Arkansas has rules governing Bar admission and rules for minimum continuing legal education.  Applicants must have received a JD from a law school approved by the American Bar Association.  The Arkansas Bar exam includes the Multistate Bar Examination, Multistate Performance Test, Multistate Essay Examination, and state specific essay questions.  Additionally, applicants are required to pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination with a scaled score of at least 85.  Candidates are admitted by the Board of law Examiners, and the state court.  Members of the bar must undergo 12 hours of continuing legal education every year.  There is no residency requirement.

Ark. R. Minimum Con’t Legal Educ. Rule 3 reads:

“Rule 3. Minimum educational requirements

(A) Every member of the Bar of Arkansas, except as may be otherwise provided by these rules and, excepting those attorneys granted voluntary inactive status by the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct, shall complete 12 hours of approved continuing legal education during each reporting period as defined by Rule 5(A) below. Of those 12 hours, at least one hour shall be ethics, which may include professionalism as defined by Regulation 3.02. In addition, an attorney or judge may carry over accredited hours in accord with the provisions of Rule 5 (A), including one hour of ethics which may be carried forward to the succeeding reporting period.

(B) This minimum requirement must be met through courses conducted by sponsors approved by the Board, or individual courses that have been approved by the Board, or such other programs, courses, or other educational materials that the Board may approve pursuant to Rule 4.

(C) An hour of continuing legal education shall include at least sixty minutes of instruction, exclusive of meals, introductions, or other noneducational activities.

(D) The Board is authorized and encouraged to consider the requirement of particular course content, such as professional or judicial ethics, as part of the minimum educational requirement.”