(a)  Each applicant who has been admitted to the practice of law in another jurisdiction of the United States may be admitted upon motion and without examination in this state provided that at the time of application the applicant has been actively engaged in the practice of law for five of the preceding ten years in one or more jurisdictions of the United States, is currently licensed to practice in at least one such jurisdiction, and is not under suspension or revocation in any jurisdiction for disciplinary reasons. Any part of the five-year admission requirement is waived to the extent that any jurisdiction in which the applicant is currently licensed and in which the applicant has actively engaged in the practice of law for not less than six months requires fewer than five years admission as a condition of admission upon motion and without examination for attorneys licensed in this state, provided, however, that at the time of application the applicant has been actively engaged in the practice of law for not less than three of the preceding ten years in one or more jurisdictions of the United States, is currently licensed to practice in at least one such jurisdiction and is not under suspension or revocation in any jurisdiction. 

(b)  [Repealed.] 

(c)  Each applicant under § 7(a) at the time of admission must meet the requirements specified in § 6(f) and (g). 

(d)  Each applicant under § 7(a) at the time of admission shall have completed three months of study in the office and under the supervision of a judge or attorney practicing in this state. The study requirement must be completed within three years of the filing of the petition for admission. The judge or supervising attorney for the office study described in this subsection shall have been admitted to practice before this Court not less than three years prior to the commencement of that study. 

(e)  Notwithstanding any other provisions of these rules relating to the admission of applicants licensed to practice law in other jurisdictions of the United States, the following special requirements shall apply exclusively to applicants licensed to practice law in New Hampshire or Maine. 

(1) Lawyers who are active members of the New Hampshire or Maine state bar, have been actively engaged in the practice of law in New Hampshire or Maine for no less than three years immediately preceding their application for admission under this rule, are currently members in good standing in all jurisdictions where admitted, and are not under suspension or revocation nor currently subject to any disciplinary matter in any jurisdiction may be admitted to the practice of law in this state upon motion and without examination. 

(2) Each applicant under this section must at the time of admission satisfy the requirements of § 11 relating to moral character and fitness, §§ 9(a) & (b) relating to application procedures and fees, and § 6(f) relating to minimum age, citizenship, and college education. 

(3) In lieu of the requirements of § 7(d) (three months of study in the office and under the supervision of a judge or attorney practicing in this state), an applicant under this section may complete and certify prior to admission that he or she has attended at least fifteen hours of continuing legal education on Vermont practice and procedure within one year immediately preceding the date upon which the motion is filed in courses approved by the Board of Continuing Legal Education and certified by the Board of Bar Examiners as satisfying the requirements of this section. A minimum of six of the fifteen continuing legal education hours must be earned by attendance at live courses. 

(4) An applicant who has failed the Vermont bar examination within five years of the date of filing an application for admission under this section shall not be eligible for admission on motion. 

(5) This section shall become effective upon the effective date of an equivalent rule in New Hampshire or Maine, and shall remain in effect only so long as the equivalent New Hampshire or Maine rule remains effective. 

(f)  For the purposes of this rule, "practice of law" shall include the following activities: 

(1) Representation of one or more clients in the private practice of law; 

(2) Service as a lawyer with a local, state, or federal agency, including military service; 

(3) Service as a judge in a federal, state, or local court of record; 

(4) Service as a judicial law clerk; or 

(5) Service as in-house corporate counsel, meaning practice as an employed attorney for a corporation, partnership, trust, individual, or other entity, provided such practice was subsequent to being admitted to the practice of law in the jurisdiction in which the practice occurred and involved the primary duties of furnishing legal counsel, drafting legal documents and pleadings, interpreting and giving advice regarding the law, or preparing, trying or presenting cases before courts, executive departments, administrative bureaus, or agencies. 

For the purposes of this rule, the "practice of law" shall not include work that, as undertaken, constituted the unauthorized practice of law in the jurisdiction in which it was performed or in the jurisdiction in which the clients receiving the unauthorized services were located. 

(g)  For purposes of these rules, an applicant shall be deemed to have been "actively engaged in the practice of law" for any seven-day period during which he or she engaged in qualified work for at least 25 hours. 

Adopted Aug. 30, 1982, eff. Sept. 17, 1982; amended Oct. 16, 1985, eff. Dec. 2, 1985; March 6, 1987, eff. June 1, 1987; Dec. 15, 1988, eff. Jan. 2, 1989; Oct. 15, 2002, eff. March 1, 2003; Jan. 25, 2005, eff. April 1, 2005; July 6, 2006, eff. Sept. 5, 2006; June 1, 2007, eff. July 1, 2007; June 17, 2008, eff. Aug. 18, 2008; Nov. 17, 2009, eff. Jan. 18, 2010.