Collins-Bazant, Application of
| Decision Date | 15 May 1998 |
| Docket Number | COLLINS-BAZANT,No. S-34-970002,S-34-970002 |
| Citation | 254 Neb. 614,578 N.W.2d 38 |
| Parties | In re Application of Gailfor Admission to the Nebraska State Bar on Examination. |
| Court | Nebraska Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
1. Rules of the Supreme Court: Attorneys at Law: Appeal and Error. The appeal of an applicant from a final adverse ruling of the Nebraska State Bar Commission is considered de novo on the record made at the hearing before the commission.
2. Rules of the Supreme Court: Attorneys at Law. The Nebraska Supreme Court is vested with the sole power to admit persons to the practice of law in this state and to fix qualifications for admission to the Nebraska bar.
3. Rules of the Supreme Court: Attorneys at Law: Waiver. The Nebraska Supreme Court has the power to waive the application of its own rules regarding the admission of attorneys to the Nebraska bar.
4. Rules of the Supreme Court: Attorneys at Law: Waiver: Proof. Following the denial of an application and a hearing before the Nebraska State Bar Commission, the Nebraska Supreme Court will consider a waiver of Neb. Ct. R. for Adm. of Attys. 5C (rev.1996) to allow a graduate of a foreign law school based on the English common law to take the Nebraska bar examination upon proof that the education he or she received was equivalent to that for a juris doctorate available at an ABA-approved law school.
5. Rules of the Supreme Court: Attorneys at Law: Waiver: Proof: Costs. When a foreign-educated attorney seeks a waiver in order to sit for the Nebraska bar examination, the burden at all times will be on the applicant to affirmatively show that the education he or she received was equivalent to that of an ABA-approved law school, and the applicant will be responsible for the costs of providing such information.
Gail Collins-Bazant, pro se.
Michael G. Lessmann, Omaha, for Nebraska State Bar Commission.
This case requires us to decide whether we will grant a waiver to Neb. Ct. R. for Adm. of Attys. 5C (rev.1996) to allow a graduate of a non-American Bar Association (ABA)-approved foreign law school to take the Nebraska bar examination.
Gail Collins-Bazant (Collins) is a Canadian attorney seeking permission to sit for the Nebraska bar examination. This is the second appearance of Collins before this court. In 1997, Collins brought an original action seeking admission to the Nebraska bar without examination on the basis of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
We concluded that Collins' arguments for admission were without merit, but did not address whether Collins would be eligible to sit for the bar examination or whether she had attained educational qualifications equal to those required by rule 5. See In re Application of Collins, 252 Neb. 222, 561 N.W.2d 209 (1997). Rule 5 requires that all applicants must have received their first professional degree from a law school approved by the ABA. The ABA does not evaluate law schools outside the United States.
Following her first appearance before this court, Collins applied to the Nebraska State Bar Commission (Commission) for admission to the Nebraska bar upon examination. The Commission denied Collins' application, and Collins requested a hearing. A hearing was held before the Commission, during which Collins presented evidence regarding the quality and nature of her legal education and experience. The Commission again denied Collins' application, and Collins appeals to this court. The official letter denying Collins the opportunity to sit for the bar is not in the record. However, it is apparent from the record and from the brief of the Commission that the Commission was of the opinion that Collins could take the bar examination only if the existing rules were waived in Collins' case and that the Commission did not have the authority to grant such a waiver.
Collins is a Canadian citizen and a resident alien of the United States. Collins graduated from the Memorial University of Newfoundland with a bachelor of arts degree in 1976 and from the University of Saskatchewan Law School with a bachelor of laws degree in 1981. The bachelor of laws degree is a graduate degree earned after 3 years of legal studies. The University of Saskatchewan Law School is fully accredited for the purposes of bar admission in all Canadian provinces and is approved by the Canadian Bar Association.
Just as in the United States, the study of law in Canada is based on the English common law, and law school applicants must take the law school admission test. Collins studied law under a 3-year program and took courses much like those a law student in the United States would take. For example, Collins' first-year law school curriculum consisted of two terms of torts, two terms of property, two terms of criminal law, two terms of contracts, one term of legal systems and process, and one term of legal writing. During her second and third years, Collins took courses in constitutional law, trusts, family law, administrative law, evidence, civil procedure, criminal procedure, commercial transactions, professional responsibility, tax law, company law, oil and gas law, international law, wills and estates, debtor-creditor law, conflicts, and remedies. Collins also took a course in comparative federalism, which included a study of American constitutional law. Peter MacKinnon, the dean of law at the University of Saskatchewan, read the ABA Law School Educational Program Standards and stated that he believes the University of Saskatchewan program currently meets the ABA standards and met those standards during the time Collins attended law school there.
In Canada, new attorneys are required to work under a senior solicitor for approximately 1 year in a "period of articles," also known as an "articles of clerkship," and to pass a set of examinations before being admitted to the bar. Following a 9-month articles of clerkship in 1981, Collins was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in the Province of Newfoundland. Collins then completed an articles of clerkship in Saskatchewan and was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in that province in 1984. From April 1982 to December 1983, Collins worked full time as a staff solicitor for the Court of Queen's Bench of Saskatchewan, on the rules revision committee, where she did legal research and writing. As part of her work, Collins studied the rules of civil procedure from other English common-law jurisdictions, including the United States.
Between 1984 and 1989, Collins was employed in private practice and with the Saskatchewan Legal Aid Commission. In 1989, Collins returned to Newfoundland, where she was employed as a crown attorney prosecuting all levels of criminal cases. Collins moved to the United States in 1995, but returned to Newfoundland for a period of time to continue her work as a crown attorney.
As a result, Collins was employed as a crown attorney until 1997. Collins retains licensing privileges and is in good standing with both the Province of Newfoundland and the Province of Saskatchewan. The record reflects that no complaints or disciplinary actions have been taken against her. Collins had an article published in the Saskatchewan Law Review and a table published in the textbook "Sentencing in Newfoundland."
Since 1995, Collins has resided in Norfolk, Nebraska, with her husband. Collins is a resident alien of the United States, and her husband is a U.S. citizen. Between February and July 1996, Collins worked nearly every day on a volunteer basis in the Madison County Attorney's office in order to become more familiar with the laws of Nebraska and of the United States. While at the county attorney's office, Collins assisted with a case that resulted in her being presented with an award from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. In addition, Collins wrote and obtained a grant in order for the county attorney's office to establish a victim witness unit. The Madison County Attorney testified that Collins did good work and that he supports her application. The record contains nine letters from Canadian judges and coworkers of Collins' recommending that she be allowed to take the Nebraska bar examination.
Collins contends that the Commission erred in denying her application to sit for the Nebraska bar examination, that rule 5 should either be interpreted to allow her to take the bar examination or be waived, and that rule 5 violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and NAFTA.
This court will consider the appeal of an applicant from a final adverse ruling of the Commission de novo on the record made at the hearing before the Commission. Neb. Ct. R. for Adm. of Attys. 15 (rev.1996).
Collins contends that the Commission either misinterpreted or should have waived rules promulgated by this court requiring an applicant for admission to the Nebraska bar to have graduated from a law school accredited by the ABA. In the alternative, Collins argues that rule 5 violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and NAFTA.
Collins urges this court to interpret rule 5 in a manner that would allow an applicant for admission to the Nebraska bar who is a graduate of a foreign law school to take the bar examination if the applicant has attained educational qualifications equivalent to those a student would obtain at an ABA-approved law school.
The Nebraska Supreme Court is vested with the sole power to admit persons to the practice of law in this state and to fix qualifications for admission to the Nebraska bar. In re Application of Collins, 252 Neb. 222, 561 N.W.2d 209 (1997); In re Appeal of Dundee, 249 Neb. 807, 545 N.W.2d 756 (1996). See Neb. Const. art. II, § 1, and art. V, §§ 1 and 25. Rule 5 allows applicants to be admitted without examination if they have...
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