Comity Requirements, Exam Conduct and Special Accommodations

Our firm’s attorneys defend and represent applicants in a number of other matters before the Board of Law Examiners, including qualifications for comity admission, alleged misconduct during the bar examination, and special accommodations for the exam.

Comity requirements.   If you have applied for comity admission, you will need to establish that you have satisfied all of the requirements to qualify . The Board interprets these comity requirements very strictly. For example, the Board will insist that you actively and substantially engaged in the full time practice of law for a full 4 of the last 6 years before filing your application. We have worked with clients in the past to help document the practice requirement and, in other cases, provided advice about whether there was a realistic probability of meeting this qualification.  We also have represented and defended clients in comity hearings before the Board on these issues.

Examination misconduct.  The Board also regularly conducts inquiries on alleged violations of its examination rules.  You may have received a letter inquiry or a notice of hearing concerning such an issue. If so, you should take it seriously. The Board enforces its examination procedures sternly. Less serious allegations can be handled through an exchange of written submissions, while more serious allegations are typically scheduled for hearing.   Even if the alleged violation seems minor to you, you should respond timely and truthfully. We have assisted clients in submitting written responses and collecting documentary evidence and also defended them in hearings before the Board on such examination conduct.

Special Accommodations.  The Board will grant petitions for special accommodations during the exam for applicants who can demonstrate a qualified disability. These special accommodation petitions are evaluated under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Board scrutinizes these requests closely. We have assisted clients in preparing these petitions, including the required medical evaluation, and also represent clients before the Board in attempting to obtain special accommodations.