THE CNMI Supreme Court on July 29 amended the rules of admission for stateside attorneys and allowed lawyers with stateside license to practice in the Commonwealth with a government agency for eight years without taking the local bar examination.
The administrative order was signed by Chief Justice Alexandro Castro, Associate Justice John Manglona and Associate Justice Perry Inos.
According to a former government attorney who requested anonymity, this will address the problem of high turnover for government lawyers.
“This will improve recruiting and retention for lawyers working directly for the government. Under the old rule, lawyers with a stateside law license could practice in CNMI with a government agency for only up to four years if approved by the SC without having to take the CNMI bar exam. This change extends that waiver to eight years. Those lawyers will provide more experienced practice for government agencies and improve the overall advice being presented,” the lawyer said.
In its order, the local Supreme Court said, “On its own motion [it] finds it necessary to amend Rule 73-2 of the NMI Supreme Court Rules, Title IX, Rules of Admission to allow attorneys with a limited admission license to practice in the Commonwealth for a maximum of 8 years without having to take NMI bar exam.”
