Rule 205
Admission of Foreign Attorneys and Graduates of Foreign Institutions
(a) General Rule. The Board, under such standards, rules and procedures as it
may prescribe, may extend the provisions of
Rule 203 (relating to the admission
by bar examination) or Rule 206 (relating to admission by bar examination score transfer) to any applicant who has completed the study
of law in a law school which at the time of such completion was not located within the geographical
area encompassed by the accreditation activities of the American Bar Association and:
(1) who has been admitted to practice law in and is in
good standing at the bar
of a foreign country or another state, as evidenced by a certificate from the highest court or
agency of such foreign country or state having jurisdiction over admission to the bar and the
practice of law and
(2) who has for a period of five years of the last eight years immediately preceding
the date of filing of the application for admission to the bar of this Commonwealth engaged in the
practice of law in such foreign country or another state. For purposes of this paragraph, the
phrase "engaged in the practice of law" is defined as "devoting a major portion of one's time and
energy to the rendering of legal services." The practice of law must be performed in a foreign
country or state in which the applicant was admitted to practice law or in a foreign country or
state that affirmatively permitted such activity by a lawyer not admitted in that jurisdiction.
The term “practice of law” shall not include providing legal services when such services as
undertaken constituted the unauthorized practice of law in the foreign country or state in which
the legal services were performed or in the foreign country or state in which the clients receiving
the unauthorized services were located.
(b) Law Study Required. Applicants who
meet the provisions of subparagraph (a) of this rule may apply to sit for the Pennsylvania Bar
Examination per Rule 203 or seek admission by transfer of a bar examination score per Rule 206 provided they have successfully completed
24 credit hours in an
accredited American law school
in the following subjects: Conflict of Laws; Constitutional Law; Contracts;
Corporations; Criminal Law; Decedents' Estates; Evidence; Family Law; Federal and/or Pennsylvania
Civil Procedure; Federal Income Taxes (personal only); Professional Responsibility; Real Property;
Torts; Uniform Commercial Code, Art. II - Sales; Legal Research and Writing; and Employment
Discrimination. No more than 4 credit hours in any one subject shall be counted toward this
requirement. In fulfilling this requirement, applicants must successfully complete up to 4
credits in each of the following subjects: Constitutional Law; Federal and/or Pennsylvania
Civil Procedure; Professional Responsibility; and Legal Research and Writing. All coursework
for the required credit hours shall be completed at the campus of an
accredited law school in the
United States. No credit shall be allowed for correspondence courses, on-line courses, courses
offered on any other media, or other distance learning courses.
Adopted July 1, 1972. Amended June 6, 1977; Dec. 17, 1981, effective 30 days after Jan 9, 1982; Aug. 22, 1986, imd. effective;
June 16, 1993, imd. effective; Jan. 31, 1997, imd. effective; Nov. 20, 2013, effective in 30 days [Dec. 20, 2013]; Jan. 4, 2022, effective Jan. 12, 2022; April 17, 2024, effective May 1, 2024.