October 1999

Reciprocal Admission of Lawyers

On September 3, 1999, the Washington State Supreme Court approved a new Admission to Practice Rule, APR 18, which provides a procedure for the reciprocal admission of lawyers without requiring that those lawyers pass the Washington State Bar Examination. Lawyers from other states, U.S. territories or the District of Columbia will be admitted to the Washington State Bar Association on the same terms and conditions that a Washington lawyer could be admitted in the other state.

This new rule will also enable Washington lawyers to seek admission in those states which provide for some form of reciprocal admission, which includes, among others, Alaska, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Virginia. (Note that neither Oregon, Idaho nor California have reciprocal admission.)

The full text of APR 18 can be found at the WSBA website. Additional information can be found in the April 1999 Bar News "President’s Corner" (pages 15-16).

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