Rule 10.0 of the Rules for Admission to the Practice of Law in West Virginia allows law students and graduates to appear with a supervising attorney in any court or before any administrative tribunal in West Virginia on behalf of the State of West Virginia or any indigent person.
Please also see the West Virginia Legal Services Organizations page for attorneys practicing on behalf of certain graduate programs.
Eligibility
Law students must:
- Be enrolled in an ABA approved law school, or its equivalent, or have graduated from such a school within the past six months (graduates must take the bar exam immediately following their graduation).
- Have completed legal studies amounting to at least four semesters (or the equivalent).
- Demonstrate that he or she is in good academic standing or was in good academic standing at the time of graduation, has not been convicted for a crime involving moral turpitude or a felony, and has not been subjected to the honor code discipline by the law school.
- Certify in writing that he or she has read, is familiar with, and will be governed in the conduct of his or her activities by the West Virginia Code of Professional Responsibility adopted by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Law students are required to take bar exam immediately following his or her graduation in order to maintain eligibility.
Practice
Law students may participate in the following matters:
- Civil Matters. In civil actions or cases. The supervising attorney must be personally present.
- Criminal and Other Matters. In all criminal and related matters. The supervising attorney must be personally present throughout the proceedings and must be fully responsible for the manner in which they are conducted. This includes all matters where the minimum due process requirements approximate the requirements of criminal cases.
When the law student represents the State of West Virginia, the supervising attorney must be the prosecuting attorney or his or her designated assistant prosecuting attorney.
The client must consent in writing to the law student’s appearance and the supervising attorney must also indicate in writing approval of the appearance. The written consent and approval is filed in the record of the case and should be brought to the attention of the judge of the court or presiding officer. The supervising attorney introduces the law student to the court.
Law students may also engage in the following activities under the general supervision of a member of the bar of the court, but outside the supervising attorney’s personal presence. The additional activities include:
- 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 West Virginia. The supervising attorney must sign the documents.
- Assisting indigent inmates of correctional institutions or other persons who request such assistance in preparing applications for and supporting documents for post-conviction relief. The attorney of record must supervise the assistance and sign all documents submitted to the court on behalf of the client.
- Participating in oral arguments in appellate courts. The supervising attorney must be present.
All documents and pleadings must contain the name of the eligible law student who participated in drafting the document. If the student participated in drafting only portion of the document, the fact may be mentioned.
Law students cannot ask for nor receive any compensation or remuneration of any kind for their services from the client. Lawyers, legal aid bureaus, law schools, public defender agencies, and the State of West Virginia may pay compensation to the law student.
Supervising Attorneys
Supervising attorneys must:
- Be lawyers in good standing in the West Virginia State Bar.
- Assume personal professional responsibility for the student’s work.
- Assist the student in his or her preparation to the extent the supervising attorney considers necessary.
- Cannot undertake the supervision of more than two eligible law students at the same time unless the supervising attorney is a regularly appointed faculty member of an ABA approved law school and the eligible law students are enrolled for academic credit in a course taught by the faculty member.
- Be responsible for monitoring the law student’s activities to ensure that his or her participation complies with the student practice rules.
Application and Certification
The law school Dean or designee must certify that the student has complied with eligibility requirements. The certification must be filed with the Clerk of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Termination
The law school Dean certification remains in effect until:
- June 15th for a student sitting for the February bar exam and until November 15th for a student sitting for the July bar exam.
- The law student has been notified that he or she has not achieved a passing score on the bar exam.
- The student has been licensed to practice law in the courts of West Virginia and has registered as a member of the West Virginia Bar.
The law school Dean may withdraw the notice. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals may terminate the notice.