Missouri Law Student Admission

Rule 13 of the Rules Governing the Missouri Bar and Judiciary allows law students to practice in Missouri on a limited basis.

Eligibility
Law students must:

  • Have completed legal studies amounting to one-half of the credits required for graduation.
  • Be certified by the law school Dean as being in good standing, the student has not been accused or found guilty of violating the law school’s ethical standards, does not have knowledge or notice of any information that would cause the Dean to doubt the student’s character, fitness, or moral qualifications to practice law. The Dean cannot certify any student who has been denied registration as a law student in any jurisdiction on the basis of the student’s character and fitness until the denial has been resolved in the student’s favor.
  • Certify in writing that the student has read and is familiar with the rules of professional conduct in Rule 4 and that the student will abide by them. The certification must be filed with the Clerk of the Missouri Supreme Court together with the certification by the law school Dean.

The application and any information concerning the student, including background investigations and any reports concerning the student’s conduct, will be available upon request to the bar licensing agency of any jurisdiction where the student seeks or gains admission to the bar.

Practice
Law students may appear in any court or before any administrative tribunal in Missouri on behalf of an indigent person or a client represented by an ABA approved law school clinic program.

The client must consent in writing to the appearance and the supervising attorney must also indicate written approval. The written consent and approval are filed in the record and brought to the attention of the court or presiding officer. Law students may then participate in the following matters:

  • Any matter where the person does not have the right to the assignment of counsel under any constitutional provision, statute, or rule of the Missouri Supreme Court. The supervising attorney is not required to be personally present in court if the client consents to the supervising lawyer’s absence in writing in open court.
  • Any matter where the person has the right to assignment of counsel under any constitutional provision, statute, or rule of the Missouri Supreme Court. The supervising lawyer must be personally present throughout the proceedings and will be fully responsible for the manner in which they are conducted.
  • With the approval of the supervising lawyer, law students may also appear in any matter on behalf of the state of Missouri or on behalf of a county or municipality for purposes of prosecuting a municipal ordinance violation.

Law students may also engage in other activities under the general supervision of a Missouri Bar member but outside of his or her personal presence. The additional practice includes:

  • Preparing pleadings and other documents to be filed in any matter where the student is eligible to appear. The supervising attorney must sign the documents.
  • Preparing briefs, abstracts, and other documents to be filed in appellate courts of Missouri. The supervising attorney must approve the documents.
  • Assisting indigent inmates of correctional institutions or other persons who request such assistance in preparing application for and supporting documents for post-conviction relief. If there is an attorney of record in the matter, the attorney must supervise all such assistance and the attorney must sign all documents submitted to the Court.
  • Eligible law students may participate in oral arguments in appellate courts. The supervising attorney must be present.

Each document or pleading will contain the name of the eligible law student who has participated in drafting the document. If the student participated in drafting only a portion of the document, the fact may be mentioned.

Law students cannot ask for nor receive any compensation or remuneration of any kind for services from the client. A lawyer, legal aid bureau, law school, public defender agency, or the state may pay compensation to the eligible law student and may make such charges for the student’s services as it may otherwise properly require.

Supervising Attorney
The supervising attorney must:

  • Be a member of the Missouri Bar in good standing or a person having a Certificate to Supervise.
  • Assume professional responsibility for guiding any work undertaken by the student and for supervising the quality of the student’s work.
  • Assist the student’s preparation to the extent the supervising person considers necessary.

Application
Attorneys are required to register by filing the Application and paying the applicable fee.

Termination
The law school Dean certification remains in effect for 21 months after it is filed or until the announcement of the results of the first bar exam following the student’s graduation, whichever is earlier. For any student passing the bar exam, the certification remains in effect until the date he or she is admitted to the Bar.

The certification may be withdrawn at any time by mailing a notice to that effect to the Clerk of the Missouri Supreme Court. The notice does not need to state the cause of withdrawal.

The Missouri Supreme Court may deny or terminate the authority to appear at any time without notice or hearing and without any showing of cause.