Vermont Bar Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2 | Page 24

by Jennifer Emens-Butler , VBA Director of Education and Communication

WHAT ’ S NEW New Rules of Admission in Effect !

As our members may be aware , Vermont is now utilizing the Uniform Bar Exam for admission by examination . Members also may have heard that the three-month clerkship requirement has been replaced with new Vermont-specific CLE and post-admission mentorship prerequisites . See , 2016 Rules of Admission to the Bar of the Vermont Supreme Court , Rule 12 . New admittees who pass the bar in July will be subject to the revised admission requirements . To help guide our members , the following generally summarizes the admission changes .
TYPES OF APPLICATIONS
The new rules recognize 3 methods to apply for admission to the Bar of the Vermont Supreme Court :
• By examination
• By transferred UBE score
• Without examination ( also known as “ waiving in ”).
CLE REQUIREMENT
The CLE component is applicable to all applicants , whether by examination , transferred UBE score , or without examination . An applicant must attend at least 15 hours of CLE on Vermont practice and procedure with courses certified by the Board of Bar Examiners as satisfying the rule . Six of the 15 hours must be live . For applicants by examination or transferred UBE score , the courses must be completed no earlier than 6 months before sitting for the bar exam and no later than 1 year after the applicant is admitted . For applicants without examination , the courses must be completed within 1 year before or after admission . Rest assured , the VBA is gearing up to provide informative and fresh CLEs that will fit the bill ; the VBA Basic Skills Program already in existence is an example of a course that satisfies the Vermont practice and procedure requirement .
MENTORSHIP COMPONENT
The Mentorship component is for those seeking admission by examination or transferred UBE score . Post-admission , but within one year of the admission to the Vermont Bar , an applicant must complete a mentorship of at least 6 months in duration with a supervising judge or attorney who has been admitted for at least 3 years . Unlike the clerkship requirement , the mentorship does not require a full-time presence with the mentor , but rather a minimum of 10 meetings over the 6-month to one-year period to discuss issues relevant to Vermont practice and procedure . An applicant must fulfill the mentorship component within 1-year or the applicant ’ s license will be suspended .
In addition to the 10 meetings , the applicant must engage in 40 hours of activities on a mentorship program list , not unlike the ‘ scavenger hunt ’ list provided to attorneys in the VBA / VLS Incubator Program . The mentor need not accompany the applicant to the activities , but must certify that the applicant attended , and help the newly admitted attorney become familiar with Vermont practice . The program list compiled by the Continuing Legal Education Board and certified by the Board of Examiners divides the activities by practice area or category , and includes litigation related activities such as attending a civil trial , a mediation , a contested parentage hearing , an arraignment hearing , a guardianship proceeding , a jury draw , Supreme Court oral arguments , a deposition , and an initial client intake or trial witness preparation .
Activities in the Litigation ( sampling above ) and Transactional categories cannot exceed 20 hours . Activities in the Access to Justice and Bar Functions categories cannot exceed 10 of the 40 hours . Transactional activities include reviewing land records , performing UCC searches , and drafting contracts , wills and promissory notes with supervision . Access to Justice activities include attending seminars on access to justice , accepting low or pro bono appointments and volunteering at Lawline . Applicants can fulfill the Bar Function requirement by attending the VBA ’ s Annual and Mid-Year Meetings , or by attending other bar-related meetings on Vermont practice that the mentor finds appropriate for that area of practice . This fulfills a crucial piece — giving the applicant a sense of the comradery among Vermont attorneys .
MENTORS NEEDED
New admittees may line up mentor attorneys or judges on their own , but it is anticipated that many new admittees may not have a mentor attorney or judge connection . Bar Counsel Mike Kennedy would like to have a list of state-wide attorneys and judges who would be willing to serve as mentors for new admittees . Unlike attorneys who oversaw new admittees fulfilling the three-month clerkship requirement , mentor attorneys or judges need only meet with their new admittee a total of 10 times over the maximum one-year period during which the new admittee must fulfill lawrelated activity requirements . The mentor and mentee may work in the same law office , but that is not required . The focus of the meetings would be to discuss the new admittee ’ s practice goals , and to discuss issues relevant to Vermont practice and procedure . As stated , the mentor need not attend the requisite 40 hours of activities with the new admittee , but should help make arrangements for the new admittee to participate in the various activities . The mentor must also certify to the admittee ’ s participation in the activities .
Participation in the various law-related activities is designed to give the applicant a balanced survey of the life and practice of a Vermont lawyer . A mentor who is planning to retire potentially could get the benefit of having a fresh , trained lawyer join , or even take over , the practice . It is contemplated that CLE credits will be available to mentors , the exact amount to be determined in late July . Above all , the admission rule should give new lawyers who would like to remain in Vermont all the tools they need to join our collegial Vermont community of lawyers .
If you ’ d like to volunteer to mentor a new admittee , please contact Michael Kennedy at Michael . kennedy @ vermont . gov . The Mentorship Program Activities Checklist is available on the www . vermontjudiciary . org website in the Legal Information--Licensing section .
24 THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SUMMER 2016 www . vtbar . org