Currently, Arizona ranks second-last among all states in attorneys per capita. People in small communities often face challenges in getting the legal support that they need. The public sector, such as prosecutors and public defenders, also has lacked an adequate supply of lawyers. Last week, the Arizona Supreme Court addressed this problem by creating an Arizona Lawyer Apprentice Program.
Until now, an aspiring attorney could gain admission to practice in Arizona only if they scored at least 270 on the Uniform Bar Exam. This is 10 points higher than the minimum passing scores in New Mexico and Utah. The Arizona Supreme Court noted that this could cause prospective attorneys to gravitate away from Arizona toward those neighboring states.
The Arizona Lawyer Apprentice Program will create a path to licensure for people who score between 260 and 269 on the Uniform Bar Exam. It generally involves getting a job with a public law employer or getting the commitment of a supervising attorney in a rural area for at least 30 hours of paid work per week. The prospective attorney must commit to practice for at least two years in rural Arizona or in a public law practice. (A rural area is a county with fewer than 600,000 people, while a public law practice includes the government and non-profit public law firms.)
If the prospective attorney meets these requirements and certain other criteria, they will get a special Arizona Lawyer Apprentice Program license from the Administrative Office of the Courts. Someone with an ALAP license can practice law under a qualified supervising attorney. The Supreme Court outlined three phases of progressively diminishing supervision, lasting four months, three months, and 17 months, respectively.
Once the two-year period ends, the ALAP licensee may be able to gain admission to the general practice of law. They would need their supervisor to attest that the licensee can practice law in Arizona without supervision. In addition, they would need a recommendation from a judge or from an attorney who does not work for the same firm or employer.
The new program takes effect on September 1. Anyone who took the Uniform Bar Exam after July 1, 2023 may pursue it if they meet its criteria.
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