Pass the bar in one state, Work in Another.

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LEGAL CAREER INFORMATION YOU CAN USE

Pass the bar in one state, Work in Another.

[Danielle D. Hansen, J.D.] We all know the complicated subtleties of reciprocity arrangements. Some states let you practice law there, provided that you’ve passed the bar in another state. But only if you passed the bar of certain states with pre-arranged agreements with the state in which you passed the bar and not just any old state in general. Confused? This week, we look at the advantages and possibilities of passing the bar in one state and working in another.

Within the legal community, it’s generally an

into at least one state, your resume can

accepted fact that some states’ bar exams

work against you. A potential employer will

are more difficult than others. New York and

see that you’re a J.D. but that you have not

You can do the studies on your own of states

California, for example, have the reputations

passed the bar anywhere. Their first question

with high-pass Bar Exams. Compare it to

of giving difficult exams, and their pass/fail

will be why is this so.

your own state’s exam. You’ll have to study

ratios back this up. So, for example, if you

and a much higher pass rate.

for that particular state’s exam and arrange

want to work in California, you’ll either have

Were you bright enough to earn your J.D. but

for your own travel and accommodations at

to pass the full California Bar Exam or the

you keep failing the bar exam in your state?

your own cost, of course. All the research

two-day attorney exam. It’s that simple. Well,

Did you not take the bar exam yet? If not,

must be done on your own as well. So with

it would appear so at first glance, but it all

why not? Why would you invest so much time

all this extra work and expense, what are the

depends on the type of work you’re pursuing.

and money and hard work in earning your

benefits?

J.D. and then decide to go into a corporate or In order to go into court and litigate actual

otherwise non-legal job?

cases, then, yes, you will more than likely

Remember our point earlier about padding your resume? That’s where it can pay off.

need to either waive into a state or pass the

For these reasons-in order that these ques-

If you’re in New York applying for a job and

bar for that state itself. However, this will not

tions don’t come up-it’s a good idea to have

you have Admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar

matter if you’re looking to get into non-legal

the Admitted-to-the-Bar stamp on your

on your resume, for example, that looks

corporate work.

resume. And if you’ve taken the Bar Exam

infinitely better than just having J.D. in your

and failed it in a difficult state like California,

education section. At an interview, you’ll

there are still ways around this issue.

doubtless be asked about this situation, and

The difference between a practicing lawyer and a J.D., of course, is whether the person

this too can work to your advantage.

has passed the bar or not. Some corporate

The first way, of course, is to study harder

jobs require a “legal background,” even

and prepare yourself better for the next Bar

You obviously don’t want to say, “I took the

though your job will not require you to

Exam. You obviously know that you’re not

PA Bar Exam because the NY exam was far

practice law for them. The legal background

the first nor last person to fail the Exam, so

too difficult” or “I took the PA Exam just for

connotes, at the very least, an understanding

there is no shame in having to take it more

the sake of having a Bar Admission on my

of laws, contracts, and other subjects in that

than one time in order to pass. But there is

resume,” even though that may be exactly

realm, whether the corporation wants to hire

another way that has gained some popularity

what you did. Instead, you can come up with

a full-fledged attorney or not. Having a J.D.

among J.D.s.

creative reasons. Perhaps you can say that

will definitely fulfill the legal-background

you once aspired to practice law in Philadel-

requirement, even if the person is not a prac-

Let’s say you resigned yourself to the fact

phia but later opted against it. Or you can say

ticing attorney.

that you cannot or will not pass your state’s

that you found that PA law interested you in

bar exam. (We encourage you not to take

the past because you thought about living

People have been padding their resumes for

this attitude, but if you already have it, then

there.

as long as resumes have been in existence. It

we figure that you know yourself better than

looks great that you have a J.D. listed under

anyone and maybe you’re being realistic.)

In any event, this may not work if you’re

your education heading on your resume, but

You can still have Admitted to the Bar on your

applying for a NY job that requires a NY

it looks even better if you can add “Admit-

resume. The key is to take another state’s

license. But for a corporate-type job where

ted to the ___ Bar.” Without bar admission

bar exam-a state with a much easier exam

bar admission is not required, your resume

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LEGAL CAREER INFORMATION YOU CAN USE

will look more complete with a Bar Admission on it, as opposed to just a J.D. Competition is fierce for employment, especially for legal jobs. Many of your competitors will have Bar Admissions on their resumes, so you cannot afford to be without one.

If you’re licensed in one state and do wish to move and practice law in another, then that’s where the complicated reciprocity rules come into play. There are about 19 states that allow lawyers from other states to come in and practice without having to pass their bar exams. But this provision usually only applies if the first state also has the same arrangement.

It’s definitely a tit-for-tat situation.

Only about 12 states waive these reciprocity agreements altogether and allow out-of-state attorneys to come in and practice law without regard to mutual agreements with other states. The remaining states require that outof-state lawyers pass their bar exam. Most of these remaining states, however, give outof-state lawyers an option of taking a slightly shorter attorney’s exam, which is basically the exam minus the multistate. Of course, deciding whether you want to take the full test or the attorney’s exam is an entirely different issue upon itself.

So, as you can see, crossing state boundaries to practice law can be a complicated issue depending on what state you’re in and where you want to move to. You’ll need to do plenty of research and verification to find out about your specific situation.

So don’t just rest with your J.D. Do what it takes to pass the bar in your state. Or another state. Any state. Get it on your resume. It’s that important. From there, you’ll be able to look into practicing in whatever state you choose. Or whatever jurisdiction, like the District of Columbia. But DC is a whole other situation which we’ll save for a rainy day.

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