Rules
Table of
Contents
SECTION.0100 -
ORGANIZATION
.0101 ADDRESS
The offices of the Board of Law Examiners of the State of North Carolina are
located at One Exchange Plaza,
Suite 700,
Raleigh, NC. The mailing address is P.O. Box 2946, Raleigh,
NC 27602.
The Offices are open from 9:00 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. Monday
through Friday, excepting holidays.
.0102 PURPOSE
The Board of Law Examiners of the State of North Carolina was created
for the purpose of examining applicants and providing rules and regulations
for admission to the bar, including the issuance of licenses therefor.
.0103 MEMBERSHIP
The Board of Law Examiners of the State of North Carolina consists of eleven members
of the N.C. Bar elected by the council of the North Carolina State Bar. One
member of said Board is elected by the Board to serve as chairman for such
period as the Board may determine. The Board also employs an executive
director to enable the Board to perform its duties promptly and properly. The
executive director, in addition to performing the administrative functions of
the positions, may act as attorney for the Board.
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SECTION .0200 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
.0201 COMPLIANCE
No person shall be admitted to the practice of law in North Carolina unless
that person has complied with these rules and the laws of the state.
.0202 DEFINITIONS
(1)
The term "Board" as used in this chapter refers to the "Board
of Law Examiners of the State of North Carolina.” A majority of the members
of the Board shall constitute a quorum, and the action of a majority of a
quorum, present and voting, shall constitute the action of the Board.
(2)
The term "Secretary" as used in this chapter refers to the
"Executive Director of the Board of Law Examiners of the State of North Carolina."
(3)
As used in these rules, the word "filing" or "filed"
shall mean received in the office of the Board of Law Examiners. Except that
applications placed in the United States mail properly addressed to the Board
of Law Examiners and bearing sufficient first class postage and postmarked by
the United States Postal Service on or before a deadline date will be
considered as having been timely filed if all required fees are included in
the mailing. Mailings which are postmarked after a deadline or which if
postmarked on or before a deadline and do not include required fees or which
include a check in payment of required fees which is not honored due to
insufficient funds will not be considered as timely filed. Applications which
are not properly signed and notarized; or which do not include the properly
executed Authorization and Release forms; or which are illegible; or which
answers to the questions are not complete will not be considered filed and
will be returned.
(4)
As used in these rules, the word "Chapter" refers to the
"Rules Governing Admission to
the Practice of Law in the State of North
Carolina."
.0203 APPLICANTS
For the purpose of these rules, applicants are classified either as
"general applicants" or as "comity applicants." To be
classified as a "general applicant" and certified as such for
admission to practice law, an applicant must satisfy the requirements of Rule
.0501 of this Chapter. To be classified as a "comity applicant" and
certified as such for admission to practice law, a person shall satisfy the
requirements of Rule .0502 of this Chapter.
.0204 LIST
As soon as possible after each filing deadline for applications, the
Secretary shall prepare and maintain a list of general applicants for the
ensuing examination.
.0205 HEARINGS
Every applicant may be required to appear before the Board to be
examined about any matters pertaining to the applicant's moral character and
general fitness, educational background or any other matters set out in
Section .0500 of this Chapter.
.0206 NONPAYMENT OF FEES
Failure to pay the application fees required by these rules shall
cause the application not to be deemed filed. If the check payable for the
application fee is not honored upon presentment for any reason other than
error of the bank the application will be deemed not timely filed and will
have to be refiled. All checks payable to the Board for any fees which are
not honored upon presentment shall be returned to the applicant who shall pay
to the Board in cash, cashier's check, certified check or money order any
fees payable to the Board including a fee for processing that check.
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SECTION .0400 - APPLICATIONS OF GENERAL APPLICANTS
.0401 HOW TO APPLY
Applications for admission to an examination must be made upon forms
supplied by the Board and must be complete in every detail. Every supporting
document required by the application form must be submitted with each
application. The application form may be obtained by writing or downloading
from the Board's website www.ncble.org.
.0402 APPLICATION FORM
(1)
The APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION TO TAKE THE NORTH CAROLINA BAR EXAMINATION form
requires an applicant to supply full and complete information relating to the
applicant's background, including family history, past and current residences,
education, military service, past and present employment, credit status,
involvement in disciplinary, civil or criminal proceedings, substance abuse,
mental treatment and bar admission and discipline history. Applicants must
list references and submit as part of the application:
-- Four Certificates of Moral Character from individuals who know the applicant; -- A recent photograph; -- Two sets of clear fingerprints; -- Two executed informational Authorization and Release forms; -- A birth certificate -- Transcripts from the applicant's undergraduate schools; -- A copy of all applications to take a bar examination or an attorney's examination or for admission to the practice of law that the applicant has filed with any state, territory, or the District of Columbia; -- A certificate from the proper court or agency of every state in which the applicant is or has been licensed, that the applicant is in good standing and not under pending charge of misconduct; -- Copies of any legal proceedings in which the applicant has been a party.
The
application must be filed in duplicate. The duplicate may be a photocopy of
the original.
(2)
An applicant who has aptly filed a complete APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION TO TAKE
THE NORTH CAROLINA BAR EXAMINATION for a particular bar examination may file
a SUPPLEMENTAL APPLICATION on forms supplied by the board, along with the
applicable fee for the next subsequent bar examination. An applicant who has
filed a SUPPLEMENTAL APPLICATION as provided by this rule immediately
preceding the filing deadline specified in Rule .0403 of this chapter may
file a subsequent SUPPLEMENTAL APPLICATION along with the applicable fees for
the next examination. The SUPPLEMENTAL APPLICATION will update the
information previously submitted to the Board by the applicant. Said
SUPPLEMENTAL APPLICATION must be filed by the deadline set out in Rule .0403
of this chapter.
.0403 FILING DEADLINES
(1)
Applications shall be filed and received by the Secretary at the offices of
the Board on or before the first Tuesday in January immediately preceding the
date of the July written bar examination and on or before the first Tuesday
in October immediately preceding the date of the February written bar
examination.
(2)
Upon payment of a late filing fee of $250 (in addition to all other fees
required by these rules), an applicant may file a late application with the
Board on or before the first
Tuesday in March immediately preceding the July written bar examination and
on or before the first Tuesday in November immediately preceding the February
written bar examination.
(3)
Applicants who fail to timely file their application will not be allowed to
take the Bar Examination designated on the application.
(4)
Any applicant who has aptly filed an application to stand the February
written bar examination may make application to take the immediately
following July bar examination by filing a Supplemental Application with the
Secretary of the Board at the offices of the Board on or before the first
Tuesday in May immediately preceding the July written bar examination.
.0404 FEES
Every application by an
applicant who:
(1)
is not a licensed attorney in any other jurisdiction shall be accompanied by
a fee of $600.00.
(2)
is or has been a licensed attorney in any other jurisdiction shall be
accompanied by a fee of $1,200.00.
(3)
is filing to take the North Carolina Bar Examination using a Supplemental
Application shall be accompanied by a fee of $400.00.
(4)
is filing after the deadline set out in Rule .0403(1) shall be accompanied by
a late fee of $250.00 in addition to all other fees required by these rules.
.0405 REFUND OF FEES
No part of the fee required
by Rule .0404 (1) (2) (3) of this Chapter shall be refunded to the applicant
unless the applicant shall file with the Secretary a written request to
withdraw as an applicant, not later than the 15th day of June preceding the
July written bar examination and not later than the 15th day of January
preceding the February written bar examination in which event not more than
one-half of the fee may be refunded to the applicant at the discretion of the
Board. No portion of any late fee will be refunded.
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SECTION .0500 - REQUIREMENTS FOR
APPLICANTS
.0501 REQUIREMENTS FOR
GENERAL APPLICANTS
As a prerequisite to being
licensed by the Board to practice law in the State of North Carolina, a
general applicant shall:
(1) possess the qualifications of character and general fitness requisite for
an attorney and counselor-at-law, and be of good moral character and entitled
to the high regard and confidence of the public and have satisfied the
requirements of Section .0600 of this Chapter both at the time the license is
issued and at the time of standing and passing a written bar examination as
prescribed in Section .0900 of this Chapter;
(2) possess the legal educational qualifications as prescribed in Section
.0700 of this Chapter;
(3) be of the age of at least eighteen (18) years;
(4) have filed formal application as a general applicant in accordance with
Section .0400 of this Chapter;
(5) stand and pass a written bar examination as prescribed in Section .0900
of this Chapter;
(6) have stood and passed the Multistate Professional Responsibility
Examination approved by the Board within the twenty-four (24) month period
next preceding the beginning day of the written bar examination prescribed by
Section .0900 of this Chapter which the applicant applies to take, or shall
take and pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination within
the twelve (12) month period thereafter; or, if later, shall take and pass
the first Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination offered after
the Board releases the results of the applicant's written examination;
(7) if the applicant is or has been a licensed attorney then the
applicant be in good standing in every jurisdiction within each state,
territory of the United Sates, or the District of Columbia, in which the
applicant is or has been licensed to practice law and not under any charges
of misconduct while the application is pending before the Board. For purposes of this rule, an applicant is
“in good standing” in a jurisdiction if:
(i) the applicant is an active member
of the bar of the jurisdiction and the jurisdiction issues a certificate
attesting to the applicant’s good standing therein; or
(ii)
the applicant was formerly a member of the
jurisdiction and the jurisdiction certifies the applicant was in good
standing at the time that the applicant ceased to be a member; and
(iii)
if the jurisdiction in which the applicant is inactive
or was formerly a member will not certify the applicant’s good standing
solely because of the non-payment of dues, the Board, in its discretion, may
waive such certification from that jurisdiction.
.0502 REQUIREMENTS FOR
COMITY APPLICANTS
Any attorney at law duly
admitted to practice in another state, or territory of the United States, or
the District of Columbia, upon written application may, in the discretion of
the Board, be licensed to practice law in the State of North Carolina without
written examination provided each such applicant shall:
(1) File with the Secretary, upon such forms as may be
supplied by the Board, a typed application in duplicate which will be
considered by the Board after at least six (6) months from the date of
filing; the application requires:
(a) That an applicant supply full and
complete information in regard to his background, including family, past
residences, education, military, employment, credit status, whether he has
been a party to any disciplinary or legal proceedings, mental illness,
references, the nature of the applicant's practice of law, and familiarity
with the code of Professional Responsibility as Promulgated by the North
Carolina State Bar.
(b) That the applicant furnishes the
following documentation:
i. Certificates of Moral Character from
four (4) individuals who know the applicant;
ii.
A recent photograph;
iii. Two
(2) sets of clear fingerprints;
iv.
A certification of the Court of Last Resort from the jurisdiction from which
the applicant is
applying;
v.
Transcripts from the applicant's undergraduate and graduate schools;
vi. A copy of all applications for admission
to the practice of law that he has filed with any
state, territory, or the District
of Columbia;
vii. A
certificate of admission to the bar of any state, territory, or the District
of Columbia;
viii. A
certificate from the proper court or body of every state in which the
applicant is licensed
therein that he is in good standing
and not under pending charges of misconduct;
(2) Pay
to the Board with each typewritten application, a fee of $1,500.00, no part
of
which may be refunded to the applicant whose application is denied;
(3) Prove to the satisfaction of the Board that the
applicant is duly licensed to practice law in a state, or territory of the
United States, or the District of Columbia, having comity with North Carolina
and that in such state, or territory of the United States, or the District of
Columbia, while so licensed therein, the applicant has been for a least four
out of the last six years, immediately preceding the filing of this application
with the Secretary, actively and substantially engaged in the full-time
practice of law. Practice of law for the purposes of this rule when conducted
pursuant to a license granted by another jurisdiction shall include:
(a) The practice of law as
defined by G.S. 84-2.1; or
(b) Activities which would
constitute the practice of law if done for the general public; or
(c) Legal service as a
corporate counsel; or
(d) Judicial service in a
court of record or other legal service with any local or state government or
with the federal government; or
(e) Service as a member of a
Judge Advocate General's Department of one of the military branches of the
United States, whether or not such service is in the jurisdiction in which
the applicant is duly licensed; or
(f) A full time faculty
member in a law school approved by the Council of the North Carolina State
Bar.
Employment in North
Carolina, when conducted pursuant to a license granted by another
jurisdiction, to meet the requirement of this rule is limited to:
(a) Employment as house
counsel by a person, firm, association, or corporation engaged in business in
this state which business does not include the selling or furnishing of legal
advice or services to others; or
(b) Employment as a full time
faculty member of a law school approved by the Council of the North Carolina
State Bar; or
(c) Employment as a full
time member of the faculty of the Institute of Government of the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; or
(d) Service as a member of a
Judge Advocate General's Department of one of the military branches of the
United States.
(4) Satisfy the Board that
the state, or territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, in
which the applicant is licensed, and from which he seeks comity, will admit
North Carolina attorneys to the practice of law in such state, or territory
of the United States, or the District of Columbia, without written
examination, other than the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination;
(5) Be in good standing in
every jurisdiction within each state, territory of the United Sates, or the
District of Columbia, in which the applicant is or has been licensed to
practice law and not under any charges of misconduct while the application is
pending before the Board. For purposes of this rule, an applicant is “in good
standing” in a jurisdiction if:
(i) the applicant is an active member
of the bar of the jurisdiction and the jurisdiction issues a certificate
attesting to the applicant’s good standing therein; or
(ii)
the applicant was formerly a member of the
jurisdiction and the jurisdiction certifies the applicant was in good
standing at the time that the applicant ceased to be a member; and
(iii)
if the jurisdiction in which the applicant is
inactive or was formerly a member will not certify the applicant’s good
standing solely because of the non-payment of dues, the Board, in its
discretion, may waive such certification from that jurisdiction.
The applicant must not only be in
good standing but also must be an active member of each jurisdiction on which
the applicant relies for admission by comity.
(6) Be of good moral
character and have satisfied the requirements of Section .0600 of this
Chapter;
(7) Meet the educational requirements of Section .0700 of this Chapter as
hereinafter set out if first licensed to practice law after August, 1971;
(8) Not have taken and failed the written North Carolina Bar Examination
within ten (10) years prior to the date of filing the applicant's comity
application;
(9) Have stood and passed the Multistate Professional Responsibility
Examination approved by the Board.
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SECTION .0600 - MORAL CHARACTER
AND GENERAL FITNESS
.0601 BURDEN OF PROOF
Every applicant shall have the burden of proving that the applicant
possesses the qualifications of character and general fitness requisite for
an attorney and counselor-at-law and is possessed of good moral character and
is entitled to the high regard and confidence of the public.
.0602 PERMANENT RECORD
All information furnished to the Board by an applicant shall be
deemed material, and all such information shall be and become a permanent
record of the Board.
.0603 FAILURE TO DISCLOSE
No one shall be licensed to practice law by examination or comity or
be allowed to take
the bar examination in this state:
(1) who fails to disclose fully to the Board, whether requested to do
so or not, the facts relating to any disciplinary proceedings or charges as
to the applicant's professional conduct, whether same have been terminated or
not, in this or any other state, or any federal court or other jurisdiction,
or
(2) who fails to disclose fully to the Board, whether requested to do
so or not, any and all facts relating to any civil or criminal proceedings,
charges or investigations involving the applicant, whether the same have been
terminated or not in this or any other state or in any of the federal courts
or other jurisdictions.
.0604 BAR CANDIDATE COMMITTEE
Every applicant shall appear before a bar candidate committee,
appointed by the Chairman of the Board, in the judicial district in which the
applicant resides, or in such other judicial districts as the Board in its
sole discretion may designate to the applicant, to be examined about any
matter pertaining to the applicant's moral character and general fitness to
practice law. An applicant who has appeared before a bar candidate committee
may, in the Board's discretion, be excused from making a subsequent appearance
before a bar candidate committee. The applicant shall give such information
as may be required on such forms provided by the Board. A bar candidate
committee may require the applicant to make more than one appearance before
the committee and to furnish to the committee the such information and
documents as it may reasonably require pertaining to the moral character and
general fitness of the applicant to be licensed to practice law in North
Carolina. Each applicant will be advised when to appear before the bar
candidate committee. There can be no
changes once the initial assignment is made.
.0605 DENIAL; RE-APPLICATION
No new application or petition for reconsideration of a previous
application from an applicant who has either been denied permission to take
the bar examination or has been denied a license to practice law on the
grounds set forth in Section .0600 shall be considered by the Board within a
period of three (3) years next after the date of such denial unless, for good
cause shown, permission for re-application or petition for a reconsideration
is granted by the Board.
SECTION .0700 - EDUCATIONAL
REQUIREMENTS
.0701 GENERAL EDUCATION
Each applicant must have satisfactorily completed the academic work
required for admission to a law school approved by the Council of the North
Carolina State Bar.
.0702 LEGAL EDUCATION
Every applicant applying for admission to practice law in the State
of North Carolina, before being granted a license to practice law, shall
prove to the satisfaction of the Board that said applicant has graduated from
a law school approved by the Council of The North Carolina State Bar or that
said applicant will graduate within thirty (30) days after the date of the
written bar examination from a law school approved by the Council of the
North Carolina State Bar. There shall be filed with the Secretary a
certificate of the dean, or other proper official of said law school,
certifying the date of the applicant's graduation. A list of the approved law
schools is available in the office of the Secretary.
SECTION .0800 - PROTEST
.0801 NATURE OF PROTEST
Any person may protest the application of any applicant to be
admitted to the practice of law either by examination or by comity.
.0802 FORMAT
A protest shall be made in writing, signed by the person making the
protest and bearing the person's home and business address, and shall be
filed with the Secretary prior to the date on which the applicant is to be
examined.
.0803 NOTIFICATION; RIGHT TO WITHDRAW
The Secretary shall notify immediately the applicant of the protest
and of the charges therein made; and the applicant thereupon may file with
the Secretary a written withdrawal as a candidate for admission to the
practice of law at that examination.
.0804 HEARING
In case the applicant does not withdraw as a candidate for admission
to the practice of law at the examination, the person or persons making the
protest and the applicant in question shall appear before the Board at a time
and place to be designated by the Board. In the event time will not permit a
hearing on the protest prior to the examination, the applicant may take the
written examination, and the results will be sealed until final disposition
of the protest in favor of the applicant.
.0805 REFUSAL TO LICENSE
Nothing herein contained shall prevent the Board on its own motion
from refusing to issue a license to practice law until the Board has been
fully satisfied as to the moral character and general fitness of the
applicant as provided by Section .0600 of this Chapter.
SECTION .0900 - EXAMINATIONS
.0901 WRITTEN EXAMINATION
Two written bar examinations shall be held each
year for those applying to be admitted to the practice of law in North Carolina.
.0902 DATES
The written bar examinations shall be held in
the City of Raleigh, Wake County or adjoining counties in the months of
February and July on such dates as the Board may set from year to year.
.0903 SUBJECT MATTER
The examination may deal with the following
subjects: Business Association (including agency, corporations, and
partnerships), Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law
and Procedure, Evidence, Family Law, Legal Ethics, Real Property,
Secured Transactions including The Uniform Commercial Code, Taxation, Torts,
Trusts, Wills, Decedents' Estates and Equity.
.0904 PASSING SCORE
The Board shall determine what shall constitute
the passing of an examination.
SECTION .1000 - REVIEW OF WRITTEN
BAR EXAMINATION
.1001 REVIEW
An unsuccessful applicant to
the bar examination may examine the test booklets containing the applicant's
essay examination along with such answers to the examination as the Board
determines will be of assistance to the applicants and the essay examination
in the Board's offices.
.1002 FEES
The Board
will furnish an unsuccessful applicant a copy of the applicant's essay
examination at a cost to be determined by the Secretary, not to exceed
$20.00. No copies of the Board’s grading guide will be made or furnished to
the applicant.
.1003 MULTISTATE BAR
EXAMINATION
There is no provision for review of the
Multistate Bar Examination.
.1004 SCORES
(1) Upon written request,
the Board will release to an unsuccessful applicant the applicant's scores on
the bar examination.
(2) Upon written request of
an applicant, the Board will furnish the Multistate Bar Examination score of
said applicant to another board of bar examiners, or like organization that
administers the admission of attorneys into that jurisdiction.
.1005 BOARD REPRESENTATIVE
The Secretary of the Board serves as the
representative of the Board during this review of the written bar examination
by an unsuccessful applicant. The Secretary is not authorized to discuss any
specific questions and answers on the bar examination.
SECTION .1200 - BOARD HEARINGS
.1201 NATURE OF HEARINGS
(1) All general applicants may be required to appear before the Board
or a Panel at a hearing to answer inquiry about any matter under these rules.
(2) Each comity applicant shall appear before the Board or Panel to
satisfy the
Board that he or she has met all the requirements of Rule .0502.
.1202 NOTICE OF HEARING
The Chairman will schedule the hearings before the Board or Panel and
such hearings will be scheduled by the issuance of a notice of hearing mailed
to the applicant or the applicant's attorney within a reasonable time before
the date of the hearing.
.1203 CONDUCT OF HEARINGS
(1) All hearings shall be heard by the Board except that the Chairman
may designate two or more members to serve as a Panel to conduct these
hearings.
(2) The Panel will make a determination as to the applicant's
eligibility to stand the written bar examination or to be licensed by comity.
The Panel may grant the application, deny the application, or refer it to the
Board for a de novo hearing. The applicant will be notified in writing of the
Panel's determination. In the event of an adverse determination by the Panel,
the applicant may request a hearing de novo before the Board by giving
written notice to the Secretary at the offices of the Board within ten (10)
days following receipt of the Panel's determination. Failure to file such
notice in the manner and within the time stated shall operate as a waiver of
the right of the applicant to request a hearing de novo before the Board and
shall result in the determination of the Panel becoming final.
(3) The Board or a Panel of the Board may require an applicant to
make more than one appearance before the Board or Panel, to furnish
information and documents as it may reasonably require, and to submit to
reasonable physical or mental examinations, all at the applicant's expense,
pertaining to the moral character or general fitness of the applicant to be
licensed to practice law in North Carolina.
(4) The Board or a Panel of the Board may allow an applicant to take
the bar examination but seal the results of that examination until the Board
or a Panel of the Board has made a final determination that the applicant
possesses the qualifications of character and general fitness requisite for
an attorney and counselor at law and is possessed of good moral character and
is entitled to the high regard and confidence of the public.
.1204 CONTINUANCES; MOTIONS FOR SUCH
Continuances, adjournments and like dispositions will be granted to a
party only in compelling circumstances, especially when one such disposition
has been previously requested by and granted to that party. Motions for continuances
should be made to the Secretary of the Board and will be granted or denied by
the Chairman of the Board.
.1205 SUBPOENAS
(1) The Board shall have the power to subpoena and to summon and
examine witnesses under oath and to compel their attendance and the
production of books, papers and other documents and writings deemed by it to
be necessary or material to the hearing as set forth in G.S. 84-24.
(2) The Secretary of the Board is delegated the power to issue
subpoenas in the Board's name.
.1206 DEPOSITIONS AND DISCOVERY
(1) A deposition may be used in evidence when taken in compliance
with the N. C. Rules of Civil Procedure, G.S. 1A-1. The Board may also allow
the use of depositions or written interrogatories for the purpose of
discovery or for the use as evidence in the hearing or for both purposes
pursuant to the N. C. Rules of Civil Procedure.
(2) Any party or the Board may submit sworn affidavits as evidence to
be
considered by the Board in a Board Hearing. The Board will take under
consideration sworn affidavits presented to the Board by persons desiring to
protest an applicant's admission to the North Carolina Bar.
.1207 REOPENING OF A CASE
After a final decision has been reached by the Board in any matter, a
party may petition
the Board to reopen or reconsider a case. Petitions will not be granted
except when petitioner can show that the reasons for reopening or
reconsidering the case are to introduce newly discovered evidence which was not
presented at the initial hearing because of some justifiable, excusable or
unavoidable circumstances and that fairness and justice require reopening or
reconsidering the case. The Petition has been made within a reasonable time
and not more than ninety days after the decision of the Board has been
entered.
SECTION .1300 - LICENSES
.1302 LICENSES FOR GENERAL APPLICANTS
Upon compliance with the rules of the Board, and all orders of the
Board, the Secretary, upon order of the Board, shall issue a license to
practice law in North Carolina to each applicant as may be designated by the
Board in the form and manner as may be prescribed by the Board, and at such
times as prescribed by the Board.
SECTION .1400 - JUDICIAL REVIEW
.1401 APPEALS
A general applicant may appeal from an adverse ruling or
determination by the Board as to the applicant's eligibility to take the
written examination. After a general applicant has successfully passed the
written examination, the applicant may appeal from any adverse ruling or
determination withholding the applicant's license to practice law. A comity
applicant may appeal from an adverse ruling of the Board of Law Examiners
denying the applicant's application to the North Carolina Bar by comity for
failure to meet any of the requirements of Rule .0502 of this Chapter.
.1402 NOTICE OF APPEAL
Notice of appeal shall be given, in writing, within twenty (20) days
after notice of such ruling or determination and written exceptions to the
ruling or determination filed with the Secretary, which exceptions shall
state the grounds of objection to such ruling or determination. Failure to
file such notice of appeal in the manner and within the time stated shall
operate as a waiver of the right to appeal and shall result in the decision
of the Board becoming final.
.1403 RECORD TO BE FILED
Within sixty (60) days after receipt of the notice of appeal, and
after the applicant has paid the cost of preparing the record, the Secretary
shall prepare, certify, and file with the Clerk of the Superior Court of Wake
County the record of the case, comprising;
(1) the application and supporting documents or papers filed by the
applicant with the Board;
(2) a complete transcription of the testimony when taken at the
hearing;
(3) copies of all pertinent documents and other written evidence
introduced at the hearing;
(4) a copy of the decision of the Board; and
(5) a copy of the notice of appeal containing the exceptions filed to
the decision.
With the permission of the court, the record may be shortened by
stipulation of all parties to the review proceedings. Any party unreasonably
refusing to stipulate to limit the record may be taxed by the court for such
additional costs as may be occasioned by the refusal. The court may require
or permit subsequent corrections or additions to the record when deemed
desirable.
.1404 WAKE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT
Such appeal shall lie to the Superior Court of Wake County and shall
be heard by the presiding judge or resident judge, without a jury, who may
hear oral arguments and receive written briefs, but no evidence not offered
at the hearing shall be taken except that in cases of alleged omissions or
errors in the record. Testimony thereon may be taken by the court. The
findings of fact by the Board, when supported by competent evidence, shall be
conclusive and binding upon the court. The court may affirm, reverse, or
remand the case for further proceedings. If the court reverses or remands for
further proceedings the decision of the Board, the judge shall set out in
writing, which writing shall become a part of the record, the reasons for
such reversal or remand.
.1405 NORTH CAROLINA
SUPREME COURT
Any party to the review proceeding, including the Board, may appeal
to the Supreme Court from the decision of the Superior Court. No appeal bond
shall be required of the Board.
After examining the foregoing amendments to the Rules Governing Admission
to the Practice of Law in the State of North Carolina as adopted by the
Council of the North Carolina State Bar, it is my opinion that the same is
not inconsistent with Article 4, Chapter 84 of the General Statues.
This 7th day of November, 2007
Sarah Parker.
Chief Justice
Upon the foregoing certificate, it is ordered that the foregoing amendment to
the Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law in the State of North
Carolina be spread upon the minutes of the supreme Court and that it be
published in the forthcoming volume of
the Reports as provided by the Act incorporating the North Carolina State
Bar.
This 7th day of November, 2007
Hudson, J.
For the Court
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