pennsylvania

bar admission requirements:

executive director
pennsylvania board of law examiners
5070a ritter road, suite 300
mechanicsburg, pa 17055-4879
tel: 717/795-7270
fax: 717/795-8194
website: http://www.pabarexam.org/

bar admission options:

without bar examination
1. attorney applicants: an attorney of another state may be admitted to the bar of pennsylvania if the applicant has received an earned law degree from an aba-approved law school, is a member of the bar of a reciprocal state (see list below) at the time of filing of the application for admission to the bar of pennsylvania, and meets the following qualifications:
(1) presentation of a certificate of good standing from the highest court or the agency having jurisdiction over admission to the bar and the practice of law in every state or jurisdiction in which the applicant has been admitted to practice law, stating that the applicant is in good professional standing at the bar of such court or such state.
(2) presentation of proof satisfactory to the board that the applicant has for a period of five years of the last seven years immediately preceding the date of filing of the application for admission to the bar of this commonwealth:
(i) engaged in the practice of law in a reciprocal state or states; or
(ii) provided legal services as an attorney for the federal government regardless of the location of the services; or
(iii) served full time as a law clerk to a judge of any court of the united states or of any state or territory of the united states regardless of the location of the service;

provided the applicant had at some time been engaged in the practice of law or otherwise performed the legal functions set forth in subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) in reciprocal jurisdictions for at least five years or had been engaged in the practice of law or otherwise performed the legal functions set forth in subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) in reciprocal jurisdictions for a substantial portion of the five out of the seven year period immediately preceding the application or for such portion of time for which credit is being sought in combination with subparagraphs (iv) and (v). for purposes of this paragraph, the phrase "engaged in the practice of law" is defined as "devoting a major portion of one's time and energy to the rendering of legal services"; or
(iv) engaged full-time in the teaching of law at one or more accredited law schools, colleges or universities in the united states provided a substantial portion of such time was spent teaching at an accredited law school; or
(v) served on active duty in the united states military service, as a judge advocate or law specialist, as those terms are defined in the uniform code of military justice, 10 u.s.c. sec. 801, as amended, regardless of the location of the service.

service under subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) may be combined to satisfy the five year service requirement of this subparagraph.

(3) no applicant will be admitted under this rule who at any time has taken and failed the pennsylvania bar examination.
(4) has passed the mpre with a scaled score of 75.

reciprocal states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, district of columbia, georgia, illinois, indiana, iowa, kentucky, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, nebraska, new hampshire, new york, north carolina, north dakota, ohio, oklahoma, tennessee, texas, utah, vermont, virginia, washington, west virginia, wisconsin, and wyoming;

2. legal services exception (rule 311): an attorney who meets the state bar requirements below and who is admitted to the highest court of another state may be admitted without examination for a period not to exceed 30 months (unless extended by the court) if the applicant is employed by or associated with an organized defender association or an organized legal services program in pennsylvania that provides legal assistance to indigents in civil matters.

application deadline: not applicable.

application/admission fees: $900.00.
there is no charge for an applicant applying under the legal services exception.

with bar examination
examination required for all other applicants.

examination components:
1. academic: mbe, 1 state performance test (pt), and six state essays.
2. ethics: mpre scaled score of 75 required.

examination dates:
february (deadline: october 31).
july (deadline: march 31).

application/admission fees: $500.00 (graduated late filing fee applicable)

other bar admission requirements:

1. graduate from an accredited college or university unless otherwise approved by the pennsylvania board of law examiners.

2. graduate of a law school approved by the aba. if law school is not accredited, this requirement may be waived if the applicant is an attorney from a reciprocal state who meets the other requirements stipulated above for "attorney applicants" wishing to be admitted without examination, and has taken and passed the mpre with a scaled score of 75 or higher.

3. approved character check by the pennsylvania board of law examiners.

4. required annual fees: $175.00

regulation of in-house counsel:

pennsylvania bar admission rules do not address in-house counsel.

specialty certification:

the pennsylvania supreme court accredits certifying organizations upon the recommendation of the pennsylvania bar association. currently, approved certifying organizations are: the national board of trial advocacy and the american board of certification. specialty areas include:

1. business bankruptcy
2. civil trial advocacy
3. criminal law trial advocacy
4. consumer bankruptcy
5. creditors' rights
6. elder law
7. family law trial advocacy