new hampshire

without bar examination
i. attorneys who are not residents of vermont or maine. an attorney who has graduated from an aba-approved law school, has been admitted in another u.s. jurisdiction, has been primarily engaged in the active practice of law for five of the seven years immediately preceding the date upon which the motion is filed, and meets all other state bar requirements may be admitted without examination if the applicant has either:
a) taken and passed the bar examination in another jurisdiction that allows admission without examination of persons admitted to practice law in new hampshire under circumstances comparable to those set forth in this rule; or
(b) been primarily engaged in the active practice of law in another jurisdiction, for five of the seven years immediately preceding the date upon which the motion is filed, that allows admission without examination of persons admitted to practice law in new hampshire under circumstances comparable to those set forth in this rule;

for the purposes of this rule (supreme court rule 42), "active practice of law" includes:
a) representation of one or more clients in the private practice of law;
b) service as a lawyer with a local, state, or federal agency, including military service;
c) teaching law at an aba-approved law school;
d) service as a judge in a federal, state, or local court of record;
e) service as a judicial law clerk; or
f) service as corporate counsel.

it is the applicant's burden to demonstrate that the jurisdiction in question allows admission without examination of persons admitted to practice law in new hampshire under circumstances comparable to those set forth in rule 42(10). a preliminary determination has been made that the following jurisdictions allow admission without examination of persons admitted to practice law in new hampshire under circumstances comparable to those set forth in rule 42(10):

*although applicants admitted to practice in vermont may not be eligible for admission on motion under rule 42(10), such applicants may be eligible for admission on motion under rule 42(11).

**although applicants admitted to practice in maine may not be eligible for admission on motion under rule 42(10), such applicants may at a future date become eligible for admission on motion under rule 42(12). because maine does not yet allow admission without examination of new hampshire lawyers, however, maine lawyers may not seek admission to the new hampshire bar based on rule 42(12) at this time.

ii. residents of vermont. an attorney domiciled in the u.s., age 18 years or older, and who meets the following requirements may, upon motion, be admitted to the practice of law without taking and passing the new hampshire bar examination, provided that the state of vermont allows admission without examination of persons admitted to practice law in new hampshire under circumstances comparable to those set forth in this rule. the attorney shall:
(a) be licensed to practice law in vermont and be an active member of the vermont bar;
(b) have been actively engaged in practice in vermont for no less than three years immediately preceding the date upon which the motion is filed;
(c) produce evidence of satisfactory completion of the mpre;
(d) establish that the applicant is currently a member in good standing in all jurisdictions where admitted;
(e) establish that the applicant is not currently subject to lawyer discipline or the subject of a pending disciplinary matter in any jurisdiction;
(f) establish that the applicant possesses the character and fitness to practice law in new hampshire; and
(g) have completed at least 15 hours of continuing legal education on new hampshire practice and procedure in courses approved by the nhmcle board within one year immediately preceding the date upon which the motion is filed and be certified by the nhmcle board as satisfying this requirement.

iii. residents of maine. an attorney domiciled in the u.s., age 18 years or older, and who meets the following requirements may, upon motion, be admitted to the practice of law without taking and passing the new hampshire bar examination, provided that the state of maine allows admission without examination of persons admitted to practice law in new hampshire under circumstances comparable to those set forth in this rule. the attorney shall:
(a) be licensed to practice in maine and be an active member of the maine bar;
(b) have been actively engaged in practice in maine for no less than three years immediately preceding the date upon which the motion is filed;
(c) have graduated from an aba-approved law school having a three-year course and requiring students to devote substantially all their working time to study (full-time law school); from a law school approved by the american bar association having a course of not less than four school years equivalent in the number of working hours to a three-year course in a full-time law school and in which students devote only part of their working time to their studies (part-time law school); or from a law school in an english-speaking, common law country having pursued a course of study substantially equivalent to that of an aba-approved law school. a combination of study in full-time and part-time law schools will be accepted only if such law schools meet the above requirements, and the applicant shall have graduated from one or the other. study in any law school which conducts its courses by correspondence or does not require attendance of its students at its lectures or classes shall not constitute compliance with the rule;
(d) produce evidence of satisfactory completion of the mpre;
(e) establish that the applicant is currently a member in good standing in all jurisdictions where admitted;
(f) establish that the applicant is not currently subject to lawyer discipline or the subject of a pending disciplinary matter in any jurisdiction;
(g) establish that the applicant possesses the character and fitness to practice law in new hampshire; and
(h) have completed at least 15 hours of continuing legal education on new hampshire practice and procedure in courses approved by the nhmcle board within one year immediately preceding the date upon which the motion is filed and be certified by the nhmcle board as satisfying this requirement.

application/admission fees:
$175.00 (entry of motion for admission to bar without examination fee); $500.00 (character and fitness investigation fee).

examination components:
1. academic: mbe and 12 state essays.
2. ethics: mpre scaled score of 79 is transferable from any jurisdiction.

examination dates:
february (deadline: december 1 of the preceding year)
july (deadline: may 1)

application/admission fees:
$175.00 (state filing fee); $125.00 (new hampshire bar association character check).

4. attendance at a practical skills course within two years of admission to the bar.

5. required annual fees: $190.00 (0-5 years after admission to any state bar); $240.00 (5+ years after admission to any state bar). professional conduct committee fee: $150.00 (active members). public protection fund: $35.00 (0-5 years after admission); $50.00 (5+ years after admission).

new hampshire bar admission rules do not currently address in-house counsel. the new hampshire bar association (nhba) ethics committee is considering adoption of the american bar association’s model rules of professional conduct 5.5 (c,d). in addition, the nhba committee on administration is investigating forms of regulation for non-licensed attorneys operating in new hampshire as in-house counsel. the new hampshire attorney general has also recently weighed in on this issue, suggesting that perhaps some form of licensing short of admission ought to be required for in-house counsel operating in the state.

new hampshire recognizes aba-approved certification agencies, which means that the following specialty certifications are available: