This article originally appeared in The Bar Examiner print edition, Spring 2025 (Vol. 94, No. 1), pp. 62.
Bar Admissions
Character and Fitness
An individual applied to take the Louisiana Bar Examination and was denied by the Committee on Bar Admissions due to character and fitness factors. The Supreme Court of Louisiana allowed her to take the exam, after her appeal to the Court, dependent upon her “apply[ing] for the appointment of a commissioner to take character and fitness evidence” if she passed. The individual passed the July 2023 administration and applied for and was assigned a commissioner to take character and fitness evidence, which focused on the individual’s criminal history and delinquent debts. A divided supreme court granted the individual conditional admission to practice law in Louisiana.
An individual previously applied to take the Louisiana Bar Examination. The Committee on Bar Admissions in Louisiana denied her application “on character and fitness grounds relating to her record of criminal offenses” (1). The individual appealed to the Supreme Court of Louisiana, which allowed her to take the exam “with the condition that upon her successful completion of the exam, she apply for the appointment of a commissioner to take character and fitness evidence” (1). After passing the July 2023 bar exam, the individual applied for and was assigned a commissioner, and underwent an investigation overseen by the Committee on Bar Admissions Panel on Character and Fitness. The commissioner focused on the individual’s criminal history and delinquent debt, some of which had not been disclosed on her bar application.
The commissioner’s report “noted that all of petitioner’s criminal offenses were committed years ago, and many were misdemeanors committed when she was an immature young woman. Regarding petitioner’s delinquent debt, the commissioner found that petitioner did not exercise diligence in her financial affairs, which were managed by her husband, but that her actions were ‘understandable’” (1–2). The commissioner recommended the individual be admitted to practice law, to which the committee objected; oral argument on this point took place before the Court.
A divided Court granted the individual conditional admission to practice law valid for two years from the date of admission. The individual must formally work with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) for this period on “at least a quarterly basis, demonstrating that all of her financial obligations have been paid as agreed”; undergoing financial counseling; “successfully complet[ing] the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Ethics School and Trust Accounting School” (2); and having a supervising practice monitor assigned to her. The ODC must write a report for the Court recommending termination or extension of conditional admission near the end of the original conditional period. One justice dissented, highlighting the recency of outstanding debts prior to the commissioner’s hearing. Another concurred in part and dissented in part by stating they would grant admission without conditions.
See In Re: Committee on Bar Admissions CFN-65372, No. 2023-BA-1455Contact us to request a pdf file of the original article as it appeared in the print edition.
