Section 10.02 - Approval of Experiential Learning Programs and Attorneys in Experiential Learning and Related Law School Programs(a) Experiential Learning Programs. For the purpose of this section and section 10.03 herein, Experiential Learning Program means an academic program administered by a law school through which a law student may enroll for academic credit in a law clinic or field placement course.(1) A law clinic offered through an Experiential Learning Program provides substantial lawyering experience that involves advising or representing one or more actual clients or serving as a third-party neutral, and includes the following: (A) direct supervision of the student's performance by a law school faculty member;(B) opportunities for performance, feedback from a faculty member, and self-evaluation; and(C) a classroom instructional component, regularly scheduled tutorials, or other means of ongoing, contemporaneous, faculty-guided reflection.(2) A field placement course offered through an Experiential Learning Program provides substantial lawyering experience that is reasonably similar to the experience of a lawyer advising or representing a client or engaging in other lawyering tasks in a setting outside a law clinic under the supervision of a licensed attorney or an individual otherwise qualified to supervise, and includes the following: (A) direct supervision of the student's performance by a faculty member or field placement site supervisor;(B) opportunities for performance, feedback from either a faculty member or a field placement site supervisor, and self-evaluation;(C) a written understanding among the student, faculty member, and a person in authority at the field placement that describes both the substantial lawyering experience and opportunities for performance, feedback and self-evaluation; and the respective roles of faculty and any field placement site supervisor in supervising the student and in assuring the educational quality of the experience for the student, including a clearly articulated method of evaluating the student's academic performance; (D) a method for selecting, training, evaluating and communicating with field placement site supervisors, including regular contact between the faculty and field placement site supervisors through in-person visits or other methods of communication that will assure the quality of the student educational experience;(E) a classroom instructional component, regularly scheduled tutorials, or other means of ongoing, contemporaneous, faculty-guided reflection;(F) evaluation of each student's educational achievement by a faculty member; and(G) sufficient control of the student experience to ensure that the requirements set forth in section 10.02(a)(2)(A)-(F) are met.(b) Approval of Experiential Learning Programs. The Board shall review a law school's Experiential Learning Program as the basis for a recommendation to the Supreme Court. Approval of the Experiential Learning Program is a prerequisite for the approval of law students who are practicing under section 10.03 in an experiential earning setting. The criteria that serve as a basis for approval shall be: (1) that the law school is approved under section 17.01 of this Rule;(2) that if the law school has an in-house legal clinic which directly represents clients, that the program has either an attorney licensed to practice and in good standing in Tennessee or an attorney approved for limited practice as provided in paragraph (d), below, who directs the clinic and who is employed by or associated with the law school; and(3) that the law school's Experiential Learning Program is otherwise operated in a manner consistent with the requirements of this Rule.(c) The Supreme Court must approve a law school's Experiential Learning Program, based on a recommendation from the Board, before any law student may practice under section 10.03 in an experiential learning setting. Certification of an Experiential Learning Program may be withdrawn by the Supreme Court upon recommendation of the Board if the program ceases to meet the foregoing criteria.(d) Attorneys in Experiential Learning Law School Programs. An attorney who is employed by or associated with an ABA-accredited or Tennessee-Approved Law School as faculty for the Experiential Learning Program may be admitted to practice on a limited basis before the courts of this State on behalf of the Experiential Learning Program. The attorney must establish to the satisfaction of the Board that the attorney: (1) is a member of a court of last resort of another state, a U.S. Territory or the District of Columbia;(2) submits a certificate from the court of last resort referenced in (d)(1) certifying that the attorney is a member in good standing at the bar of that court;(3) has not been denied admission to practice in any jurisdiction, including Tennessee;(4) submits a statement signed by the dean of the law school where the attorney is employed or associated in a verifying employment; and(5) has paid all required fees.(e) The Supreme Court, upon the recommendation of the Board that the attorney satisfies all the requirements of paragraph (d), shall enter an order authorizing the attorney to practice in connection with an approved Experiential Learning Program. Upon the entry of the Court's order, the Board shall provide the attorney with a certificate of admission.(f) Admission to practice under this section shall cease upon the first of the following to occur: (1) after two years from the date of admission under this section, except in the discretion of the Supreme Court in special situations for good cause shown, provided that attorneys who wish to continue to practice in this State must seek admission under sections 3.01 (by examination), 3.05 (by transferred UBE score) or 5.01 (without examination) of this Rule so that they are eligible for licensing before the expiration of the two-year period. Time in practice pursuant to this section will count as "active practice of law" for purposes of admission pursuant to section 3.05(b) or 5.01; or(2) cessation of the attorney's employment by or association with the law school, notice of which will be provided to the Board by the law school dean within ten days of the attorney's cessation of employment or association with the law school.(g) Attorneys admitted to practice under this section are subject to the Rules of Professional Conduct and may be disciplined as provided for in Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 9.Adopted by Order filed and effective 3/29/2019; amended by Order filed and effective 4/26/2019; and as amended by order filed and effective 10/31/2023.