Rule 73-3 Other Admissions

(a) Legal Intern.

(1) Permission to Appear in Court. A qualified law student or graduate of an ABA accredited law school, upon application and approval in accordance with the requirements set forth in this Rule, may be permitted to appear in the Commonwealth Superior Court as a “legal intern” and may be granted the privilege of representing either the Commonwealth or private individuals.

(2) Qualifications. At the time the application is submitted, the applicant must:

(A) Be a student duly enrolled and in good academic standing at a law school with legal studies completed, which in the opinion of the Board or its designee, are sufficient and have the written approval of the applicant’s law school dean, or a person designated by such dean; or

(B) Have graduated from an approved law school no more than nine (9) months previously and submitted satisfactory evidence thereof to the Board or its designee.

(3) Affidavit. The applicant shall submit a sworn affidavit that he or she has read, is familiar with, and will abide by the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct.

(4) Procedure. The applicant shall submit an application on Form “E” as provided by the Board. There shall be no fee for filing such application. The application shall give the name of, and be signed by, the supervising attorney, who, in doing so, shall assume the responsibilities of a supervising attorney as set forth in this Rule if the applicant is permitted to appear as a legal intern.

RULES OF ADMISSION AMENDED AUGUST 4, 2025

(5) Supervising Attorney. A supervising attorney may not supervise more than one legal intern at a time and shall:

(A) Be an attorney in good standing who is:

(i) admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth and who maintains an office within the Commonwealth, or

(ii) who represents the Commonwealth Government or Micronesia Legal Services, Inc.;

(B) Direct, supervise, and review all of the work performed by the legal intern and assume professional responsibility for any work undertaken by the legal intern while under his or her supervision;

(C) Review all pleadings, motions, briefs and other documents prepared by the legal intern; and

(D) Sign any legal document or correspondence that a legal intern signs and ensure that the legal intern’s name is followed by the title “legal intern.”

(6) Termination of Supervising Attorney. The failure of a supervising attorney to provide adequate supervision or to comply with the duties set forth herein shall be grounds for terminating her status as supervising attorney at the discretion of the Board and may be grounds for disciplinary action. In such a case, the legal intern shall cease performing any services under this Rule and shall cease holding himself or herself out as a legal intern until or unless a new supervising attorney is approved by the Board.

(7) Attorney-Client Privilege. For purposes of the attorney-client privilege, a legal intern shall be considered a subordinate of the supervising attorney.

(8) Scope and Term of Legal Intern.

(A) Scope. The supervising attorney is responsible for assigning only those duties to the legal intern which the supervising attorney deems appropriate in light of the legal intern’s experience and education. The legal intern is at no time permitted to appear before the court without the immediate presence of the supervising attorney. At any appearance before the court, the legal intern must state for the record his or her name followed by the title “legal intern.” In any matter which the legal intern will be representing a client, the client shall be informed of the legal intern's status. If a client objects to the representation or involvement of a legal intern, the supervising attorney shall forthwith take over the case and the legal intern shall RULES OF ADMISSION AMENDED AUGUST 4, 2025 cease to be involved in any aspect of the case. No legal intern may receive payment from a client for his or her services; however, nothing contained herein shall prevent a legal intern from being paid for his or her services by the legal intern’s employer.

(B) Term. The term of the legal intern shall be endorsed by the Board on the approved application. In no event shall the term exceed eighteen (18) months. If the approval of the law school dean is withdrawn, or the student ceases to be duly enrolled as a student prior to graduation or ceases to be in good academic standing, the privilege granted herein shall be terminated. The privilege granted herein may be revoked at any time upon the Board’s own motion, with or without cause. Upon the termination of a legal intern’s term or upon the happening of any event terminating the privilege of being a legal intern, the legal intern shall immediately cease performing any services under these rules and shall cease holding himself or herself out as a legal intern.

(b) Admission Prior to Judicial Reorganization Act of 1989. Any person who was admitted to practice law before the Commonwealth Trial Court prior to the effective date of the Commonwealth Judicial Reorganization Act of 1989 (Public Law 6-25), and any person who has been admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth pursuant to 1 CMC §§3601, 3602, 3603 as of the effective date of these Rules, as amended in 2000, shall be entitled to practice before the courts of the Commonwealth according to the terms of admission then effective, until their term of admission expires or unless otherwise suspended or terminated.

(c) Special Ethics Prosecutor or Other Limited Purpose Attorney. Any attorney the Board deems necessary for the prosecution of ethics matters or for other limited purposes, and who the Board deems fit to practice law in the Commonwealth for the stated limited purposes, shall be admitted to the Bar at the Board’s approval to the extent necessary to carry out the specified limited purpose after a written request is made to the Board by the Bar or the Judiciary.