Ky. Sup. Ct. Order 2020-60 SCR 2.080

Rule 2.080 shall read:

(1) The Board of Bar Examiners shall examine such applicants as are

certified to it as provided in SCR 2.040. The examination shall cover a period

of two days and may cover the subjects and skills tested on the Uniform Bar

Examination, as published on the website of the National Conference of Bar

Examiners at www.ncbex.org.

(2) Beginning with the February 2021 Bar Examination, the Board shall

administer the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) prepared by the National

Conference of Bar Examiners and consisting of a written portion composed of

the Multi-state Essay Examinations (MEE) and the Multi-state Performance

Test (MPT), and the Multi-state Bar Examination (MBE).

(3) The Board of Bar Examiners shall, thirty (30) days before each

examination, report to the Supreme Court information regarding the

examination, including, but not limited to, its location, number of applicants,

special accommodations, and any other relevant information as determined by

the Board.

(4) To pass the bar examination in Kentucky, an applicant must achieve a

Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) total score equal to or greater than 266. In the

calculating UBE total scores, the MEE is weighted 30%, the MPT is weighted

20%, and the MBE is weighted 50%. The National Conference of Bar

Examiners will score the MBE, calculate scaled scores on the written portion

by the methodology used for all UBE jurisdictions, and combine the scaled

scores from the written portion and the MBE to produce UBE total scores.

Applicants must sit for all portions of the bar examination in the same

administration in order to qualify for admission in Kentucky and earn a

portable UBE score that may be transferred to other UBE jurisdictions.

Applicants who fail to earn the score required by the Board in five or fewer

attempts on Kentucky Bar Examination, including attempts on the UBE taken

in Kentucky or any other jurisdiction in February 2021 or after, shall not be

permitted to sit for the Kentucky Bar Examination.

(5) For any applicant who completes his/her examination in written form,

the Board of Bar Examiners at the beginning of the first session shall give each

applicant a numbered envelope. The applicant shall write his/her name upon a

slip of paper, seal the name in the envelope and return the envelope to the

Secretary of the Board. All papers will then be signed by the applicant only

with the number upon his/her envelope. When the applicant has completed

answering the questions on any given subject, he/she shall deposit his/her

written answers thereto with the Secretary of the Board.

(6) For any applicant who completes his/her examination in written form,

the papers containing the questions and answers given by the applicants to the

written portion of the examination will be preserved by the Secretary of the

Board for a period of one year from the time that the application for admission

has passed upon by the Supreme Court, and longer if so ordered by the Court.

(7) Upon recommendation of the Board of Bar Examiners, the Supreme

Court may appoint qualified members of the bar, to be known as Bar

Examination Graders, to assist the Examiners in the grading of examination

papers. Persons so appointed shall hold those positions for terms of one year

and until the appointment of their successors.

SCR 2.085 Approval of certificate of admission to practice law

SCR 2.085 shall read:

(1) When an applicant has passed an examination as provided by Rule

2.080, the Board of Bar Examiners shall certify that fact to the Supreme Court

together with a recommendation that the applicant be admitted to practice law.

The Court may approve or disapprove the recommendations and, if approved,

shall authorize the Clerk of the Court to issue a certificate of admission.

(2) When the Character and Fitness Committee determines that an applicant

is eligible for admission to the Kentucky Bar without examination as provided

by Rule 2.110 or for admission by transferred Uniform Bar Examination (UBE)

score as provided by Rule 2.090, the Committee's recommendation as provided

for in Rule 2.040(6) shall be certified to the Supreme Court, and the

recommendation for admission to the practice of law shall be considered as set

forth in paragraph (1) of this rule.

(3) When the Supreme Court has granted approval for the issuance of a

certificate of admission based upon the recommendation submitted under

paragraph (1) or (2), the applicant must be admitted to the Kentucky Bar

within two years of said date. If an applicant fails to be admitted within the

two-year period, the applicant must make new application for admission.

SCR 2.090 Admission by transferred Uniform Bar Examination score

New Rule 2.090 shall read:

(1) A person who meets all requirements of subparagraphs (a) through (j) of

paragraph 2 of this Rule may be admitted to the practice of law in Kentucky.

(2) The applicant shall submit evidence to the Kentucky Office of Bar

Admissions that he or she:

(a) has earned a UBE score 266 or higher in five or fewer attempts on the

UBE taken in any jurisdiction;

(b) earned the score required in subparagraph (2)(a) in an administration

of the UBE that occurred within five years of the date of application for

admission pursuant to this Rule;

(c) intends to engage in the practice of law in Kentucky as set out in SCR

2.013;

(d) meets the educational requirements set out in SCR 2.014;

(e) has achieved the required score on the Multistate Professional

Responsibility Examination as set out SCR 2.015;

(f) has successfully completed the Kentucky Law Component as set out

in SCR 2.017;

(g) is a member in good standing in all jurisdictions where the applicant

has been admitted;

(h) is not currently subject to lawyer discipline or the subject of a

pending disciplinary complaint or matter in any jurisdiction;

(i) possesses the good character and fitness to practice law in Kentucky

as determined by the Character and Fitness Committee; and

(j) certifies that he or she has read, is familiar with, and will follow the

Kentucky Rules of Professional Conduct.

(3) The application for Admission by Transferred Uniform Bar Examination

Score shall be filed with the Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions on a verified

form approved by the Board. The application shall be accompanied by a

nonrefundable fee of $875 for applicants whose UBE score was reported not

more than 12 months before the application date, as measured from the date

the score was released by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, and

$1,200 for applicants whose UBE score was reported more than 12 months

before the application date, along with written confirmation issued by the

National Conference of Bar Examiners that the applicant has submitted a

request for an Official UBE Transcript to be sent directly to Kentucky. An

applicant shall file with the Character and Fitness Committee such other

affidavits, certificates, documents and materials as shall be required to satisfy

the Committee, pursuant to SCR 2.040, of the applicant's good moral character

and fitness to be a member of the bar of this state.

(4) The Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions shall begin accepting applications

under this rule as of January 1, 2021.

SCR 2.111 Limited certificate of admission to practice law

Rule 2.111(4) shall read:

(4) The only restrictions and limitations applicable to such membership in

the Kentucky Bar Association and to such attorney's right to practice in this

Commonwealth shall be:

(a) Such attorney shall perform legal services in this Commonwealth

solely for his employer, its parent, subsidiary, or affiliated entities, and shall

not provide legal services in this Commonwealth, to any other individual or

entity, except as permitted under paragraph (4)(c) below.

(b) Such attorney shall not appear as attorney of record for his employer,

its parent, subsidiary or affiliated entities, in any case or matter pending before

the Courts of this Commonwealth, without first engaging an active member of

the Association in good standing, admitted under SCR 2.120 or SCR 2.110

other than one admitted under a limited certificate of admission, as co-counsel,

whose presence shall be necessary, when required by the Court, at all trials or

other times specified by the Court. Nothing herein shall prevent such attorney

from appearing on his/her own behalf or representing himself/herself in any

case or matter to which he/she is a party, or appearing in the Small Claims

Division of the District Court as otherwise provided in Rule 3.020.

(c) An attorney admitted with a limited practice certificate under this rule

is authorized to donate legal services in Kentucky through: [i] a duly organized

legal aid program offering pro bono representation to indigent individuals

within the Commonwealth of Kentucky, or [ii] a local bar association legal pro

bono program or initiative. No fee can be accepted by the attorney with a

limited practice certificate for the rendering of any legal services in connection

with items [i] and [ii] above. An attorney donating legal services under this rule

is subject to all duties and obligations of members admitted under SCR 2.110,

SCR 2.120 and 3.645.

SCR 2.113 Military spouse provisional admission

Rule 2.113(2)(j) and (k) and (4)(f) shall read:

(2) Required Evidence. The applicant for provisional admission shall submit

evidence satisfactory to the Kentucky Board of Bar Examiners that he or she:

(j) has never failed the Kentucky Bar Examination or failed to achieve a

266 on the Uniform Bar Examination at any time after Kentucky began

administering it;

(k) has successfully completed the Kentucky Law Component as set out

in SCR 2.017;

(4) Events of Termination. An attorney's provisional admission to practice

law pursuant to this Rule shall immediately terminate and except as provided

in subsection (i) of this rule, the attorney shall immediately cease all activities

under this Rule upon the occurrence of any of the following:

(f) The attorney received a failing score on the Kentucky Bar Examination

or failed to achieve a 266 on the Uniform Bar Examination taken in any

jurisdiction;