Rule 50.5 Conditional admission

1. The court, in its discretion, may conditionally admit to the practice of law those applicants with character and fitness problems, which although serious, do not warrant denial of admission with or without prejudice. Admission under this rule shall be conditioned on and subject to such terms and conditions as required by the court, which may include any terms and conditions recommended by the board of bar examiners or its character and fitness committee. Before an applicant may be admitted under this rule, the applicant must consent in writing to the conditions of admission within thirty days of the court’s order setting those conditions. An applicant’s failure to consent will result in a denial of admission under this rule.

2. The period during which the applicant is conditionally admitted shall be designated as the probationary period and shall be monitored by and through the Office of the Bar Counsel of the State Bar of Nevada. Any alleged violation of the terms or conditions of the order of conditional admission shall be referred to the character and fitness committee by the Office of the Bar Counsel.

3. An applicant admitted pursuant to this rule shall consent to the disclosure of all information obtained by the board of bar examiners to the Office of the Bar Counsel, except information received by the board of bar examiners under a specific agreement of confidentiality or otherwise restricted by law.

4. The length of time of the probationary period shall be for a period of time as is ordered by the court.

5. Upon successful completion of the probationary period, in the absence of any disciplinary action and the filing of a supplemental recommendation by the board of bar examiners, an applicant admitted pursuant to this rule shall be eligible for unconditional admission to the State Bar of Nevada.

6. The Office of the Bar Counsel of the State Bar of Nevada shall monitor the conditions set forth in the order and the costs thereof shall be paid by the applicant admitted pursuant to this rule before termination of the probationary period.

7. Any alleged violation, however de minimis, of the terms and conditions of the order of conditional admission shall be brought before the character and fitness committee. Upon ten days’ written notice to the applicant, the character and fitness committee will convene a panel to determine if a violation of the conditions has occurred and what action, if any, should be taken.

8. Any grievance(s) received by the Office of the Bar Counsel of the State Bar of Nevada concerning actions by an applicant admitted pursuant to this rule during the probationary period shall be processed in accordance with SCR 105.

(a) If the disciplinary screening panel of the Northern or Southern Disciplinary Board recommends anything other than dismissal, such findings shall be submitted to the character and fitness committee. The character and fitness committee is empowered, upon ten days’ written notice to the applicant, to convene a hearing to determine the impact of these findings on the applicant’s conditional admission.

(b) Based upon the existence of a pending recommendation by a disciplinary screening panel of anything other than dismissal, the character and fitness committee is empowered to recommend suspension or revocation of the conditional license subject to the approval of the court. If the committee determines that the violation does not rise to the level of suspension or revocation, it may recommend to the court the extension or imposition of such additional terms or conditions of the order of conditional admission as it deems appropriate.

(c) The actions taken by the character and fitness committee regarding disciplinary grievances shall not impair the independent authority of the Southern or Northern Disciplinary Board, or the court, to impose discipline.

9. Although the character and fitness committee may consider any alleged new disciplinary grievance(s) whether recommended for formal charges or not, to determine whether to revoke the conditional admission or to extend or modify the terms set forth therein, this is independent of a separate disciplinary hearing panel to consider what discipline, if any, is to be imposed as a result of the disciplinary hearing on any new grievance(s).

10. Conditional admission shall be imposed pursuant to a confidential order of the court and except as is required by an application to be admitted to the United States Supreme Court, and/or to the bar of any other state or jurisdiction, or at the request of the applicant, shall remain confidential.