west virginia

bar admission administrative agency:

executive secretary
west virginia board of law examiners
910 quarrier street
suite 212
charleston, wv 25301
tel: 304/558-7815
fax: 304/558-0831
website: http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca
website: http://www.wvbar.org/

bar admission options:

without bar examination
1. attorney applicants: an applicant who is admitted to practice law in another jurisdiction that allows attorneys from west virginia to be admitted without examination, may apply for admission. as of this printing, these jurisdictions are: colorado, connecticut, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, iowa, kentucky, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, nebraska, new york, north carolina, north dakota, oklahoma, pennsylvania, texas, vermont, virginia, washington, and wisconsin. under this rule, an applicant must:
a) demonstrate intention to practice law in west virginia on at least a minimal basis;
b) demonstrate that admission standards in the jurisdiction where the applicant is admitted were equivalent to those of west virginia at the time the applicant was admitted; and
c) have been actively engaged in the practice of law for five of the seven years immediately preceding the application and passed the mpre. for this purpose,"active practice of law" means:
(1) active and continuous practice of law as a means of a livelihood;
(2) legal services/duties in the military or government;
(3) employment as a judge, magistrate, hearing examiner, administrative law judge, or similar official of a u.s. jurisdiction with duties of hearing and deciding cases, provided such employment is available only to a lawyer; or
(4) employment as a full-time teacher in any approved law school.
2. legal services exception: an applicant who has been admitted to the highest court of another u.s. jurisdiction may be admitted without examination for a period of 24 months while employed by or associated with an organized legal services program providing legal assistance to indigents in civil matters.
3. law professor exception: a west virginia resident who is a full-time faculty member of west virginia university college of law may be admitted without examination if already admitted to practice before the highest court of another u.s. jurisdiction and has passed the mpre within 25 months of application. admission is temporary for five years and then may be extended permanently.

application/admission fees:
attorney applicants (admitted from those states listed above): $1,000.00 application fee; plus ncbe character and fitness report fees.

examination components:
1. academic: mbe, mee (including six state essays), and two mpt questions. the combined mpt/mee scaled score and mbe scaled score will be combined. a combined scaled score of 270 is required. mbe score is transferable from another jurisdiction if taken within 13 months and if the applicant successfully completed the entire bar examination in the other jurisdiction.
2. ethics: mpre scaled score of 75 is transferable from any jurisdiction within 25 months.

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

applications and late fees will be accepted until december 1 of the preceding year for the february examination and may 1 for the july examination.

application/admission fees:
$40.00 application packet fee; $375.00 examination fee for students and attorneys admitted less than one year; $500.00 for attorneys admitted more than one year; ncbe character and fitness report fees.

4. graduate of an aba-approved law school; or
a) graduate of a non-aba law school who has passed another u.s. jurisdiction's bar examination and has been admitted to practice in such jurisdiction; or
b) graduate of a non-aba law school whose graduates are eligible to take the bar examination of the u.s. jurisdiction in which such law school is located, and
(1) has completed three years of law study and work in west virginia as a legal assistant or paralegal under the supervision of a west virginia attorney, and
(2) two west virginia attorneys, including at least one who actively supervised the applicant for at least six months, certify to the board that they believe the applicant is knowledgeable in the law, competent to practice law, and of good moral character; or
c) graduate of a law school determined by the board of law examiners to be substantially equivalent to an aba-accredited law school; or
d) graduate of a foreign law school in a common law country, and
(1) the educational requirements for admission to such country's bar are substantially the same as those of west virginia,
(2) the applicant has satisfied those requirements, and
(3) the applicant has successfully completed at least 30 hours of basic courses at an aba-accredited law school within 36 months from the date of inception of such study.

5. required annual fees: $50.00 (less than one year after admission); $150.00 (1-3 years after admission); $195.00 (more than 3 years after admission).

west virginia bar admission rules do not address in-house counsel. however, west virginia rules of professional conduct, rule 5.5, “unauthorized practice of law,” states:

this would appear to mean that in-house counsel in west virginia must be members of the west virginia bar.

west virginia does not have a certification plan in effect, does not recognize aba-accredited specialty certification programs, and generally prohibits specialty advertising with the exception of admiralty and patent practitioners. a newly-constituted commission on specialization and certification is currently studying the issue.