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Dear Judged
DC Bar Admission?I will finish my graduation next year after which I plan to practice in Washington, DC.  I'm confused about which bar to take.  DC? MD? VA?


Konfused 3L
posted 2007-06-25 03:29:09


Dear imperial,

I can't stand people who use K's when they are supposed to use C's Seriously not cool. But I'll answer your question anyway.
On the topic of waiving in, I'll just quote Wikipedia: "Minnesota, North Dakota, and the District of Columbia allow attorneys who recently passed the bar exam of another state, and who were subsequently admitted to the bar of that state while scoring a certain minimum score on the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), to "waive" into admission rather than sitting for that jurisdiction's exam (though they still must attend to other formalities in order to practice in the jurisdiction). Attorneys who passed the bars of Louisiana, Washington (state), and Puerto Rico cannot "waive in" using this method, since these are the three jurisdictions in the United States that do not use the Multistate Bar Examination."
So the first thing I can tell you is: don't take the Louisiana, Washington, or Puerto Rico bars.
DC is a tough market! Most of my friends who are practicing in DC took either the VA or MD Bar for two reasons: a) If you pass in MD or VA, you can waive into DC; and b) general perception lingers that MD/VA Bar is comparatively easy So there's no reason to take the DC bar. Plus, if you pass in MD, after five years you can waive in to VA and practice in all three, i.e., MD, VA, and DC.
For a general admission in DC, you need to have either 5 years of law practice OR all three of the following: a) A J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school; b) Score of 133 or more in the MBE; and c) Clear the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam.This mean you can waive into the DC Bar if you've cleared another state's bar examination with a minimum score on the MBE of 133.
 
Generally the application process is long for getting the waiver. I could have probably gotten this info from the DC Bar's website, but this blog gives the requirements for DC Bar waiver application, so thankfully I didn't have to (also, the blogger is in the process of waiving in to DC, so you could probably get some useful info from reading her posts!):
§ Application Questionnaire
-Certification from Law School, signed by the Registrar or Dean
-MBE release form (you need to have scored 133)
-Copy of MPRE scores
-Certificate of good standing from the highest court in your state
-Required fee sent with certificate of good standing
-Three copies of Authorization and Release Forms.  Each one notarized no more than 5 days before submitting application.
-Form request for NCBE Character Report.
-Certified check for $400 made out to Clerk, DC Court of Appeals.
-Certified check for $250 made out to NCBE.
-
Certified check for $25 for MBE score release.
-One staple or heavy binder clip.  (Don't forget!  They won't let you in without this!)

Okay, the rules for admission to the DC bar are also here:http://www.dca ppeals.gov/dccourts/docs/DCCA_Rules.pdf (rule 46)

Now, you probably knew most of this already.  The BIG dilemma that many people like you face is: MD or VA?

So the Judge did some research to compare the passing rates of both states.  For MD it's 72%, and for VA it's 74%.  Not too much of a difference there, but Virginia's is higher.  So the answer clearly is that you should take the Virginia bar exam.  Providing you with the necessary details, the Judge has proved herself again.  Yes, yes… exceptional googling skills definitely work wonders!  If you still are not convinced, just go to DC and visit the local bar!  lol   (Seriously, you can probably find lots of drunk attorneys there who will be willing to regale you with stories from when they took the MD or VA exams… then you can decide!) The Judge is always there to help you.  Ping me whenever in need.

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Dear Judged


Dear Your Honor,
Dear Judge,

Do you ever experience any physical danger in the courtroom?  You do deal with all those criminals, right? 

Sincerly,

Concerned Bailiff's Mommy



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