RULES GOVERNING ADMISSION TO THE VIRGIN ISLANDS BAR Rule 204. Regular Admission

• Jurisdiction: United States

Rule 204. Regular Admission

(a) Regular Admission. An applicant for regular admission to the Virgin Islands Bar must comply with the requirements of this rule.

(b) Committee of Bar Examiners.

(1) Committee of Bar Examiners Composition. The Chief Justice shall appoint a special committee to be known as the Committee of Bar Examiners whose function shall be to assist the court in the administration of the Virgin Islands Bar Examination, which includes character investigations and other matters related to admission to the Virgin Islands Bar. The Bar Examinations shall be conducted semi-annually. The committee shall consist of not less than five (5) members of the Virgin Islands Bar in good standing whose appointments shall be for varied terms and who shall serve until their terms expire, until their successors are appointed, or until removed by the Chief Justice for cause.
(2) Immunity from Suit. The duties of the Committee are inherently judicial functions which are being performed on behalf of the Court. The Court accordingly hereby adopts the American Bar Association's (ABA's) Model Immunity Rule entitled Civil Immunity of Board of Law Examiners, its members, employees and agents, and entities providing information regarding an application to the board, as adopted February 1998, and which provides as follows:

(a) The Committee of Bar Examiners, and its members, employees, and agents are immune from all civil liability for conduct and communications occurring in the performance of their official duties relating to the examination, character and fitness qualification, and licensing of persons seeking to be admitted to the practice of law.
(b) Records, statements of opinion and other information regarding an applicant for admission to the Bar communicated by an entity, including any person, firm or institution, without malice, to the Committee of Bar Examiners, or its members, employees or agents are privileged, and civil suits predicated thereon may not be instituted.

(c) Application Procedure.

(1) A timely application for regular admission to the Virgin Islands Bar shall be made electronically to the Supreme Court no later than December 1 for the February administration or May 1 for the July administration, and shall be accompanied by a fee of $1,100.00, which shall not be refunded if the application is withdrawn, if the applicant loses or fails to submit the character questionnaire, or if the Bar Examination is not taken as scheduled, except for good cause shown. $100.00 of the $1,100.00 fee shall be retained by the clerk as a filing fee and the remaining $1,000.00 shall be remitted to the Committee of Bar Examiners to defray the local costs of examinations, investigations and administration. Applicants shall submit two checks or money orders, one for $100.00 payable to the Clerk of the Supreme Court and the other $1,000.00 payable to the Committee of Bar Examiners.
(2) The Court will entertain an untimely application if filed no later than January 2 for the February administration or June 1 for the July administration, provided that the application is accompanied by a $250.00 late fee, which shall be retained by the Committee of Bar Examiners. No application for regular admission shall be accepted after these late filing deadlines.
(3) In addition to the aforesaid fees, each applicant will be responsible for paying all ancillary fees, including the fees for sitting for the Multi-State Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) and for undergoing the character and fitness investigation by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), directly to the pertinent agency.
(4) The clerk shall open a bar admissions file for each application, assign a case number, and refer the application to the Director of Bar Admissions of the Supreme Court, who shall coordinate the processing of the application with the Committee of Bar Examiners.
(5) No application to the V.I. Bar may be filed by anyone who has been disbarred, suspended or sanctioned, without reinstatement or exoneration, or who is under pending disciplinary action by the Bar of any State, District or Territory of the United States or any foreign jurisdiction, or any Federal Court.
(6) Applicants wishing to take the essay portion of the Virgin Islands Bar Exam using a laptop computer shall pay a non-refundable $150.00 fee, which shall be paid directly to the Committee of Bar Examiners no later than two weeks before the date of the exam, as well as complete all registration requirements established by the Committee of Bar Examiners. Applicants who fail to pay the required fee, do not successfully complete the registration requirement, or who encounter hardware or software failure or other technical difficulties will be required to complete the essay examination by handwriting and will not

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