Provisional Admission for Recent Law School Graduates
Recent law school graduates, when under the supervision of a qualified attorney, may be eligible for Provisional Admission to the State Bar of Georgia pursuant to Part XVI of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Eligibility: The Rules provide that a recent law school graduate is eligible for Provisional Admission if that person:
- graduated within the last 12 months from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association;
- is certified as fit to practice law by the Board to Determine Fitness of Bar Applicants;
- is certified by the dean or the dean’s designee of the law school from which the student graduated as competent to practice law under supervision; and
- has not failed a bar examination in any jurisdiction.
Application Procedure: To file the Petition for Provisional Admission for Recent Law School Graduates, CLICK HERE. The form describes how applicants should provide the certification of the dean or the dean’s designee as described above. After the Office of Bar Admissions determines that an applicant meets the eligibility requirements, we will email to the Applicant a certificate of Provisional Admission along with an Oath to be executed. The Applicant must sign the Oath and email it to back to the Office of Bar Admissions at provisionaladmission@gasupreme.us. After we have received the signed Oath, the Office of Bar Admissions will forward the final approval to the State Bar of Georgia, where the applicant will then complete the Provisional Admission process by identifying their supervising attorney and paying any additional fees charged by the State Bar to become registered as a Provisional Lawyer.
Limitations on Practice: Generally, and as described in Rule 99, recent law school graduates who are registered as Provisional Lawyers may practice law in Georgia under the supervision of a qualified attorney. Limitations on the practice of law for Provisional Lawyers are contained in Rule 100, and the obligations of the supervising attorney are contained in Rule 102.
Termination of Provisional Membership: The Provisional Membership of a recent law school graduate will expire in the following ways:
- automatically if the Provisional Lawyer is notified by the Office of Bar Admissions that they failed the Georgia Bar Examination;
- 30 days after the release of the results of the second Georgia bar examination that takes place after the Provisional Lawyer graduated from law school (for applicants who pass or do not sit for the Georgia Bar Examination); or
- automatically if the Provisional Lawyer’s certification of fitness is revoked or suspended by the Board to Determine Fitness of Bar Applicants or for good cause shown by the Supreme Court of Georgia or the Board of Bar Examiners.