Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SCR 2.014 LEGAL EDUCATION

         (1) Every applicant for admission to the Kentucky Bar must have completed degree requirements for a J.D. or equivalent professional degree from a law school approved by the American Bar Association or by the Association of American Law Schools.

     (2) An attorney who received a legal education in the United States but is not eligible for admission by virtue of not having attended a law school approved by the American Bar Association or the Association of American Law Schools may nevertheless be considered for admission by examination provided the attorney satisfies the following requirements:

 

    (a) The attorney holds a J.D. Degree, which is not based on study by correspondence, from a law school accredited in the jurisdiction where it exists and which requires the equivalent of a three-year course of study that is the substantial equivalent of the legal education provided by approved law schools located in Kentucky. The applicant shall bear the cost of the evaluation of his/her legal education, as determined by the Board, and the application shall not be processed until the applicant's legal education is approved by the Board of Bar Examiners; and

    (b) The attorney has been actively and substantially engaged in lawful practice of law as his or her principal business or occupation for at least three of the last five years immediately preceding the filing of the application; and

    (c) The attorney meets all other requirements contained in the Rules of the Supreme Court of Kentucky pertaining to Admission of Persons to Practice Law.

    (3) An attorney who received a legal education in a foreign country and is not eligible for admission by virtue of not having attended a law school approved by the American Bar Association or the Association of American Law Schools may nevertheless be considered for admission by examination provided the attorney satisfies the following requirements:

    (a) The foreign attorney's legal education is the substantial equivalent of the legal education provided by approved law schools located in Kentucky. The applicant shall bear the cost of the evaluation of their legal education, as determined by the Board, and the application shall not be processed until the applicant's legal education is approved by the Board of Bar Examiners.

    (b) In evaluating the education received the Board of Bar Examiners shall consider, but not be limited to, such factors as the admission of the applicant to the Bar of another state or the District of Columbia, the similarity of the curriculum taken to that offered in law schools approved by the American Bar Association or by the Association of American Law Schools, that the school at which the applicant's legal education was received has been examined and approved by other state bar associations examining the legal qualifications of foreign law school graduates, and the applicant's proficiency in written and spoken English.

     (c) The applicant shall, in order to qualify to sit for the Bar examination, also submit a certified copy of the record or license of the court or agency which admitted the applicant to practice law in such country, and satisfy the requirement that the applicant has been actively and substantially engaged in the lawful practice of law as his or her principal business or occupation for at least three of the last five years immediately preceding the filing of the application, in addition to any other requirements authorized by these rules.

(4)    For purposes of (2) (b) and (3) (c), the active engagement in the teaching of the law shall be considered active engagement in the practice of law.

[Amended effective January 1, 1978; November 1, 1981; July 5, 1985; July 1, 1987; November 15 1991;November 15, 1996; Amended effective February 1, 2000; January 1, 2002]

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   Last modified: May 06, 2008