Oregon admission laws are stated in Oregon State Bar Rules, and Oregon State Bar Minimum Continuing Legal Education Rules and Regulations. Admitting body is the Board of Bar Examiners under supervision of the Oregon Supreme Court. Minimum age of admission is 18 years. Applicant should hold a juris doctor degree from a law school approved by the American Bar Association.
Recognized exams are Multistate Bar Examination, Multistate Performance Test, and essay exam. Applicant should also pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Test with a scale score of 85. Attorneys from Alaska, Idaho, Utah and Washington are admitted to practice in Oregon, if they have been practicing law in their respective states for three out of four years immediately preceding the application.
Each attorney should dedicate 45 hours in every three years to Continuing Legal Education (CLE).
Ore. Bar Admission R. 5.15 reads in part:
“5.15 Examination
(1) The examination shall be:
(a) Given by the Board of Bar Examiners twice each year at appropriate times and places in the State of Oregon approved by the Supreme Court on recommendation of the Board of Bar Examiners, unless otherwise ordered by the Supreme Court.
(b) Conducted in the manner and according to the method prescribed by the Board.
(2) Each applicant shall be examined as to requisite general learning in subjects falling within the following major areas:
(a) civil litigation, including, federal and Oregon procedure, and federal and Oregon rules of evidence;
(b) commercial transactions, including the Uniform Commercial Code (Articles I, II, and IX only), common law contracts, and related aspects of agency;
(c) property, including transactions in real property, trusts, decedents’ estates;
(d) public law, including criminal law and procedure, federal and Oregon administrative law and procedure, constitutional law, and federal income taxation;
(e) business organizations, corporations and partnerships;
(f) torts; and
(g) legal ethics (the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct).
(3) Questions may be in the form of essay questions or multiple-choice questions, or may test performance skills. Each essay question will generally be based on hypothetical facts involving issues in no more than two of these major areas, but some essay questions may be in forms other than hypothetical facts. Performance test questions may call for application of legal authorities to given facts in a variety of answer formats, including but not limited to legal memoranda, letters, etc. The Board of Bar Examiners, in its discretion, may include optional questions in the examination.”
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