CONDITIONAL ADMISSION

(a) Conditional Admission. Following a determination that an applicant has not produced satisfactory evidence of good character and fitness to practice law pursuant to Rule 9 and upon findings that: 14 (1) the conditions that led to the determination that the applicant has not produced satisfactory evidence of good character and fitness to practice law are in the past and are not likely to recur; (2) the applicant has made and is making a good faith effort to cure or avoid the conditions that led to the determination; and (3) the applicant has in place a support system, including an identified responsible individual, to monitor and assist the applicant in maintaining good and ethical conduct and to regularly report on the applicant’s progress and any problems to the Board of Overseers of the Bar; the Board, with the written consent of the applicant, may recommend to the Court that the applicant be admitted on a conditional basis. Provided, however, that a lawyer who has been disbarred or suspended from the practice of law or has resigned from the practice of law in another jurisdiction, and has not been reinstated to the practice of law in that other jurisdiction shall be ineligible for conditional admission pursuant to these Rules. (b) Circumstances Warranting Conditional Admission. The Board, having made the findings stated in subdivision (a), may allow an applicant whose record shows (1) a history of acts or omissions constituting a lack of good character and fitness to practice law, and (2) evidence of rehabilitation from the conditions that caused the acts or omissions to current good and trustworthy conduct, to be conditionally admitted to the practice of law, subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in a written conditional admission consent agreement. Only an applicant whose record of conduct at the time of the Rule 9 determination evidences a commitment to continued rehabilitation and an ability to meet the essential eligibility requirements for admission to the practice of for a Board law under these Rules may be considered recommendation of conditional admission. (c) Consent Agreement. The written consent agreement shall (1) state the terms and conditions of conditional admission; (2) be signed by the Chair of the Board of Bar Examiners or his or her designee, by the applicant, and by a designated representative of each individual, agency, or entity agreeing to supervise the conditionally-admitted lawyer during the conditional admission period; and (3) be placed in the conditionally-admitted lawyer’s permanent application file. 15 (d) Disclosure and Confidentiality. (1) Except as otherwise provided herein with respect to disclosure to the Board of Overseers of the Bar, and subject to the provisions of the Bar Rules, the Rules of Professional Conduct, and Rule 7 of these Bar Admission Rules, or as may be ordered by the Supreme Judicial Court, the fact that an individual is conditionally admitted and the terms of a conditional admission consent agreement shall be confidential; provided, however, that (i) an applicant shall disclose the fact and terms of any conditional admission consent agreement to the bar admission authority in any jurisdiction where the applicant is admitted or applies for admission to practice law; and (ii) the Board of Bar Examiners is authorized to disclose the fact and terms of any conditional admission consent agreement and the fact and terms of any modification or revocation to the bar admission authority in any jurisdiction where the applicant practices or applies for admission to practice law and to the National Conference of Bar Examiners and its designated agents, investigators, administrators, and representatives. (2) In addition to maintaining the confidentiality of the fact that an individual is conditionally admitted and the terms of a conditional admission consent agreement in the records maintained by the Board of Bar Examiners pursuant to this Rule, the Board shall structure the terms, conditions, and monitoring or supervision of conditional admission such that they do not pose a significant risk to the maintenance of confidentiality. Nothing in this Rule shall require that records or documents that are public records in Maine or any other jurisdiction shall be confidential if those records or documents become part of the Board of Bar Examiners file. (3) This subdivision shall not prohibit or restrict the applicant from disclosing to third parties that the applicant has been conditionally admitted under this Rule. (4) This subdivision shall not prohibit or restrict the authority or ability of the Board of Bar Examiners or the Board of Overseers of the Bar to disclose an applicant’s record of compliance or noncompliance with a conditional admission consent agreement to bar admission authorities in other jurisdictions where the conditionally-admitted lawyer practices or applies for admission to practice law and to the National Conference of Bar Examiners and their designated agents, investigators, administrators, and representatives. 16 (e) Transmittal of Consent Agreement to the Board of Overseers of the Bar and to Conditional Admission Supervisors. A copy of each executed consent agreement conditionally admitting an individual to the Maine Bar shall be transmitted, upon its execution, to the applicant, to the Board of Overseers of the Bar, and to a designated representative of each individual, agency, or entity agreeing to supervise the conditionally-admitted lawyer during the conditional admission period. In the event a complaint of professional misconduct or a violation of the consent agreement is filed with the Board of Overseers of the Bar against a conditionally-admitted lawyer during the conditional admission period, a copy of the lawyer’s Board of Bar Examiners bar admission application file shall be transmitted to the Board of Overseers of the Bar upon the request of that office. (f) Length of Conditional Admission Period. The initial duration of a conditional admission period shall be established in the conditional admission consent agreement but shall not exceed sixty (60) months unless, prior to completion of the conditional admission period, a complaint of violation of the consent agreement or a complaint of professional misconduct or violation of the Bar Rules or the Rules of Professional Conduct is filed with the Board of Overseers of the Bar. The filing of any such complaint shall automatically extend the conditional admission period until final disposition of the complaint and any resulting appeals. (g) Monitoring and Violations. (1) During any conditional admission period, the conditionally-admitted lawyer’s compliance with the terms of the consent agreement shall be enforced by the Board of Overseers of the Bar or one of its Commissions, which is authorized to conduct such investigations and take such action as necessary to monitor and determine compliance with the terms of the consent agreement, including but not limited to requiring the conditionally-admitted lawyer to (i) submit written verification of compliance with all conditions of admission; (ii) appear before the Board of Overseers of the Bar or one of its Commissions; and (iii) respond to any request for evidence concerning compliance. (2) Any determination by the Board of Overseers of the Bar or one of its Commissions of a violation of a conditional admission consent agreement shall state in writing the basis for finding that a condition or conditions of admission 17 established pursuant to the consent agreement have been violated. Written notice of a determination of a violation of a conditional admission consent agreement and the basis for such finding shall be provided by the Board of Overseers of the Bar to the conditionally-admitted lawyer, Bar Counsel, the Board of Bar Examiners and the designated representative of each individual, agency, or entity agreeing to supervise the conditionally-admitted lawyer during the conditional admission period. (3) Violation of a conditional admission consent agreement may result in modification of the conditional admission consent agreement. Such modification may include, but shall not be limited to, extension of the period of conditional admission for an additional specified period of time. (4) Upon the determination by the Board of Overseers of the Bar that the conditions of a conditional admission consent agreement have been violated, the Board may petition the Supreme Judicial Court for an order suspending the conditionally-admitted lawyer from the practice of law, in which case the conditionally-admitted lawyer shall have twenty-one (21) calendar days from the date of the filing with the Court to file a written response with the Court. If no timely response is filed, the lawyer’s conditional admission license to practice law in the State of Maine shall be suspended upon expiration of the period allowed for response. If the lawyer files a timely response, the matter shall be addressed as the Court directs, including but not limited to an order of suspension. (5) Unless terminated earlier by the Court, a suspension for a violation of a conditional admission consent agreement shall remain in effect until final disposition of all discipline and/or grievance procedures, including review of a finding of a violation of conditions of admission, commenced against the conditionally-admitted lawyer. A final disposition may include, but shall not be limited to, revocation of the lawyer’s conditional admission license. (6) Nothing in this Rule shall prohibit or restrict in any way the investigation and discipline under the Maine Bar Rules or the Maine Rules of Professional Conduct of a conditionally-admitted lawyer by Bar Counsel and the Board of Overseers of the Bar for conduct violating the Bar Rules or the Rules of Professional Conduct. 18 (h) Reapplication After Revocation of Conditional Admission. A lawyer whose conditional admission license has been revoked is prohibited from applying for reinstatement pursuant to Maine Bar Rule 7.3(j), for five (5) years after the date of the revocation. (i) Costs of Conditional Admission. The applicant shall be responsible for all conditional admission costs, including but not limited to application fees and expenses of investigation, testing, monitoring, enforcement, and prosecution incurred by the Board of Bar Examiners, the Board of Overseers of the Bar, or by any individual, agency, or entity agreeing to supervise or supervising such applicant during the conditional admission period and any extension thereof. (j) Expiration of Condition. Unless the conditional admission is modified, revoked, or extended as provided herein, including any extension for the period required to resolve a complaint of a violation of the consent agreement, the Maine Bar Rules, or the Maine Rules of Professional Conduct, upon completion of a period of conditional admission the conditions imposed by a conditional admission consent agreement shall expire. A conditionally- admitted lawyer whose conditions of admission have expired shall be timely notified by the Board of Overseers of the Bar. (k) Ultimate Authority. Nothing herein shall diminish the authority of the Supreme Judicial Court with respect to any applicant’s admission to the practice of law in Maine. Nothing herein shall diminish in any way the ability or authority of the Board of Overseers of the Bar, Bar Counsel, or any court in the State of Maine to discipline or seek discipline of a conditionally-admitted lawyer for violation of the Bar Rules or the Rules of Professional Conduct.