Rule 31.1 - Board of law examiners(1)Composition.a. The board of law examiners consists of five persons admitted to practice law in this state and two persons not admitted to practice law in this state. Members are appointed by the supreme court. A member admitted to practice law must be actively engaged in the practice of law in this state.b. Appointments are for three-year terms that commence on July 1 of the year in which the appointment is made. Vacancies must be filled for the unexpired term by supreme court appointment. Members may serve no more than three terms or nine years, whichever is less.c. Members must sign a written oath to faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of the office and must file the oath in the office of professional regulation. They will be compensated for their services in accordance with the provisions of Iowa Code section 602.10106.d. The supreme court may appoint temporary examiners to assist the board, who will receive their actual and necessary expenses to be paid from funds appropriated to the board.e. Members of the board of law examiners and the temporary examiners will be paid a per diem in an amount the supreme court sets for each day spent in conducting or grading the examinations of the applicants for admission to the bar and in performing administrative and character and fitness investigation duties. They will also be reimbursed for additional expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of such duties.f. The executive director of the office of professional regulation will designate a director of admissions of the office of professional regulation to serve as the principal administrator for the board of law examiners. Wherever in this chapter a reference to the "director" appears, it will refer to the director of admissions of the office of professional regulation.g. The executive director of the office of professional regulation must, at least 60 days prior to the start of each fiscal year, submit to the court for consideration and approval a budget covering the board's operations for the upcoming fiscal year. Approval of the budget by the court authorizes payment as provided in the budget. A separate bank account designated as the admissions operating account must be maintained for payment of authorized expenditures as provided in the approved budget. Fees or other funds received or collected as directed in this chapter or in accordance with an approved interagency agreement must be deposited in the admissions operating account for payment of the board's authorized expenditures.h. Claims against members of the board and the executive director, directors, and the staff of the office of professional regulation are subject to the Iowa Tort Claims Act set forth in Iowa Code chapter 669.i. The board of law examiners and its members, employees, and agents; temporary law examiners; and the executive director, directors, and the staff of the office of professional regulation are immune from all civil liability for damages for conduct, communications, and omissions occurring in the performance of and within the scope of their official duties relating to the examination, character and fitness qualification, and licensing of persons seeking to be admitted to the practice of law.j. Records, statements of opinion, and other information regarding an applicant for admission to the bar communicated by any entity, including any person, firm, or institution, without malice, to the board of law examiners, its members, employees, or agents, or to the executive director, director, and the staff of the office of professional regulation are privileged, and civil suits for damages predicated thereon may not be instituted.(2)Duties.a. The board may adopt rules to govern the method of conducting the bar examination. Such rules must be consistent with these rules and are subject to supreme court approval.b. The authority to pass on the sufficiency of applications for permission to take the bar examination is vested in the board of law examiners, subject to supreme court review.c. The members of the board authorized to grade examinations will make the final decision on passage or failure of each applicant, subject to the rules of the supreme court. The board must also recommend to the supreme court for admission to practice law in this state all applicants who pass the bar examination and the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, and who meet the requisite character and fitness requirements. The board, in its discretion, may permit an applicant to take the bar examination prior to finally approving that person as to character and fitness. It may impose specific conditions for admission based on its evaluation of character and fitness and must withhold recommendation of admission until those conditions are satisfied. An applicant who passes the bar examination must satisfy such character and fitness conditions and any other conditions imposed by the board within one year of the date of the applicant's passage of the examination. This period may be extended by the board upon the applicant's showing of good cause. If any conditions imposed are not satisfied within the applicable period of time, the applicant's passage of the examination is null and void and the applicant must retake the bar examination in order to gain admission. The supreme court will make the final determination as to those persons who are admitted to practice in this state. d. An applicant who has passed the examination and is eligible for admission must be administered the lawyer's oath or affirmation within one year of the date the bar examination score was posted or the date of fulfilling all eligibility requirements, whichever is later. An applicant who fails to be administered the oath within this deadline will no longer be eligible for admission and the applicant's passage of the examination will be null and void. This deadline may only be extended by the board upon a showing of exceptional circumstances. e. An applicant who has passed the examination and is eligible for admission must appear for admission by oath or affirmation before an Iowa Supreme Court justice, unless the supreme court orders otherwise based upon the applicant's satisfactory showing of exceptional circumstances.f. An applicant may file a petition seeking permission to file a written lawyer's oath or affirmation. The petition must set forth in detail the exceptional circumstances that render the applicant unable to appear for admission before an Iowa Supreme Court justice. If the supreme court grants the petition, the office of professional regulation will forward all documents required for executing the oath or affirmation to the applicant. The supreme court will deem the applicant admitted to the Iowa bar on the date the completed documents are filed with the office of professional regulation.Court Order July 2, 1975; September 20, 1976; April 17, 1990, effective 6/1/1990; 1/17/1995, effective 3/1/1995; 6/5/1996, effective 7/1/1996; 11/9/2001, effective 2/15/2002; 2/14/2008, effective 4/1/2008; 6/5/2008, effective 7/1/2008; 2/20/2012; 12/10/2012; 11/20/2015, effective 1/1/2016; 12/13/2017, effective 1/1/2018; court order September 14, 2021, effective 10/1/2021; court order March 11, 2022, effective 4/1/2022.