DC Bar cheat sheet

General Admissions and Membership (D.C. Bar)

• Admission in D.C. is administered by the D.C. Court of Appeals through its Committee on Admissions; the D.C. Bar itself is a unified (mandatory) bar that every person licensed to practice in D.C. must join.

• Three principal admission routes exist: (1) admission by examination (the D.C. bar exam plus the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination), (2) admission on motion without examination for attorneys already admitted in another U.S. jurisdiction, and (3) admission of foreign-educated or foreign-licensed applicants under limited provisions.

• The D.C. bar exam is the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE); D.C. administers it in February and July, and a transferred UBE score from another jurisdiction may be accepted if it meets D.C.'s minimum score and is not more than the permitted number of years old.

• Admission on motion requires, among other things, that the applicant be admitted and in good standing in another U.S. jurisdiction, hold a J.D. or equivalent degree from an ABA-approved law school (or satisfy an approved alternative), pass the MPRE, and satisfy the Committee's character and fitness review.

• Every applicant must demonstrate good moral character and fitness; the Committee on Admissions investigates the applicant's record, and full and candid disclosure of arrests, charges, discipline, debts, and prior bar applications is required because omissions themselves can be grounds for denial.

• The D.C. Bar has a mandatory annual registration and dues obligation; failure to pay dues or file the required registration statement can result in suspension of the license to practice in D.C.

• Continuing legal education in D.C. requires 12 credit hours per calendar year, including at least 2 hours of ethics and 1 hour of substance-abuse/mental-health awareness; newly admitted attorneys also complete a mandatory course on D.C. practice and professionalism.

• Pro hac vice admission allows an out-of-state lawyer to appear in a particular D.C. matter with the court's permission, typically requiring association with a D.C.-licensed attorney and payment of a fee; it is case-specific and does not confer D.C. Bar membership.

• Discipline and unauthorized-practice enforcement flow from the D.C. Court of Appeals through the Board on Professional Responsibility; the D.C. Bar's legal ethics counsel issues advisory opinions, but the court retains ultimate authority over admissions and discipline.