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Connecticut Bar Examining Committee
 

 Reapplication - Admission by Examination
 
Instructions, Forms and Requirements

Be sure you read and understand the rules of the Superior Court and the regulations of the Bar Examining Committee governing Admission to the Connecticut bar.

 
 
Reapplication - Warning: Only qualified candidates may use the reapplication forms. The reapplication (Form 1R) is password protected. The password will be provided to eligible candidates by the Bar Examining Committee. If you attempt to file Form 1R, but you are not authorized to do so, your applications will be returned unprocessed.
 


1. Winter 2009 Bar Examination Schedule & Deadlines.

Date  Deadline
31 October 2008 Friday First day to file for February 2009 exam
31 December 2008 Wednesday Non-Standard Testing Petition Deadline
31 December 2008 Wednesday Application Filing Deadline
19 February 2009 Thursday

Deadline for receipt of law degrees and for filing of proof of law degree in administrative office

25 February 2009 Wednesday Multistate Bar Examination
26 February 2009 Thursday Connecticut Essay Examination
25 March 2009 Wednesday Deadline for receipt of transferred MBE scores
13 April 2009 Monday Deadline to complete your application
24 April 2009 Friday Release of results

2. Eligibility requirement – approved law degree. (If you filed the documents referenced in this section in connection with an earlier application, you do not have to file them again.) To be eligible to sit for the February 2009 examination you must have received your law degree by February 19, 2009 (CBEC Regulations Article II) from an approved law school. You will not be permitted to sit for the February 2009 bar examination unless your certification and final transcript are received by the Committee by February 19, 2009.

Your law school dean must complete the Certificate of Dean of Law School (Form 4) only after you have received your degree and must attach a final, official transcript of your grades (transcript must show date degree was conferred) and a copy of your application for admission to law school. Your law school may require you to execute a special document to permit them to forward your transcript and application.

3. Filing deadline. The filing deadline for the February 2009 bar examination is 31 December 2008. Article III-1 of the CBEC Regulation defines "filed" as the date the application is RECEIVED (not the date it is postmarked) with the correct fee ($250.00). Applications cannot be filed on-line or via e-mail.

To be considered filed you must complete and file all of the following by December 31, 2008:  Download forms from list below

Check Form Number and Title
 [     ] Form 1R - Application (Six pages)
 [     ] Form 5R - Status Sheet
 [     ] Form 6R - Application forms filing checklist
 [     ] Form 12 - Address labels
 [     ] Form 14R (2) - Summary sheets
 [     ] $250.00 certified check or money order (the Bar Examining Committee does not accept credit cards, personal, corporate or law firm checks)

If applicable to you, you may also have to file the following by December 31, 2008:

Check Form Number and Title
[     ] Form 2 - Additional Response Page
[     ] Form 7 - Authorization to Release Medical Records
[     ] Form 8 - Description of Mental Disorders
[     ] Form 15 - Non-Standard Testing Notification
[     ] Form 27A - Military Service
[     ] MBE Transfer Form

Retain a copy of everything you file with the Committee.

You should mail your application well in advance of the filing deadline to allow adequate transit time and you should plan to file as early as possible to allow time to correct problems.

4. Where to file. Submit your application, fee and supporting documents to:

Connecticut Bar Examining Committee
February 2009 Application Department
100 Washington Street
Hartford, Connecticut  06106-4411


Office hours: Monday - Friday  8:30am - 4:30pm*
*except state holidays

5. Typed answers. Other than the "checkboxes" which may be completed by hand, and the handwriting exemplar which MUST be completed by hand, your answers on the bar application must be typed or completed by other electronic means.

6. How to answer the questions. Answer all questions fully and frankly. If a question does not apply, so indicate. Do not leave any questions blank unless specifically authorized by the question. You are encouraged to attach a narrative response to any appropriate question (e.g. to explain a student loan default disclosed in Question #39). Use Form 2 if you need additional space to answer any question.

7. Time limits on bar application questions. Note that time limitations apply to certain questions on the application. An occurrence, otherwise disclosable, but beyond the time limitation, need not be disclosed.

8. Complete answers. If a question requires you to list information, be certain to provide all the information requested. Do not merely refer to attached documents. You must respond to the question as asked.

9. Complete addresses. Provide complete addresses (including zip codes) where required.

10. Signature/acknowledgment. Be sure your application is signed and notarized. Note that your application is a sworn statement and is treated as such. Please put your name on your remittance.

11. Acknowledgment of receipt by CBEC. You will normally receive notification of the receipt of your application within 15 days of receipt by the administrative office. This is not a statement of eligibility to sit for the examination. You will receive notice of test site assignment about two (2) weeks before the examination, but only after timely receipt in the administrative office of proof that you have received your law degree.

12. Correspondence with the CBEC. Indicate on all correspondence that you are a February 2009 examination applicant. Please notify the Committee in writing of any change in your address otherwise important notices may not get to you in a timely fashion.

13. MBE transfer. The Bar Examining Committee will accept transferred MBE scores under certain limited circumstances. See instructions accompanying the transfer forms. All transferred MBE scores must be received in the administrative office by 4PM on 29 August 2008.

14. Non-standard testing/TDD. If you have a disability which will require special assistance or accommodations on the bar examination, you must advise the Committee at the time you file your application and file a complete Petition For Non-Standard Testing (available on the Committee's website) no later than December 31, 2008. Hearing and speech-impaired applicants with a TDD can contact the Bar Examining Committee through the Converse Communication Center (CCC) which provides relay message services between TDD and non-TDD users: 1-800-842-9710.

15. MPRE/professional responsibility course. The Professional Responsibility requirement must be satisfied, within four years of the date you file your application, or within one year after the date you file your application, in either of two ways (see CBEC Regulations Article IV for details):

(a) by passing the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) with a scaled score of at least 80; (you can register for the MPRE on-line), or

(b) by obtaining a grade of "C" or better in a course on Professional Responsibility.

16. Special note to applicants taking the February 2009 New York bar examination. It is not necessary to file a copy of the Applicant's Affidavit which you filed (or will file) to sit for the New York Bar Examination. It is necessary to submit a copy of your application for admission to the New York Bar which is filed with the Appellate Division after you have passed the New York bar examination.

17. Sample answers/sample questions. The Bar Examining Committee prepares a booklet of sample answers to a past bar examination. The booklet contains all twelve questions from a recent essay examination and seven sample answers to each question. A limited number of these booklets are available for $25.00. Also available is a five-year collection of past questions (without answers) for $15.00. Fees payable by certified check or money order only payable to: Connecticut Bar Examining Committee.

18. Character and fitness review. Passing the bar examination is only one step in the admission process and does not automatically entitle the candidate to practice law in Connecticut. The Committee begins the review of a candidate's character and fitness immediately upon the filing of the application for admission to the bar. However, the Committee will usually conduct a hearing only after the candidate has taken the bar examination and his/her application is complete. While the Committee attempts to have all eligible candidates admitted at the group ceremony, a candidate whose application presents complex or unresolved issues of character and/or fitness may not be admitted with the other candidates.

19. Conduct that creates a presumption of lack of good moral character. The Committee calls to your attention Article VI-11 concerning conduct which creates a presumption of lack of good moral character. It is the policy of the Committee to view any conduct which comes under that section as a serious character and fitness matter. For example, a candidate who is in arrears or default in any child support obligations will have his/her application placed in abeyance until the arrearage or default has been corrected.

20. Selective Service Registration. You can obtain information on the registration requirements and obtain your registration number at http://www.sss.gov. In brief, men born from March 29, 1957 to December 31, 1959 were never required to register because the registration program was not in operation at the time they turned 18. The requirement to register was reinstated in 1980 and applies to all men born on or after January 1, 1960.

21. Driving Histories/No Record Letters (Question 49). Please refer to the following link for a list of U.S. Driving Record Repositories. You must contact the repositories directly to determine whether information has changed. If you are unable to obtain a driving history from a jurisdiction, you should ask either for a "no record" letter or a "no hit" letter. You may need to obtain this from the jurisdiction's main DMV office. Some local offices cannot generate this sort of report. For foreign driving histories, you can contact the country's consular office in the US and they can usually find the information (forms, cost and address) for you. Please refer to the following link for additional guidance on obtaining Foreign Driving Histories. You must contact the repositories directly to determine whether information has changed.

22. Application Forms and Instructions are listed below. See How to use Acrobat® fillable forms.

*** This form is only for Reapplication and requires a password

Form
Number

Description

Fillable
PDF
1R*** Reapplication with instructions (deadline 12/31/08) 1R.pdf
2 Additional Response Page (use this form if there is insufficient space on the application to answer fully any question; photocopy as necessary.) 2.pdf
3 Amendment - (use this form to amend an answer on your application after it has been filed); photocopy as necessary.) 3.pdf
4 Certificate of Dean of Law School 4.pdf
5R Status Sheet 5R.pdf
6R Application Forms Filing Checklist 6R.pdf
7 Authorization to Release Medical Records 7.pdf
8 Description of Mental, Emotional, Nervous Disorders or Chemical Dependency 8.pdf
10 Personal reference form 10.pdf
11 Employer reference form 11.pdf
12 Address labels 12.pdf
13 Address change labels 13.pdf
13a Residences - continuation page 13a.pdf
14R Summary sheets - (submit in duplicate) 14R.pdf
15 Non-standard Testing Notification 15.pdf
17a Education - continuation page 17a.pdf
18a Employment - continuation page 18a.pdf
  MBE Transfer Instructions Instruc.
27a Military service 27a.pdf
Form 46 MBE Transfer Form 46.pdf
NCBE NCBE MBE Transfer Form: https://secure.ncbex2.org/php/score_transfer/index.php

The results of the February 2009 bar examination will be available on the internet at approximately 12 noon on April 24, 2009.

 

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