admission to the arizona bar on motion by experienced attorneys from other jurisdictions.
with bar examination
examination required for all other applicants.
examination components:
1. academic: mbe and 12 state essays.
2. ethics: mpre scaled score of 85 is required within three years of
admission.
examination dates:
february (deadline: september 1 of the preceding year)
july (deadline: february 1)
applications with late fees will be accepted up to april 30 for the july exam and november 30 of the preceding year for the february exam.
application/admission fees: $350.00 (through february 2005 exam); $360.00 (july 2006 through february 2008 exams); $375.00 (july 2008 through july 2009 exams); plus $20.00 application packet fee; plus character report fee ($175.00 if law student or admitted elsewhere less than one year; $475.00 otherwise).
other state bar requirements:
1. minimum age: 21
2. character check by the committee on character and fitness of the supreme court of arizona and the ncbe.
3. graduation from a law school provisionally or fully approved by the aba at the time of applicant's graduation. graduates of non-aba approved law schools may take the bar examination if they have been engaged in the practice of law in some other state or states for at least five of the last seven years prior to filing an application for admission to practice in arizona.
4. completion of the arizona state bar's course of professionalism within one year after admission.
5. required annual fees: $265.00 (0-2 years after admission to practice in another state); $410.00 (admitted to practice in another state for more than two years); $0.00 (attorneys over age 70); $190.00 (inactive-not engaged in practice in arizona).
regulation of in-house counsel
arizona bar admission rules do not specifically address in-house counsel.
bar association status:
[x] mandatory (see required annual fees above).
[ ] voluntary
specialty certification
arizona attorneys may advertise their practice specialties where they have been certified by either the arizona board of legal specialization or by a national entity which has certification standards substantially the same as those certified by the board. the current state certification plan only encompasses direct certification by the board. no other certification programs are recognized at present. arizona has a 50 percent "substantial involvement" requirement, whereas the aba standards for accreditation only require 25 percent substantial involvement as a prerequisite for specialty certification. written tests are required for certification in all specialty areas except family law.
areas of specialization include:
1. bankruptcy
2. criminal
3. estate/trust
4. family law
5. injury and wrongful death litigation
6. real estate
7. tax
8. workers' compensation
