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Citizenship-Age-Character.

A citizen of the United States, or an alien who has declared intention of becoming a citizen, whether man or woman, 21 years of age, and of good moral character, may be admitted to the bar, if his legal qualifications are sufficient.

Application-Preliminary Requirements-Proof of Moral Character and Course of Study-Fee.

A petition shall be filed with the clerk of the court of the county in which petitioner last studied law, at least ten days before the day of the examination, and shall be accompanied by such proofs as the board shall prescribe, giving information as to his age, residence, moral character, and general and legal education. Blank petitions and certificates and other information are furnished by the clerks of court in the several counties, or the secretary of the Board of Examiners, George S. Taft, Worcester, Mass. Petition must be accompanied by entry fee of $15 and a further fee of $10 for any subsequent petition. Any person who has studied at a law school connected with a college or university within the commonwealth may file his application either in the county in which such law school is established or in the county of Suffolk.

General Education.

An applicant who is a graduate of a college, or who has complied with the entrance requirements of a college, or who has fulfilled for two years the requirements of a day or evening high school or of a school of equal grade, shall not be required to undergo examination as to his general education. Any applicant who has studied law for three years, as below provided, may take the regular law examination, leaving for future consideration the question of his qualifications so far as general education is concerned.

Term of Study.

No person shall be eligible for examination for admission to the bar until he shall have devoted three full years or their equivalent (usual vacations excepted) to the study of law. The board will consider as a compliance with this rule three years study in any approved law school having a three year course and holding regular day sessions, or four years study in any evening law school having a four year course, or three years study in the office of an attorney at law or elsewhere under proper direction with not more than four weeks vacation in each year. Such period of study may be spent partly in a law school and partly in an attorney's office or elsewhere under proper direction.

Examination Holding. Examinations are held in Boston on or about January 1st and July 1st of each year. Due notice of the time and place will be given. Such examinations shall be in writing and shall be based upon the following subjects, or some portion thereof: Contracts, Torts, Real Property, Criminal Law, Evidence. Equity, Corporations, Partnership, Mortgages, Suretyship, Agency, Sales, Negotiable Instruments, Bailments, Carriers, Wills, Probate Law, Domestic Relations, Trusts, Pleading, Practice, Constitutional Law, Bankruptcy, and Legal Ethics. In addition, the applicant should have knowledge of the general principles of common law and of the most important provisions of the Massachusetts statutes. The board may give such supplementary oral examination as it deems proper.

Regulations - Scope - Fee-Time and Place of

Admission of Attorneys from Other Jurisdictions.

A citizen of the United States, or an alien who has declared his intention to become a citizen, whether man or woman, admitted to practice before the highest tribunal of another state or country, of which he was an inhabitant, may be admitted to examination upon proof of such former admis

sion and of good moral character, together with recommendations from at least two members of the bar to which applicant was admitted, and, if possible, a recommendation from a judge of the highest court in the jurisdiction where applicant was admitted; also one or more recommendations, if possible, from members of the bar in Massachusetts. Blank certificates and forms may be procured from any of the clerks of court, and each petition should be accompanied by a fee of $15. One so admitted in another jurisdiction, who has practiced there for three years, may be admitted here without examination, in the discretion of the board.

Miscellaneous.

Women are granted licenses to practice upon showing the qualifications before enumerated. No person who does not intend to practice as an attorney in this commonwealth shall be entitled to examination.

Source of Rules.

Rev. Laws, c. 165, §§ 39-43, as amended by Acts 1904, c. 355; Acts 1914, c. 670; Acts 1915, c. 209; Statutes and Rules published by Board of Examiners, June, 1916.

MASSACHUSETTS DECISIONS

1804 to 1917.

A complete set of Massachusetts Reports (down to 1917) consists of:

Massachusetts, 17 vols.

Pickering, 24 vols.

Metcalf, 13 vols.

Cushing, 12 vols.

Gray, 16 vols.

Allen, 14 vols.

Massachusetts, vols. 97 to 223.

The Northeastern Reporter, 113 vols., contains all decisions. in Massachusetts, vols. 139 to 223, and all decisions for the last 32 years of Illinois, Indiana, New York, and Ohio. The tables of cross-citations furnished with the Northeastern make it a simple matter to find the cases, even if cited by the State Report page and volume. The Northeastern Reporter, containing, as it does, all current decisions of the states in which the great commercial centers are located, is considered the best set of commercial and corporation reports extant. We will supply full information and prices on request.

WEST PUBLISHING Co., St. Paul, Minn.

Citizenship-Residence-Age-Character.

The rules of this state provide that the applicant must be a resident and citizen of the United States of full age and good moral character. Proof of good moral character, in the case of applicants other than graduates of reputable law schools, must be by letters from the attorney in whose office applicant has studied and from at least two other reputable citizens of applicant's place of residence. Diplomas of graduation from reputable law schools will be accepted as presumptive evidence of the good moral character of the holders thereof. Application-Contents-When to be Filed-Fee.

Applications must be filed with the secretary of the board of examiners at least 60 days prior to the examination, and must contain proofs of all the qualifications required by the rules. The rules provide that the application and proofs must be in the form prescribed by the board, or they will not be received. Printed copies of the rules, showing the forms prescribed, may be obtained from the secretary of the board at Lansing, Mich. Each application must be accompanied by a fee of $15, which sum shall entitle the candidate to two examinations. In case of failure to pass the second examination, a fee of $10 must be paid for each subsequent examination. Preliminary Education.

The statute provides that applicant must have acquired a general education equivalent to that involved in the completion of a four-year high school course.

Term of Study.

A period of three years study in a duly incorporated college or university in this or another state, or four years in a law office under the supervision of a reputable attorney, is

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