The State Bar seeks public comment on proposed revisions to State Bar rules regarding the PTLS program to increase eligibility and decrease barriers to participation.
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Comments should be submitted using the online Public Comment Form. The online form allows you to input your comments directly and can also be used to upload your comment letter and/or other attachments.
California’s Practical Training of Law Students (PTLS) program allows law students certified by the State Bar and working under the supervision of an attorney to provide specified legal services to clients. The existing State Bar Rules governing the PTLS program include eligibility requirements that make it impossible for those students studying law in a law office or judge’s chambers (the Law Office Study program), rather than a traditional law school, to participate. Students in Master of Laws (LLM) programs are also unable to participate. The existing Rules also require that a student have taken or be enrolled in courses in evidence and civil procedure to be eligible to participate in the PTLS program.
The proposed changes would authorize students in the Law Office Study program, and LLM students, to participate in the PTLS program. They would eliminate the requirement for students to have taken or be enrolled in courses in evidence and civil procedure. They would also make other changes to clarify the rules and procedures for the program.
As part of its comprehensive review and evaluation of Admissions rules, practices, procedures, and applicant-facing materials, the Committee of Bar Examiners considered the requirements and application materials for the Practical Training of Law Students (PTLS) program, which allows law students who are certified by the State Bar to provide specified services to clients, working under the supervision of a licensed attorney. The PTLS program improves the training of lawyers by giving law students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience, while ensuring the protection of the clients they work with by having the students closely supervised.
Recognizing the value of hands-on experience as part of legal education, the rules proposal authorizes LOS and LLM students to avail themselves of the benefits of participation in the PTLS program, giving them the same opportunities as others to help them to become better lawyers. The Committee of Bar Examiners determined that LOS and LLM students can participate in the PTLS program without creating a greater risk to public protection, as these students would be subject to the same restrictions on their activities and requirements for close supervision by the supervising attorney that apply to traditional law students in the program.
The rules proposal also eliminates as unnecessary the requirement for students in the PTLS program to have taken or be enrolled in courses in evidence and civil procedure. Most other states’ programs for law student practice do not have this requirement, and even in California, students who have just begun those courses can start working for clients in the PTLS program.
Finally, the proposed rules include changes needed to ensure that the rules clearly state the requirements for a student’s application to the PTLS program and for their continued participation in the program.
This proposal does not include changes to California Rules of Court Rule 9.42 (d)(3) and (d)(4), which set out the requirements that apply for a PTLS student to appear in court or another tribunal. We are interested in also receiving public comment about whether these paragraphs should be modified.
These rules were recommended for circulation by the Committee of Bar Examiners and approved for circulation by the Board of Trustees. When presented to the Board, this rule proposal was packaged with changes to other rules regarding Admissions. This request is only seeking input on the Rules of the State Bar that relate to the PTLS program. The other rule changes are circulating separately.
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For the agenda item comprehensively describing the revisions to the PTLS rules and related rule changes, please see: Committee of Bar Examiners agenda item, October 14, 2022.
(These are the rule changes for which public comment is sought)
This item was approved by the Board of Trustees for circulation for public comment as part of a package of several rules proposals which are each being circulated separately. That more condensed description of the PTLS rule proposal is available here.
Board of Trustees
January 31, 2023