Section 1.Requirements. (a) A law student may serve as a legal intern when the following requirements are met: (i) The law student is enrolled in a school accredited as set forth in Rule 13(1)(a).(ii) The law student has satisfactorily completed one-half of the educational requirements for a first professional degree in law.(iii) The law student has received permission from the dean of the law school to participate in a legal intern program determined to be beneficial to the law student's training pursuant to the guidelines jointly developed by the law schools of this state.(iv) The law student has completed or is enrolled in a legal ethics or professional responsibility course as set forth in Rule 13(1)(c).(b) A law school graduate may serve as a legal intern when the following requirements are met: (i) The law school graduate is eligible to take the bar examination under Rule 13.(ii) The law school graduate has received permission from an attorney who is a member of the Indiana bar to serve as a legal intern under that attorney's direct supervision.Section 2.Length of Intern Status. (a) A law student may serve as a legal intern until graduation from law school or for a lesser period if designated by the dean of the law school.(b) A law school graduate may serve as a legal intern from the date of graduation until the graduate has taken and been notified of the results of the first bar examination for which the graduate is eligible under Rule 13, or if successful on that examination, until the first opportunity thereafter for formal admission to the Indiana bar.Section 3.Certification. (a) The dean of a law school sponsoring a legal intern program shall advise the State Board of Law Examiners of those students who qualify to be legal interns and the length of that internship.(b) An attorney who is a member of the Indiana bar and who wishes to sponsor and supervise a graduate as a legal intern shall advise the Board. And the dean of the law school from which the graduate received their first professional degree in law shall advise the Board of both the date of graduation and the date at which the graduate will be first eligible for examination under Rule 13.Section 4.Scope of Conduct. Except as otherwise permitted in Section 4(b), a legal intern may practice law in Indiana, provided such practice is supervised and approved by an attorney who is a member of the Indiana bar. A legal intern shall inform each client of their intern status and that they are not a licensed attorney.
(a) A legal intern shall not interview any person represented by an attorney without the express permission of such attorney. In no event may a person (including private corporations) be charged for the services of a legal intern acting in a representative capacity. The personal presence of a supervising attorney is required in any proceeding in open court.(b) A law school graduate serving as a legal intern under Section 2(b) who is otherwise qualified for admission and has been notified of their successful results on the Indiana bar examination may practice law in Indiana without the direct supervision of an attorney who is a member of the Indiana bar, including appearing in any proceeding in open court without the presence of a supervising attorney, if the law school graduate is employed in any of the following capacities:(i) A legal services organization or public defender office that provides legal assistance to persons of limited means.(ii) The Indiana Department of Child Services where the law school graduate is providing litigation services in child welfare cases.(iii) The office of a prosecuting attorney. The law school graduate's authority to practice law under this provision is limited to matters assigned in the course and scope of their employment with the employers listed above. Law school graduates practicing under this provision are not admitted to the Indiana bar until the admission ceremony set out in Rule 21. Employers must allow law school graduates practicing under this provision time to attend the admission ceremony.
Ind.R.Att'y Adm.& Discip. 2.1
Amended effective 2/16/1972; amended Nov. 24, 1975, effective 1/31/1976; amended Dec. 23, 1976, effective 1/1/1977; amended Nov. 1, 1982, effective 1/1/1983; amended Nov. 16, 1984, effective 1/1/1985; amended Oct. 30, 1992, effective 1/1/1993; amended Dec. 18, 1995, effective 2/1/1996; amended June 30, 2014, effective 6/30/2014; amended October 6, 2021, effective 1/1/2022; amended June 28, 2024, effective 6/28/2024.