Last week, I talked about the bar exam, one of the hurdles to obtaining a law license in Colorado.
The bar exam is an intensive two-day, three-part exam held twice a year (February and July) that tests an applicant’s knowledge of legal rules and ability to analyze, problem solve, and counsel clients. The purpose is to assess the applicant’s suitability. The latest exam, held in July, had an 80% pass rate, meaning 20% (147 people) of those taking the exam failed.
Another hurdle to obtaining a law license in Colorado (and other states) is an evaluation of character and suitability. In Colorado, this is done for each bar license applicant by the Office of Bar Admissions, an agency of the Colorado Supreme Court. Applicants for a Colorado bar license are required to prove to the agency that they are of “good moral character” and “fit for the practice of law.” The stated purpose of this requirement is to “protect and protect the public.”
Character and suitability evaluations begin with a long, detailed application form that requires applicants to reveal all sorts of skeletons they may have in their closets. This includes termination, default, bankruptcy, criminal proceedings, civil proceedings, income tax delinquency, government agency sanctions, educational institution sanctions, child support arrears, drug and alcohol problems, and even traffic violations. . Applicants are also fingerprinted, and the fingerprints are checked against a database where government agencies collect information on bad actors.
Everything is then reviewed by the Bar Admissions Office, who dig into anything in your application that piques your curiosity.
Investigators may become involved if issues surface during this review. Investigators can look under every rock, including interviewing references from the applicant and others who know the applicant. Applicants are asked to provide anything they can think of as evidence that they have corrected any defects in their character or physical fitness.
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Character and suitability evaluations may also include a meeting where investigators, analysts, and other committees involved in the regulation of the legal profession meet to make decisions about the applicant’s status.
The Office of Bar Admissions says its character and suitability process (much like a government security screening) is a “thorough and comprehensive” examination of the character and suitability of applicants for admission to the Colorado bar. states.
To proceed with an application for bar licensure, including taking the bar exam, the Office of Bar Admissions must certify to the Supreme Court that the applicant meets the standards of character and fitness established and detailed by the Supreme Court. Must be. Found in the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure.
If the Office of Bar Admissions determines that it cannot make this finding, the applicant must submit to a hearing consisting of the key person in the attorney discipline matter, known as the “Chief Disciplinary Judge,” and two members known as the “Disciplinary Judges.” You have the right to a hearing before the committee. and the fitness committee. ” After the hearing, the hearing board makes written findings of fact and conclusions of law and sends the matter to the Supreme Court for a final decision. If the Supreme Court rejects the application, the applicant has five years to reconsider the case.
Once a lawyer license is issued, lawyers are required to follow another set of detailed rules called the Rules of Professional Conduct. Violation of these rules may result in various sanctions, including disqualification.
It is clear that prelicensure character and fitness assessments are not reliable predictors of future good conduct. But at least they keep the bad apples out of the legal community and send them flying in another direction to cause bad things.
