Rule 1 Purpose

The primary purposes of character and fitness screening before admission to the Bar of Montana are to assure the protection of the public and to safeguard the justice system. An attorney should be one whose record of conduct justifies the trust of clients, adversaries, courts and others with respect to the professional duties owed to them. The public is adequately protected only by a system that evaluates the character and fitness as those elements relate to the practice of law. The public interest requires that the public be secure in its expectation that those who are admitted to the bar are worthy of the trust and confidence clients may reasonably place in their attorney.