Nevada Supreme Court Rule 49.1 enables limited legal practice for clinical law faculty members employed by Nevada's only law school, the William S. Boyd School of Law. Under Rule 72.3 general law school faculty can also practice and under Rule 72.5 faculty members of The National Judicial College can also have limited admission.
Nevada Full-Time Law School Faculty Members
For law professors to be eligible under Rule 72.3, they must meet the following requirements:
- Have a juris doctor from a law school that is ABA approved.
- Be licensed in another jurisdiction
- Pay all applicable bar fees and costs
In addition the admitted law professor must adhere to the following:
- Limit practice as indicated by the university
- Can not be compensated for more than 8 hours a week during the calendar year
- Make certainty Dean advises the state bar which professors are admitted to the practice of law
- If a law professor is terminated by the university, their ability to practice is also terminated and they must take the Nevada bar.
Nevada Clinical Law Professors
For clinical law professors to be eligible under Rule 49.1, they must meet the following requirements:
- Have a juris doctor from a law school that is ABA approved.
- Be licensed in another jurisdiction
- Pay all applicable bar fees and costs
- Be familiar with the Nevada rules of professional conduct
In addition the admitted law professor must adhere to the following:
- Attorneys are able to practice as if they are member of the Nevada bar and no fees are required to be paid
- The client being represented must consent to the attorneys representation
- The attorney can not receive and compensations for their services
- If a clinical professor is terminated by the university, their ability to practice on behalf of the university is also terminated, the clinical professor can also be terminated by the Nevada Supreme Court without any cause or notice.
The National Judicial College Faculty Members
- Have a juris doctor from a law school that is ABA approved.
- Be licensed in another jurisdiction
- Pay all applicable bar fees and costs
- Be familiar with the Nevada rules of professional conduct
- Have a certificate by the board of directors of the NJC or National Center for the Courts and Media stating that the applicant is the president, vice president, dean, assistant dean, or academic director of NJC, or of the National Center for the Courts and Media, and has been so for the past two years.
Nevada Law Students
Law students are able to practice law in Nevada courts on a limited basis under Rule 49.1. To obtain this certification law students must be enrolled full-time at William S. Boyd School of Law. Nevada law students admission certification requires students to meet the following:
- Complete at least:
- Level 1 Certification. At least 30 semester credit hours (or equivalent)
- Level 2 Certification. At least 45 semester credit hours (or equivalent).
- Be certified by a Dean of the law school
- Show good character and legal competence
- Certify in writing that they understand the Nevada rules of professional conduct
- Certify in writing that they understand the Nevada Supreme Court rules
- Must make certain that the clinical law practice program has informed the Nevada Bar of the program within 30 days of the students first day in the program.
- Can not receive any compensation for their representation, but they may bee compensate if they are in employment of legal aid bureaus, attorneys, public defender organizations or by the state.
Nevada Law Student Admission: Limited Practice
Nevada law students admission or ability to practice law depends on a few things. First, it is also important to note that such admission to practice is terminated if the law student fails the bar exam the firs time (if they don't fail they can practice for an additional 50 days), the dean revokes their certificate, or the student does not take the bar exam. However, in general, Nevada law student admission toward a limited basis, enables them to participate in the following activities:
For Level 1 activities, law students may:
- Conduct investigations
- Interview/counsel clients.
- Represent clients before legislative and administrative bodies.
For Level 2 activities, law students may:
- This same activities as level 1 as well as:
- Negotiate and mediate settlement claims
- Prepare documents to be filed with the court
- Engage in drafting transactional documents
- Civil matters (client consent needed, supervising attorney must be present)
- Criminal matters (client consent needed, supervising attorney must be present
Requirements of Supervising Attorneys
Supervising attorneys must adhere to the following:
- Assume responsibility for student’s guidance and students work
- Agree to be the supervising attorney
- Agree to adhere to the law school guidelines of supervising attorneys
- Adhere to the Nevada, professional rules of responsibility