michigan

bar admission administrative agency:

michigan state board of law examiners

a bar application kit may be obtained from:
state bar of michigan
306 townsend street
lansing, mi 48933
tel: 517/346-6343
website: http://www.michbar.org/
website: http://www.courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/bdoflawexaminers/

bar admission options:

without bar examination
an applicant for admission without examination must:
(1) meet the other state bar requirements listed below;
(2) be licensed to practice law in the u.s., its territories, or the district of columbia;
(3) be a member in good standing of the bar where admitted;
(4) intend in good faith to maintain an office in michigan for the practice of law;
(5) intend to practice law in michigan, or to be a full-time instructor in a reputable and qualified michigan law school; and
(6) have, after being licensed and for 3 of the 5 years preceding the application,
(a) actively practiced law as a principal business or occupation in a jurisdiction where admitted;
(b) been employed as a full-time instructor in a reputable and qualified law school in the u.s., its districts, or its territories; or
(c) been on active duty (other than for training or reserve duty) in the u.s. armed forces as a judge advocate, legal specialist, or legal officer (the judge advocate general [or a comparable officer or delegate] must certify the assignment and the inclusive dates).

special certificate of qualification:
an attorney unable to satisfy this 3-of-5 year practice requirement, and who is practicing law in an institutional setting, e.g., counsel to a corporation or instructor in a law school, may apply to the board for a special certificate of qualification to practice law. the applicant must satisfy items (1) – (5), above. the board may then issue the special certificate, which will entitle the attorney to continue current employment if the attorney becomes an active member of the state bar. if the attorney leaves the current employment, the special certificate automatically expires; if the attorney's new employment is also institutional, the attorney may reapply for another special certificate.

application deadline: not applicable.

application/admission fees:
$600.00; ncbe character and fitness report fee.

with bar examination
examination required for all other applicants

examination components:
1. academic: mbe and essay examination on 16 topics;a passing mbe score (scaled score of 135) is transferable if taken during the immediate preceding three years from a state having reciprocity with michigan vis-à-vis acceptance of mbe scores.
2. ethics: mpre scaled score 75 (good indefinitely) required for admission.

examination dates:
february (deadline: november 1 of the preceding year)
july (deadline: march 1)

applications with late fees are accepted until december 15 for the february examination and may 15 for the july examination.

application/admission fees: $300.00

other state bar requirements:

1. minimum age: 18
2. good moral character (character check by the national conference of bar examiners)
3. completion, before entering law school, of at least 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours toward an undergraduate degree from an accredited school or while attending an accredited junior or community college.
4. jd, llb, or llm degree from an aba-approved law school or a law school approved by the state board of law examiners. if the llm degree is from an approved law school, the jd or llb degree need not be from an approved law school.
5. required annual fees: currently $260.00. note: the michigan supreme court is considering raising the required annual fee to $335.00. if approved, the new fee structure would be effective october 1, 2003.

regulation of in-house counsel

special certificate of qualification: see bar admission options, above.

temporary practice exception: michigan’s unauthorized practice of law (upl) statute (mcl 600.916) carves out a limited exception to the general upl prohibition on practicing in michigan without being admitted to the state bar. legal services rendered in michigan by lawyers “duly licensed and authorized to practice law in another state while temporarily in this state and engaged in a particular matter” do not constitute the unauthorized practice of law in michigan.

bar association status:

[x] mandatory (see required annual fees above.)

[ ] voluntary

specialty certification

michigan does not have a certification plan and does not regulate specialization. michigan rule of professional conduct 7.4 states that a "lawyer may communicate the fact that the lawyer does or does not practice in particular fields of law." in july 2001, the state bar of michigan withdrew a proposal recommending the establishment of a certification plan to regulate agencies that certify lawyers as specialists.