MPRE Requirement - Kansas
KS R. Admis. Rule 704 (see § h)
(a) Applicants of good moral character and the requisite education, who have complied with and meet the requirements of the State of Kansas and of the Rules of the Supreme Court, may be admitted to take a written bar examination as to the applicant's learning in the law at such times as the bar examinations shall be held by the Board. The Board may admit to the bar examination, on a conditional basis, an applicant who presents to the Board a certification from the law school attended that the applicant is currently enrolled in a course of study which, if satisfactorily completed, will result in graduation within thirty days following administration of the bar examination.
(b) Each applicant for admission to the bar upon written examination shall file a completed application for admission to be received in the Office of the Clerk of the Appellate Courts on or before March 15 (for the July examination) and on or before October 15 (for the February examination) on forms approved by the Court and procured from the Clerk of the Appellate Courts. The completed application shall consist of:
(1) a verified petition to the Supreme Court;
(2) not less than three affidavits or certificates, on forms to be supplied by the Clerk of the Appellate Courts, from responsible persons attesting that the applicant is a person of good moral character, or such other evidence of character as shall be satisfactory to the Board; and
(3) any other and further information as the Board then or thereafter may require for its consideration of the application.
Any applicant who wishes to file a completed application for admission after the filing deadline, but on or before April 15 (for the July examination) and on or before November 15 (for the February examination), shall pay a late penalty fee in the amount of $200 in addition to the application fee.
Notwithstanding the deadlines set out above, any applicant who is unsuccessful on the February Kansas Bar Examination will be given 30 days from the date of the letter announcing results to make reapplication without imposition of a late penalty fee. Any such application received more than 30 days after the date of the letter announcing results must include the late penalty fee to be considered.
Any application returned to the applicant due to deficiencies will not be considered as timely filed.
Any application received after April 15 (for the July examination) and November 15 (for the February examination) shall be considered as an application for the next ensuing bar examination. No applicant for admission to the bar shall be permitted to take the bar examination until the application has been considered and approved by the Board.
Failure to accurately and completely answer all questions on the petition, failure to disclose requested information, lack of candor in any answer or falsification of any answer may result in denial of an application for admission to practice law in Kansas and may constitute grounds for revocation of the license to practice law granted to any person based thereon.
If the applicant does not take the examination for which application is made, the original application shall remain valid for the next ensuing examination; however, the applicant must notify the Clerk of the Appellate Courts in writing by the filing deadline that he or she intends to take the examination and file an updated application or an affidavit verifying that the application on file remains current. The current application fee and late penalty fee, if applicable, shall be paid on or before the filing date. If the failure of an applicant to take the bar examination for which application is made is the result of delay attendant to investigation of applicant's fitness and/or character, the need for a hearing thereon, or actions of the Disciplinary Administrator, the Board of Law Examiners, or the Supreme Court, the period for taking the examination and the viability of the application fee shall be extended for such additional time as shall be determined by the Board.
(c) Prior to granting approval to take the bar examination, it shall be the duty of the Board to investigate the moral character and educational qualifications of each applicant, and for this purpose it shall conduct such preliminary inquiries and investigations as may be necessary or proper to satisfy itself that all applicants are of good moral character, possessed of the requisite general education, and otherwise qualified to be examined. The Board may call upon the Disciplinary Administrator, any state or local bar association, or one or more members of the bar of the judicial district where the applicant resides, to make such investigation and report the results to the Board. The Board shall make such further investigations as may be necessary to fully inform itself concerning the moral fitness of the applicant, and may require an applicant to submit fingerprints for purposes thereof. In no event will permission be granted to take the bar examination until the investigation as to moral character and educational qualifications has been completed.
The Board, for purposes of character and educational investigations, may obtain such information as bears upon the character, fitness and general qualifications of the candidate, take and hear testimony, administer oaths and affirmations, and, by subpoena, issued at the request of either the applicant or the Board, compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers and documents. Any member of the Board may administer such oaths and affirmations. The practice of law is a licensed privilege and the burden of establishing eligibility by clear and convincing evidence shall rest upon the applicant. All such investigations, hearings and proceedings, and the records thereof, shall be confidential and such records shall be subject to release only as provided in Rule 701(f). The Board, at its discretion, may hold any hearing, or any portion thereof, as an open hearing.
(d) Upon the filing of a petition, the name and address of the applicant shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the office of the Clerk of the Appellate Courts for not less than forty-five days prior to the date of the bar examination.
(e) The Board shall conduct examinations of applicants for admission to the bar as to their learning in the law and educational qualifications for admission to the practice of law. Bar examinations shall be held in February and July of each year at dates to be determined by the Board. The examinations shall test applicants upon such of the following, or other subjects, as the Board may require: personal property, domestic relations and family law, noncorporate business organizations, agency and employment, U.C.C. and commercial transactions, legal ethics, contracts, corporations, real property, constitutional law, criminal law, civil and criminal procedure, torts, wills, trusts and administration, and evidence. All bar examinations shall be in writing. The Board may, subject to prior approval of the Supreme Court, employ written multiple-choice or essay tests prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, including the Multistate Bar Examination, the Multistate Essay Examination, and the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination.
(f) At every bar examination each applicant may be required to provide evidence of identification satisfactory to the Clerk of the Appellate Courts. Each applicant shall place his or her name on the form furnished by the Clerk and deposit it in a sealed envelope with the Clerk. When the applicant shall have finished the examination, he or she shall mark it with his or her examination number only, as directed by the Board. Any other mark of identification placed upon the examination paper shall disqualify it, and the Board may refuse to read or consider it. Those applicants taking the Multistate Bar Examination in another jurisdiction or using the results of a previous examination in another jurisdiction shall disclose their number to the Clerk of the Appellate Courts and to no one else.
In lieu of taking the Multistate portion of the first Kansas bar examination taken by the applicant, the Board may, if requested by the applicant, accept any Multistate Bar Examination score achieved in another jurisdiction in a concurrent examination or in a prior examination conducted within thirteen months of the current examination, provided the applicant successfully passed the entire bar examination in the other jurisdiction in one sitting. An applicant desiring to use the Multistate Bar Examination score from a concurrent bar examination in another state will not be eligible for admission to the practice of law in Kansas until it is shown that the applicant successfully passed the entire bar examination of the other state in one sitting, regardless of the score obtained on the essay portion of the Kansas examination. In the event the applicant fails the bar examination in the other jurisdiction, the Multistate Bar Examination score may not be used in Kansas in the current or any succeeding examination. If the applicant fails the Kansas examination, the Multistate Bar Examination score so transferred may not be used in any succeeding Kansas Bar Examination. All applicants shall notify the Clerk of their intention to use Multistate Bar Examination scores achieved in another jurisdiction at the time their application is filed. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to cause his or her Multistate Bar Examination scores to be certified to the Clerk by the National Conference of Bar Examiners or by the appropriate bar examination authority where the prior Multistate Bar Examination was taken. The Clerk shall adopt such procedures as are necessary to report such scores to the Board without divulging the identity of the applicant to the Board members.
(g) An applicant who is retaking the examination shall file an updated application with the application fee required by Rule 707(a)(3). An applicant who has failed the examination four times shall no longer be eligible for admission.
(h) No applicant shall be admitted to the bar who has not completed the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, caused his or her score to be reported to the Clerk of the Appellate Courts, and received a passing score as determined by the Board. Failure to successfully complete the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination within 180 days from the date an applicant took the bar examination will negate the results of such bar examination and require reapplication for admission and reexamination, including the payment of all fees required.
(i) As soon as practicable after the completion of a bar examination, the Board shall file a report with the Clerk of the Appellate Courts recommending the granting or the denial of the petition of the applicant. When such report recommends the granting of a petition, unless some reason appears to the contrary, the Supreme Court will make an order admitting the applicant to practice in all the courts of the state, which order shall become effective upon taking an oath, the form of which shall be in substance as follows:
"You do solemnly swear or affirm that you will support and bear true allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Kansas; that you will neither delay nor deny the rights of any person through malice, for lucre, or from any unworthy desire; that you will not knowingly foster or promote, or give your assent to any fraudulent, groundless or unjust suit; that you will neither do, nor consent to the doing of any falsehood in court; and that you will discharge your duties as an attorney and counselor of the Supreme Court and all other courts of the State of Kansas with fidelity both to the Court and to your cause, and to the best of your knowledge and ability. So help you God."
Upon entry of an order of admission, an applicant shall sign his or her name upon the roll of attorneys of the Supreme Court, and the Clerk of the Appellate Courts shall thereupon issue a certificate of such applicant's authority to practice law in all courts of this state. For good cause shown, the Clerk of the Appellate Courts may waive the personal signature of the applicant on the roll of attorneys and the Clerk shall enter his or her name on the roll.
Unless otherwise permitted by the Supreme Court, an applicant shall take the oath of admission within one year after the date of the letter notifying an applicant that he or she has met the requirements under Rule 704 for admission to the Kansas Bar. Failure to take the oath in the prescribed period will result in revocation of the letter of licensure.
When the Board denies a petition by reason of an applicant's failure to make a satisfactory grade on the bar examination, its report shall be final and shall be filed with the Clerk of the Appellate Courts.
When the Board recommends denial of the petition by reason of an applicant's lack of good moral character or of the requisite educational qualifications, its recommendation shall be submitted to the Supreme Court and a copy thereof shall be filed with the Clerk of the Appellate Courts, who shall thereupon mail or otherwise furnish a copy to the applicant. The applicant may, within twenty days of the filing thereof, file exceptions to the recommendations of the Board. Upon request by the Court, the Board will file a response to any such exceptions within twenty days following such request. The Supreme Court will then make a final determination based upon the record, exceptions and response, if any, and enter its final order.
(j) Any applicant whose petition is denied because of failure to make a satisfactory grade as a result of taking the bar examination shall have the right to inspect his or her essay examination papers at the office of the Clerk of the Appellate Courts if such request is made not later than the thirtieth day after the mailing by the Clerk of the notice of denial of admission. Because of the need for confidentiality to protect the integrity of the examination, no review or inspection of questions asked or answers given on the Multistate Bar Examination is permitted. Neither the Board nor any member thereof shall conduct post-examination interviews with applicants pertaining to questions asked or answers given, grading procedures or an applicant's performance. No examination papers of an applicant, who successfully passes the examination, shall be retained beyond the commencement date of the next succeeding examination.
(k) Any applicant whose petition for admission to the Kansas Bar is denied by the Supreme Court by reason of lack of good moral character shall not be permitted to reapply in this state until three (3) years shall have elapsed from the date the previous application was denied by the Court. Any subsequent application shall be heard by the Board of Law Examiners upon the issue of moral character and fitness to practice, and the applicant shall have the burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence that he or she has been rehabilitated and satisfies the requirements of Rule 702 as to moral character.
Effective 2004