BOARD OF LAW EXAMINERS
Tel: (671) 475-3120 Fax: (671) 475-3181
E-mail: bole@guamsupremecourt.com
Honorable F. Philip Carbullido., Chairman
Honorable Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood
Honorable Robert J. Torres, Jr.
Rodney J. Jacob, Ex-officio
Jeanne G. Quinata, Secretary
Admission of attorneys to the practice of law in Guam is under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Guam, acting by and through its administrative arm, the Board of Law Examiners (also referred to as BOLE). The information provided herein is directed towards those interested in applying for admission to practice law in Guam.
NOTE FROM THE BOARD OF LAW EXAMINERS
Admission to the practice of law in Guam is governed by the rules which follow and which have been promulgated by the Board of Law Examiners. It is the responsibility of those who are interested in admission to the practice of law to insure that they are aware of both the rules as published in this pamphlet and any amendments thereto. Copies of these rules and amendments are always available free of charge from the Board of Law Examiners.
Admission to the practice of law in Guam is under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Guam, acting by and through the Board of Law Examiners hereinafter the "Board." The Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of Guam constitute the Board of Law Examiners. Members include: Chief Justice F. Philip Carbullido, (Chairperson), Associate Justice Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood, Associate Justice Robert J. Torres, Jr., and Rodney J. Jacob, Ex-officio.
The summary which follows is an unofficial summary. In case of conflict between the summary and the Rules, the Rules will govern.
To be classified as an applicant and upon passing the exam, to be certified for admission to practice law on Guam, a person shall satisfy the requirements of these Rules. For an applicant to be certified to the Supreme Court of Guam for admission to practice law in Guam he or she shall:
- Be at least eighteen (18) years of age;
- Be of good moral character;
- Appear before the Board at such times and places as may be required by the Board, for oral examinations as to moral character or as to any of the other qualification; and furnish to the Board at any time after application for admission such supplemental information and evidence, and in such form, as may be required by the Board relating to moral character or any other qualifications;
- Have completed at least two (2) years of college and have graduated from a law school in the United States which is accredited by the American Bar Association. [Those applicants who did not graduate from an ABA accredited law school may apply for a special exemption pursuant to Section A(5)(b) of the Rules, however, such exemptions are granted in exceptional circumstances only.];
- Have filed a formal application in accordance with these Rules;
- Take and pass the bar examination with a combined Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) and Essay/Multistate Performance Test examination score of at least 132.50 points, where the Essay/MPT score is doubled and added to the scaled MBE score and that total divided by two (2);
- Take and achieve a scaled score of 80.00 on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE).
In applying for admission to practice, applicants should bear in mind the following:
- Deadlines specified in the Rules are rigidly adhered to. Unless otherwise indicated, postmarking by a deadline date satisfies the filing requirement
- Applications are not considered filed until all information called for has been transmitted and all required fees have been paid. Fees may be paid by personal check but if the check is not honored, the application will not be considered as filed until a cashier's check or money order for the fee, plus any returned check fees, are received. Thus, if an application is filed on or near a deadline and the fee is paid by a personal check which is returned unpaid, and a cashier's check or money order, which includes the returned check fee, is received after the deadline, the application will not be considered as timely filed, and payment of an additional non-refundable late fee will be required.
- The Essay/MPT and MBE examinations must be taken and passed in one attempt. Bifurcation of these exams is not allowed. The MPRE, however, may be taken prior to or after the two-day Guam Bar Examination.
- (MBE) transfers from earlier Guam administrations of the examination or from another jurisdiction are not accepted; however, scores of 80 scaled MPRE, or higher may be transferred from other jurisdictions for up to one year after the test date on which the passing score was achieved. Upon passing the Guam Bar Examination, an applicant must successfully sit for the MPRE examination within one (1) year of the test dates during which he/she passed the Guam Bar Examination.
- Guam has no admission by comity or reciprocity. Everyone must take the entire two-day examination. As a limited exception to this policy government attorneys may practice under a temporary admission rule. Attorneys licensed under that provision must take the two-day Bar examination within two years of their government employment and must be regularly admitted within three (3) years.
- Transcripts or certifications showing an applicant's education eligibility to take the examination are required directly from the schools involved prior to examination. Hand-delivered and unofficial transcripts are not accepted. An applicant whose educational evidence has not been received prior to the date of the bar examination may not be permitted to take the examination. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that evidence of his or her educational qualification to take the examination is received by the Board of Law Examiners in a timely manner.
- The Multistate Essay Exam portion of the Guam Bar Examination is developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, and the essays administered are selected by the Guam Bar Examiners from several made available by the NCBE. The Essay exam is graded by a subcommittee of the Guam Board of Law Examiners under the direction of the Board. Unless an essay question expressly asks for Guam Law, it should be answered according to legal theories and principles of general application. Essay answers shall be written in the answer booklets provided. Additional answer sheets will be provided to applicants who require additional writing space.
- The Multistate Performance Test is administered in conjunction with the Essay exam. It is a practical test of an applicant's ability to apply legal reasoning and authorities to specific legal issues. The test booklet includes both a "library" of authorities and a "file" that provides a factual background to the problem presented in the test. The test question is developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, and selected by the Guam Bar Examiners from several made available by the NCBE. The MPT is graded by the a subcomittee of the Guam Board of Law Examiners under the direction of the Board. MPT answers will be written in the answer sheets provided with the test.
- One local question is administered in conjunction with the MEE and MPT. The local question may take the form of either an essay question, true/false questions, or multiple choice questions.
SUPREME COURT OF GUAM
RULES GOVERNING ADMISSION TO THE PRACTICE OF LAW
In accordance with its statutory and inherent authority, the Supreme Court of Guam adopted and promulgated rules governing admission to the practice of law in Guam in its capacity as the Board of Law Examiners.
These Rules were adopted May 17, 1996 and are set forth as amended, most recently on October 15, 2004. The Rules, as amended, are effective immediately and will be applied to matters pending before the Board. However, in any instance where a pending applicant can show prejudice from such amendment, the version of the Rules in effect at the time of his or her application will govern in that particular case. |
