Alaska Bar rules govern attorney admission laws in Alaska.  Applicants must have completed law school and obtained either a Juris Doctor (JD) or Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from a school approved by the Council of Legal Education of the American Bar Association or the Association of American Law Schools. An applicant who has not graduated from an accredited law school can apply as a general applicant, if the applicant was licensed to practice in any other United States jurisdiction, for the past five years. A general application can also be made by an applicant who has completed at least one year of law in an accredited law school.  All applicants must be at least 18 years old.

Alaskan attorneys are required to pass three examinations:  1)the Multistate Bar Examination, 2) Alaska state law essay exam and practicum, and 3) Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination.  An applicant from another state may be admitted without exam if s/he actively practiced during the five out of seven years preceding application, and previously passed the required exams in a reciprocal state.

According to R. 65, all members must undergo Mandatory Ethics Continuing Legal Education for three hours each year, and Voluntary Continuing Legal Education for at least nine hours a year.  The Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar Association is the admitting body.  There is no residency requirement.

Alaska Bar R. 2 reads in part:

“Section 1. Every general applicant for examination shall:

(a) File an application in a form prescribed by the Board and produce and file the evidence and documents prescribed by the Board in proof of eligibility for examination;

(b) Be a graduate with a degree of Juris Doctor (JD) or Bachelor of Laws (LLB) of a law school which was accredited or approved by the Council of Legal Education of the American Bar Association or the Association of American Law Schools when the applicant entered or graduated, or submit proof that the law course required for graduation for either the JD or LLB degree from such a law school will be completed and that a JD or LLB degree will be received as a matter of course before the date of examination. Certified proof of graduation shall be sent directly from the law school to the Alaska Bar Association and received prior to the date of the examination;

(c) Have attained the age of 18 years; and

(d) Be one whose conduct justifies the trust of clients, adversaries, courts and others with respect to the professional duties owed to them. Conduct manifesting a significant deficiency in the honesty, trustworthiness, diligence or reliability of an applicant is a basis for denial of admission.”