Potential Ethics Issues and Areas of Susceptibility: 

Unethical or unprofessional conduct jeopardizes not only your chance of getting your degree or getting a job, but also your chances to be admitted to the bar. Before you can become an attorney, you have to pass a character and fitness exam, proving to the bar examiners that you have the good moral character expected of those in the legal profession.

Each state is different in the way it approaches character and fitness exams and the information it elicits from applicants, but the following factors are examples of some of the types of conduct that will be considered in reviewing your application to sit for the bar exam. They are published in the Code of Recommended Standards for Bar Examiners, a publication adopted by the ABA, the NCBEX, and the AALS:

“13. Relevant Conduct. The revelation or discovery of any of the following should be treated as cause for further inquiry before the bar examining authority decides whether the applicant possesses the character and fitness to practice law:

v     unlawful conduct

v     academic misconduct

v     making of false statements, including omissions

v     misconduct in employment

v     acts involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation

v     abuse of legal process

v     neglect of financial responsibilities

v     neglect of professional obligations

v     violation of an order of a court

v     evidence of mental or emotional instability

v     evidence of drug or alcohol dependency

v     denial of admission to the bar in another jurisdiction on character and fitness grounds

v     disciplinary action by a lawyer disciplinary agency or

v     other professional disciplinary agency of any jurisdiction.”

The Code also proposes a method of evaluating applicants’ conduct in character and fitness examinations:

“15. Use of Information…[T]he following factors should be considered in assigning weight and significance to prior conduct:

v     the applicant’s age at the time of the conduct

v     the recency of the conduct

v     the reliability of the information concerning the conduct

v     the seriousness of the conduct

v     [the] cumulative effect of conduct or information

v     evidence of rehabilitation

v     the applicant’s positive social contributions since the conduct

v     the applicant’s candor in the admissions process

v     the materiality of any omissions or misrepresentations.”