West Virginia
Common questions
Can a lawyer be admitted in West Virginia without taking the bar exam (admission on motion)?
Reciprocal states only. 5 of preceding 7 yrs active practice (Rule 4.0); standards of a prior admitting state substantially equivalent to WV at admission and now; MPRE 80+ within 25 months of application, no waivers; NCBE character & fitness report plus in-person jurisdiction-specific interview; certificates of good standing from each state; application fee $2,000 plus NCBE fee; no residency requirement found; ABA JD not required per NCBE chart
Does West Virginia accept a transferred Uniform Bar Exam score?
Yes. Rule 3.5: combined scaled UBE score of no less than 270 earned within 3 years of application; MPRE 80+; no state-specific course found
What are the pro hac vice requirements and fee in West Virginia state courts?
Local counsel: Required. Active WV State Bar member in good standing with actual physical WV office as primary daily practice location; must sign all pleadings with WV Bar ID and personally appear and participate in pretrial conferences, hearings, trials, other proceedings Fee: $350 per applicant per case; $350 annual fee per lawyer (not per case) for admissions lasting a year or more
Admission on motion
- Requirements
- 5 of preceding 7 yrs active practice (Rule 4.0); standards of a prior admitting state substantially equivalent to WV at admission and now; MPRE 80+ within 25 months of application, no waivers; NCBE character & fitness report plus in-person jurisdiction-specific interview; certificates of good standing from each state; application fee $2,000 plus NCBE fee; no residency requirement found; ABA JD not required per NCBE chart
- Years of practice
- five (5) of the seven (7) years next preceding application
- Reciprocity
- Applicant must be admitted in an approved WV Reciprocity Jurisdiction
- Reciprocity states
- Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kentucky Maine Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Nebraska New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania South Dakota Tennessee Texas Vermont Virginia Washington Wisconsin
- Fee
- $2,000
- Rule
- W. Va. Rules for Admission to the Practice of Law, Rule 4.0 (MPRE per Rule 4.4)
- UBE score transfer
- Yes. Rule 3.5: combined scaled UBE score of no less than 270 earned within 3 years of application; MPRE 80+; no state-specific course found
- UBE minimum
- 270
- UBE score window
- within three years immediately preceding the date upon which application is made
- MPRE
- scaled score of at least 80 on an exam administered no more than 25 months prior to application for admission
- Other routes
- Military Spouse application; Rule 9.0 Limited Permission; admission by transferred UBE score
- Foreign attorneys
- Graduates of a law school outside of the United States may apply subject to a fee for an equivalency evaluation.
- Military spouse
- Military Spouse Application available with $150 filing fee
State-court pro hac vice
- Rule
- W. Va. Rules for Admission, Rule 8.0
- Local counsel
- Required. Active WV State Bar member in good standing with actual physical WV office as primary daily practice location; must sign all pleadings with WV Bar ID and personally appear and participate in pretrial conferences, hearings, trials, other proceedings
- Limits
- Court may deny continuing privilege if applicant's WV appearances in past 24 months are numerous or frequent; no fixed numeric cap found; like-courtesy reciprocity requirement for applicant's home state
- Fee
- $350 per applicant per case; $350 annual fee per lawyer (not per case) for admissions lasting a year or more
- Procedure
- Verified application filed with tribunal and State Bar (online at mywvbar.org: Submit New Pro Hac Vice Case); lists jurisdictions of admission, local counsel, WV matters in prior 24 months; motion by WV counsel; continuing duty to report discipline dispositions; closure documentation (dismissal order) required; N.D./S.D. W. Va. federal courts accept Statement of Visiting Attorney
Language from the source documents
11 quoted passages
On motion
must have been lawfully engaged in the active practice of law for five (5) of the seven (7) years next preceding his or her application and must have held a valid license to practice law from some state throughout such five year periodcourtswv.gov
UBE transfer
shall have earned a combined, scaled UBE score of no less than 270 in an administration of the UBE taken within three years immediately preceding the date upon which application is madecourtswv.gov
Other routes
Military Spouse Application Filing Fee - $150 (in addition to separate fee for background investigation payable directly to the NCBE)courtswv.gov
Local counsel
No out-of-state lawyer may appear pro hac vice before any tribunal in West Virginia unless the out-of-state lawyer has first associated in that case with a lawyercourtswv.gov
Pro hac vice fee
a non-refundable application fee of three hundred-fifty dollars ($350) payable to the West Virginia State Bar for each individual applicant in each individual pro hac vice admission for each separate case before a tribunal.courtswv.gov
On-motion fee
Reciprocity Application Filing Fee - $2,000 (in addition to separate fee for background investigation payable directly to the NCBE)courtswv.gov
Years of practice
an applicant must have been lawfully engaged in the active practice of law for five (5) of the seven (7) years next preceding his or her applicationcourtswv.gov
Reciprocity states
Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kentucky Maine Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Nebraska New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania South Dakota Tennessee Texas Vermont Virginia Washington Wisconsincourtswv.gov
UBE score window
in an administration of the UBE taken within three years immediately preceding the date upon which application is madecourtswv.gov
MPRE
Pursuant to Rule 4.4, applicants for admission on motion must achieve a scaled score of at least 80 on an exam administered no more than 25 months prior to application for admission.courtswv.gov