Rule 52 - Admission to the Bar - General(a)Requirements for admission. -No person shall be admitted to the Bar unless the applicant shall have qualified by producing evidence satisfactory to the Board:(1)Character and aptitude. -That the applicant is a person of good moral character and reputation and that the applicant possesses such qualities, aptitudes and disposition as fit the applicant for the practice of law.(2)Preceptor. -That the applicant is vouched for by a member of the Bar of this State who shall have been a member of the Bar of this State for at least 10 years, and such person shall be designated as the Preceptor for such applicant.(3)Age. -That the applicant is at least 21 years of age.(4)College or university. -That the applicant has completed the pre-legal education necessary to meet the minimum requirements for admission to a law school that at the time of graduation was listed on the American Bar Association list of approved law schools (Approved Law School"). In the event that the applicant was admitted to such a law school without having first received a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university (the method of such accreditation to be determined by the Board), the applicant shall supply to the Board a copy of the law school's statement of considerations in the applicant's file or other supporting statement from the law school, satisfactory to the Board, setting forth the basis for the law school's decision to admit notwithstanding the absence of such a degree.(5)Law school. -That the applicant has been regularly graduated with a juris doctor degree or its equivalent from a law school which at the time of conferring such degree was an Approved Law School.(6)Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination. -That the applicant has taken the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination administered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners at such time as the Board shall determine and has achieved such score as the Board shall determine to be necessary for admission.(7)Bar Examination. -That the applicant has been examined upon principles of law and equity and has been found by the Board based upon the applicant's performance on such examinations to be qualified to practice as an attorney.(8)Clerkship. -That, as shall be certified by both the applicant and the applicant's Preceptor, the applicant has served a clerkship in the State of Delaware under the direct and constant supervision of a member of the Bar of this State qualified as set forth in subparagraphs (i)-(iii) aggregating substantially full-time service for at least 12 weeks' duration, which period need not be continuous but which may not begin prior to matriculation at a law school described in subparagraph (5) of paragraph (a) of this Rule 52. For purposes of this Rule 52(a)(8), a week means a forty-hour work week. (i)Law office/legal department. -In the office of or under the direct and constant supervision of the applicant's Preceptor, or under the direct and constant supervision of such other member of the Bar of this State who is satisfactory to the applicant's Preceptor and who has been a member of the Bar of this State for at least 5 years;(ii)Law clerk. -As a law clerk of a justice or judge of the courts of this State or of a United States judge residing in Delaware; or(iii)Public office. -In the office of the Department of Justice of the State of Delaware, the office of the Public Defender of the State of Delaware, the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, the office of the City Solicitor of the City of Wilmington, the office of Community Legal Aid Society, Inc., the office of Delaware Volunteer Legal Services, Inc. or in the office of a related or similar organization approved by the Board upon the request of an applicant, under the direct and constant supervision of a member of the Bar of this State who has been a member of the Bar of this State for at least 5 years.(9)Checklist of legal activities. -That the applicant has performed such legal tasks and activities related to the practice of law in Delaware as the Board shall direct and furnish in the form of a checklist to all applicants for admission, with the completion of such tasks and activities to be certified by both the applicant and the applicant's Preceptor.(10)Pre-admission program. -That the applicant has satisfactorily attended a pre-admission session of instruction called by the Court or by the Commission on Continuing Legal Education upon such subjects as the Court or the Commission on Continuing Legal Education shall from time to time determine to be appropriate instruction for those seeking admission to the Bar, and has paid a fee established by the Court or the Commission on Continuing Legal Education to the Clerk of the Supreme Court.(11)Other requirements. -That the applicant has complied with such other requirements as the Board may prescribe from time to time, with the approval of the Court.(12)Military service exception. -In the event that an applicant satisfies all of the requirements for admission to the Bar except completion of the clerkship and/or attendance at the pre-admission program, and the applicant made a good faith effort to complete those requirements but was unable to do so because he or she was called to active duty in any of the armed services of the United States after taking the Bar Examination, then, in the discretion of the Court, the applicant shall be qualified to be admitted to the Bar conditionally. Upon taking the oath, the applicant would then become a member of the Bar for all purposes, subject to the following: (i) if the applicant completes the clerkship requirement within six months after release from active duty and attends the next preadmission program called by the Court or the Board, his or her admission to the Bar will be made unconditional;(ii) if the applicant fails to complete those requirements, the applicant's conditional admission to the Bar may be revoked by the Court and the Court may order such other sanctions as may be warranted in the circumstances. (aa)Proof of qualifications. The applicant bears the burden of proof to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the applicant has met all of the qualifications set forth in paragraph (a) of this Rule. Refusal of an applicant to furnish available information or to answer questions relating to the applicant's qualifications shall be deemed a sufficient basis for denial of admission.(aaa)Waiver of Educational Requirements. The Board may, upon petition by the applicant, waive the requirements of subsections (a)(4) and (5) of this Rule for an applicant who:(1) is a member in good standing of the Bar of another state, and the Board finds, in its discretion, is qualified by reason of education and experience to take the Delaware Bar Examination (for the purposes of this section, "state" includes the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico); or(2) has been regularly graduated with the combination of degrees in legal education that the Board, in its discretion, determines is substantially equivalent to a juris doctor degree from an Approved Law School, including both (A) a degree in legal education from an institution outside the United States, and (B) an LL.M. degree that meets the requirements of the Board Rules from a law school which at the time of conferring such degree was an Approved Law School.(b)Application for admission to the Bar. -A person seeking admission to the Bar shall complete and file an application for admission to the Bar at such time prior to the administration of the Bar Examination as the Board shall determine. The Board may deny an applicant permission to take the Bar Examination if the applicant has failed to comply with the instructions of the Board regarding the application process.(c)Deadline for completion of requirements for admission. -An applicant for admission to the Bar must have satisfied the requirements for admission and be admitted by December 31 of the calendar year following the year in which the applicant passes the Bar Examination. Except for good cause shown to the Board, an applicant who fails to satisfy the requirements for admission to the Bar within the time prescribed shall not be admitted without retaking the Bar Examination.(d)Certification. -Upon approval of the qualifications of any applicant for admission to the Bar, the Board shall execute and deliver to the applicant a certificate of the applicant's qualifications for admission to the Bar.(e)Appeals from actions of the Board. -Any person aggrieved by final action of the Board may appeal to the Court for relief if such action affects the substantial rights of the person claimed to be aggrieved, except that decisions of the Board with respect to a specific grade or grades assigned to any individual applicant are final and shall not be subject to review by the Court. The appeal shall be commenced by serving 2 copies thereof upon the Chair and the Executive Director of the Board and by filing the original and 1 copy with the Clerk of the Court in compliance with Rule 7, such service and filing to be accomplished within 30 days of the action of the Board. No appeal shall be accepted unless the provisions of this paragraph have been timely fulfilled. Appeals from the Board's action to the Court shall be briefed in accordance with Rule 15, argued and determined from the record of the matter before the Board of Bar Examiners and not by means of a hearing de novo. Findings by the Board relating to disputed issues of fact and credibility will not be reversed by the Court if such findings are sufficiently supported by the record and are the product of an orderly and logical deductive process.Amended effective 4/23/2009; amended effective 3/5/2012; amended December 20, 2018, effective 1/1/2019; amended February 21, 2023, effective 2/21/2023; amended May 1, 2023, effective 5/1/2023; amended September 12, 2023, effective 9/12/2023.