Reciprocity Order
effective January 1, 2003.

    In order to determine which United States jurisdiction has comity for bar admission purposes with the State of Georgia, you should view the Admission on Motion chart, under the National Conference of Bar examiners' website at:

http://www.ncbex.org/pubs/pdf/2003CompGuide.pdf
(proceed to Page 34 of the document)

Please Note: Adobe Acrobat Reader is necessary to read the following documents. You may download Adobe Acrobat Reader here if necessary. Thank you.
You must also contact that jurisdiction for a final determination of eligibility.
 Click here to obtain a printable Adobe formated copy of the Petition for Admission on Motion Without Examination.

NOTE: ThePetition for Admission on Motion without Examination and the Application for Certification of Fitness to Practice Law must be filed simultaneously.


Admission on Motion without Examination

Section 1. General

The Board of Bar Examiners may admit on motion without examination any attorney licensed in a United States jurisdiction other than Georgia if that attorney satisfies the criteria set out in Section 2 of this Part. The attorney must also be certified for fitness, pursuant to Part A of these Rules, before petitioning the Board of Bar Examiners to be admitted on motion without examination.

Section 2. Eligibility

In order to petition the Board of Bar Examiners to be admitted without examination, an attorney licensed in a state other than Georgia must meet the following eligibility criteria. The attorney:

  1. Must meet the educational eligibility requirements established in Part B, Section 4 of these Rules, including holding a first professional degree in law (JD or LL.B) from a law school approved by the American Bar Association at the time the graduate matriculated;
  2. Has been admitted by examination to membership in the bar of the highest court of another United States jurisdiction which has comity for bar admissions purposes with the State of Georgia;
  3. Has never been denied certification of fitness to practice law in Georgia or any other state;
  4. Has never taken and failed the Georgia Bar Examination;
  5. Has been primarily engaged in the active practice of law for five of the seven years immediately preceding the date upon which the application is filed;
  6. Has at all times been in good professional standing in every jurisdiction in which the applicant has been licensed to practice law;
  7. Has never been the subject of private or public professional discipline of any nature, including formal letters of admonition, in any United States jurisdiction; and
  8. Has received Certification of Fitness to Practice Law in Georgia from the Board to Determine Fitness of Bar Applicants.

Section 3. Definition of Practice of Law

  1. For the purposes of this Rule, the “active practice of law” shall include the following activities, if performed in a jurisdiction in which the applicant is admitted, or if performed in a jurisdiction that affirmatively permits such activity by a lawyer not admitted to practice:

    1. representation of one or more clients in the practice of law;
    2. service as a lawyer with a local, state or federal agency, including military service;
    3. teaching law at a law school approved by the American Bar Association;
    4. service as a judge in a federal, state or local court of record;
    5. service as a judicial law clerk; or
    6. service as corporate counsel.

  2. For purposes of this Rule, the “active practice of law” shall not include work that, as undertaken, constituted the unauthorized practice of law in the jurisdiction in which it was performed or in the jurisdiction in which the clients receiving the unauthorized services were located.

Section 4. Fees and Filing Instructions

  1. Applications for Certification of Fitness to Practice Law for admission pursuant to this Rule shall be made in accordance with the requirements established in Part A of these Rules and shall be accompanied by a non-refundable fee of $800.
  2. Once certified for fitness, the applicant must file a petition with the Board of Bar Examiners requesting admission on motion without examination. The petition from the applicant must contain a statement that the applicant intends to engage in the practice of law in Georgia and must be accompanied by a non-refundable fee of $500. Such petition will be approved if the applicant documents to the satisfaction of the Board compliance with Section 2 of this Part and satisfies the Board that the jurisdiction in which the applicant has been admitted and practiced will admit Georgia lawyers without examination.
  3. Once the Board of Bar Examiners has approved the petition, the applicant shall be issued a Certification of Eligibility for Admission to the Practice of Law. The applicant shall follow the procedures specified in Part B, Sections 14, 15, 16 and 17 of these Rules in order to be sworn in by a judge of the Superior Court.