Admission by Transferred UBE Score for Qualifying Graduates of Foreign Law Schools (Rule 704A)
Domain overview
Rule 704A is a narrow route for a qualifying graduate of a foreign law school to seek Illinois admission using a transferred UBE score instead of sitting for the Illinois bar exam. The exam tests whether you can distinguish this route from ordinary foreign-lawyer admission and from the general transferred-UBE rule.
Core rules and concepts
- Qualifying graduate: not every foreign law graduate or LLM holder qualifies. The applicant must satisfy Rule 704A's foreign legal education requirements and any additional requirement the rule imposes, such as an ABA-approved LLM or practice eligibility in the home jurisdiction. The Board evaluates the record.
- Transferred UBE score: the applicant must have a UBE score of at least 266, taken in a qualifying jurisdiction, and must transfer it to Illinois through the NCBE score-transfer process within the applicable validity period.
- No automatic admission: a qualifying score does not waive character and fitness, the MPRE (Illinois requires 85), the Illinois application, fees, or proof of education.
- Scope: Rule 704A substitutes a qualifying transferred UBE score for the Illinois bar exam; it does not create a general license for foreign legal consultants or in-house counsel.
Worked example
A lawyer educated in Brazil has an ABA-approved LLM and a 270 UBE score from New York. She may seek Rule 704A admission only if her Brazilian law degree and LLM satisfy the rule's education requirements, her score is still valid, and she completes the Illinois application, MPRE, and character and fitness process. A 265 score fails the threshold; a 270 score without the required education also fails.
Traps
Assuming any foreign law degree qualifies; assuming an LLM alone guarantees eligibility; missing the score-transfer or application deadline; treating Rule 704A as a full waiver of character and fitness or the MPRE.