ADMISSION TO THE RHODE ISLAND BAR

Frequently Asked Questions

• Telephone and Fax Lines
• Correspondence
• Dates of Bar Examination and Deadlines
• Fees
• Test Accommodations Under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA)
• Interview with a Member of the Character and Fitness Committee
• Grading of Examination
• Release of Bar Examination Results

The Application Packet

     To apply for admission, the applicant must submit the following:

·         Bar Application

·         Bar Application - All Supplemental Forms
Authorization and Release Forms

• Certificate of Law School Dean/Administrator

• Handwriting Sample

• Amendment to Application Form

• Employment Verification Form

• Certificate of Good Moral Character     

·         MBE Score Transfer Release Form

·         Order - In re Amendments to Article II, Rule 3 of the Supreme Court Rules (Revised bar application/Committee on Character and Fitness, April 18, 2007)

·         Special Testing

·         National Conference of Bar Examiners Form - Attorney Admission Only

     Please note: Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed to view and print these files.  You may download it for free at: http://www.adobe.com.

TELEPHONE AND FAX LINES

     The telephone number for the Board of Bar Examiners and Committee on Character and Fitness is (401) 222-4233.  The fax number is (401) 222-3599

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CORRESPONDENCE

     All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Supreme Court, 250 Benefit Street, Providence, RI 02903.

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DATES OF BAR EXAMINATION AND DEADLINES 

     The examination is held the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July. The deadline for the February examination is December 1^st; the deadline for the July examination is May 1^st.  There is no provision for late filing.

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FEES 

          An applicant for admission by examination shall pay to the Character and Fitness Committee a fee of Four Hundred Fifty Dollars ($450.00).  An applicant who has failed an examination and wishes to take a subsequent examination shall pay to the Clerk a fee of Four Hundred Fifty Dollars ($450.00).  Attorneys seeking admission under Rule 2 shall pay to the Clerk a fee of Five Hundred Fifty Dollars ($550.00) and a fee of Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) to the National Conference of Bar Examiners.  An applicant who chooses to defer taking the examination to a subsequent date shall pay to the Clerk an additional fee of Two Hundred Twenty-Five Dollars ($225.00).  Applicants who request that their Multi-State Bar Examination scores be forwarded to another jurisdiction shall pay to the Clerk a fee of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00).  At least ten (10) days prior to examination or, in the case of applicants for attorney admission on motion, at least seven (7) days prior to such admission, the board shall cause to be published in a legal notice or news story in a daily newspaper of general circulation in this state the name of such applicant.

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TEST ACCOMMODATIONS UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITY ACT (ADA) 

     The policy of the Rhode Island Board of Bar Examiners is to provide accommodations in testing conditions to applicants with disabilities during the administration of the examination, to the extent such accommodations are reasonable and necessitated by the applicant’s disability.  Please refer to the bar application packet for further instructions.

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INTERVIEW WITH A MEMBER OF THE CHARACTER AND FITNESS COMMITTEE 

     All applicants must have a personal interview with a member of the Character and Fitness Committee prior to sitting for the examination.

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GRADING OF EXAMINATION 

     The MBE examinations are graded by the National Conference of Bar Examiners on a scaled scoring system with scores ranging from 0 to 200.  A scaled score of 130 on the MBE portion shall be required to pass the bar examination, and graders will not read the essay or MPT responses of any candidate whose scaled score on the MBE is lower than 130.

     Each of the essay and MPT answers shall be graded on a six-point scale, with 6 being the highest score and 0 being the score if the applicant did not submit an answer or if the answer is totally irrelevant.  Each MPT score shall be multiplied by two so as to be weighed the same as two essay responses, and the applicant's MPT and essay scores shall be aggregated.  The maximum raw score for the MPT and essay answers shall be 66 (9 X 6 on the essays and 2 X 6 on the MPT problem).  The aggregate scores shall then be scaled against the MBE scores of the Rhode Island applicants (ignoring those Rhode Island applicants whose scaled score on the MBE was lower than 130).  The scaled scores of the MBE, essays, and MPT will then be totaled.  A resulting score of 276 shall be required to pass the examination.

     Rule 2 Admissions - Candidates for admission under Rule 2 shall be required to take only the essay and MPT portions of the examination.  The raw scores of these candidates will be scaled to the MPT and essay scores of the candidates taking both parts of the examination, and a scaled score of 138 will be required to pass the examination.

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RELEASE OF BAR EXAMINATION RESULTS 

     The date of the release of the bar results will be given to the applicants at the time of their personal interview with a member of the Committee on Character and Fitness.  Results will be mailed to the applicants and posted in the Supreme Court Clerk’s Office.  The results will be available on the website within twenty-four hours after the results are posted.

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