Vt. Bar Admission Rule 7

(a) Definition. “Law Office Study Program” (or “LOS Program”) means apprenticing for the

prescribed term under the supervision of a judge or an attorney who practices in Vermont and has

been admitted to practice before this Court not less than 3 years prior to the Registrant’s

commencement of the apprenticeship.

(b) Requirements for Study. The purpose of the LOS Program is to prepare a Registrant to

engage in the general practice of law. To ensure this purpose is met:

(1) a Registrant must carefully arrange with the supervising judge or attorney a

systematic course of study to prepare the Registrant for the general practice of law, including,

but not limited to, the subjects tested on the Uniform Bar Examination and related Vermont

law; and

(2) a supervising judge or attorney may, and is encouraged to, enlist the assistance of

other judges and attorneys to provide the greatest breadth of experience and instruction to the

Registrant.

(c) Minimum Education Requirements for an LOS Program Registrant. Prior to enrollment

in the LOS Program, a Registrant must have earned a bachelor’s degree from an institution of

higher education whose accreditor has been approved by the U.S. Department of Education. This

requirement may also be satisfied if the Registrant has earned an undergraduate degree in a

foreign jurisdiction and can establish that the degree is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree from an

institution of higher education whose accreditor has been approved by the U.S. Department of

Education.

(d) Measurement of Study. Study under the supervision of a judge or an attorney is

measured as follows:

(1) A week of study consists of (A) not less than 25 hours of study during a period of 7

consecutive days, or (B) not less than 30 hours of study during a period of 14 consecutive days;

and

(2) A year of study consists of 12 calendar months during which not less than 44 weeks

of study were pursued.

(e) Term of Study; Credit Awarded Towards Term. The LOS Program requires four years of

approved study. Subject to Court approval, the Board has discretion to award a Registrant partial

credit for up to 2 years towards the 4-year term based on a Registrant’s prior legal study, if the

Registrant demonstrates to the Board’s satisfaction that the prior study:

(1) satisfies the purpose of the LOS Program;

(2) is recent and not stale; and

(3) was acquired:

(A) from an Approved or non-Approved Law School, whether or not the Applicant

has graduated;

(B) from a program in another U.S. jurisdiction, which the Registrant can

demonstrate is substantially equivalent to the LOS Program; or

(C) through the study of law in a foreign, common-law jurisdiction if the Applicant

has been admitted to the practice of law before a court of general jurisdiction.

(f) Reporting Requirements. The Registrant is responsible for satisfying all reporting

requirements. The Registrant must comply with all deadlines and submit all required notices,

certificates, and reports/affidavits to the Board on Board-approved forms.

(1) Commencement Notice. The Registrant must file the commencement notice within

30 days after beginning the LOS Program or changing offices where he or she is pursuing the

LOS Program. The commencement notice must include:

(A) the date that study began;

(B) the judge’s or attorney’s representation that he or she has personally

investigated the moral character and fitness of the Registrant, and, that to the best of his

or her knowledge, the Registrant, at the time of commencement, meets the requirements

of good moral character and fitness; and

(C) the supervising judge’s or attorney’s certification.

(2) Six-Month Report.

(A) General Requirements. Each report must be:

(i) in the form of an affidavit;

(ii) filed with the Board within 30 days of the expiration of the current, six-month study period;

(iii) signed by the Registrant/affiant; and

(iv) accompanied by the supervising judge’s or attorney’s certification that to the

best of his or her knowledge, the report is accurate.

(B) Contents. Each report must:

(i) include the number of weeks dedicated to study under the LOS Program;

(ii) describe in detail the areas of study pursued, the tasks performed, and any

other relevant study or work completed during the reporting period; and

(iii) outline the Registrant’s plan of study for the next reporting period.

(3) Completion Notice. Within 30 days of completing the LOS Program, and together with

the required six-month report, the Registrant must file with the Board a signed completion

notice.

(4) Failure to Timely Report. In the Board’s discretion, a Registrant’s failure to timely file

any notice, certificate, or report required may result in the withholding of credit for study,

disqualification to take the bar examination, and/or disqualification to be admitted.

(5) Extensions. For good cause, the Board may extend by up to 60 days the period to file

any notice, certificate, or report.

(6) Review of Six-Month Reports. An Examiner will review the Registrant’s report and

may forward the report to the Board for further review. The Registrant may be required to

provide additional information to support a report. The Board will notify the Registrant within

60 days whether the report has been approved for credit or disapproved.

(7) Deemed Approval. Commencement notices, six-month reports, and completion

notices that are timely filed will be deemed approved unless the Board notifies the Registrant

in writing within 60 days of submission that the notice or report is disapproved or that further

review is pending.

Board’s Notes—2021 Amendment

Rule 7(f) is amended to remove the requirement in former

7(f)(2)(A)(v) that Law Office Study registrants submit their six-month

reports in duplicate, as this is no longer administratively necessary

and places a burden on registrants.

Board’s Notes – 2018 Amendment

Rule 7(c) is revised to allow for all institutions of higher

education whose accreditor has been approved by the U.S.

Department of Education (DOE) to satisfy the LOS educational

requirement. Rule 7(c) is also revised to allow an applicant with an

undergraduate degree from a foreign jurisdiction to satisfy that

requirement, provided the applicant can establish that such degree

is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree from a DOE-approved

institution. This latter change aligns the rule with Rule 8(b), which

allows an applicant with a J.D. from a foreign law school to satisfy

the Rule 8 educational requirements if the applicant can establish

that the J.D. is equivalent to that from an ABA-approved law school

within the United States.

The rule is drawn from the prior rules §§ 6(g), (k), (m) and 8.

The requirements of the Law Office Study Program are now set

forth in a single rule. The new rule consistently uses the terms Law

Office Study or “LOS” as an appropriate description of the program,

and the term “Registrant” to describe participants in the program.

The term “clerkship” is no longer used for this program.

While formerly a Registrant was required to have completed

three-fourths of the work required for a bachelor’s degree,

Registrants are now required to have a bachelor’s degree.

Registrants already in the program do not have to meet this new

requirement, although the new rule will apply if a current Registrant

leaves and then reapplies to the program. The new rule also directs

Registrants to study the subjects tested on the Uniform Bar

Examination, as well as related Vermont law.

Prior rule § 6(I) provided the Board had discretion to “allow an

applicant partial credit for study which does not meet with the

minimum requirements prescribed by this section as the Board shall

deem just and equitable.” Because § 6 addressed several types of

prescribed study, and § 6(j) provided certain limited options for

credit for the Law Office Study Program, the scope of § 6(l) was not

entirely clear. The provisions of new Rule 7(e) (drawn from § 6(j))

set forth the recognized bases for granting credit toward the four-year term for the Law Office Study Program. The requirement that

the study be recent and not stale is new, but reflects consistent

Board practice in considering requests for credit under § 6(j). The

catch-all provision of § 6(l) is not included in the new rule.