State bar toughens lawyers’ exam

Friday, March 31, 2000 | 10:11 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- New rules will make it more difficult for law school graduates to pass the state bar examination and for out-of-state lawyers to practice in this state.

The new guidelines proposed by the state bar and approved Thursday by the state Supreme Court will also allow students at the UNLV Boyd Law School to take cases under strict supervision.

The court also indicated Thursday it would pass a regulation permitting faculty at the Boyd Law School to practice law without taking the state bar examination.

The dean of the new law school, Richard Morgan, told the justices he expects provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association in June. He said an inspection team visited the campus in November and it issued a "strong" preliminary report in favor of provisional certification.

That means students in the first graduating class in the summer of 2001 will be able to take the Nevada bar examination.

But the test will be tougher than in the past.

Karen Peterson, chairwoman of the board of bar examiners, told the court that applicants would be required to achieve above-average scores on five of the nine essay questions. At present the high scores have to come on only three questions.

Peterson, a Carson City attorney, said those taking the bar examination recently displayed the need for greater skills in picking out the legal issues on the essay questions and then performing analytical writing.

Last year 63 percent of those who took the examination passed.

On the issue of out-of-state lawyers, Ann Bersi, president of the Nevada Bar Association, told the court the new rule would set up guidelines for limiting those attorneys who frequently come to the state. In the last three years one law firm has made 34 appearance in cases in Nevada without having to go through the local rules or examinations.

She said the out-of-state firms mostly came into Clark County to handle construction-defect cases. Supreme Court Justice Bill Maupin agreed, saying many of the "out of state construction-defect law firms have set up camp in Nevada and are practicing here."

The guidelines would limit a law firm to five cases in a three-year period. However, it would still be up to the District Court judge whether he wanted to allow the firm to enter into a case.

Bersi, a Las Vegas lawyer, said this rule gives the judges some guidelines but it is still within their discretion to make the final decision.

A study showed that 63 out-of-state law firms each took more than five cases during the past three years, Bersi said.

Justice Nancy Becker noted Nevada has no way to suspend or revoke the license of an out-of-state lawyer who may misbehave in handling cases in this state.

On the practice of students at the Boyd Law School, Morgan said this would be part of the clinical program to give them "real life experience." The school, he said, "will make sure they are carefully controlled and carefully monitored."

The Supreme Court withheld its formal support but indicated its backing for a proposed rule allowing the clinical faculty at the law school to be admitted to practice law without taking the bar examination.