Oklahoma Licensed Legal Internship Program

Welcome to the Licensed Legal Internship Program

Law students may prepare themselves for the practice of law through their experience as a Licensed Legal Intern. This non-credit program allows students to obtain a limited license to practice law and appear in court pursuant to the Rules of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma on Legal Internship. As a licensed legal intern, students work under the supervision of local attorneys in the public sector, such as the public defender's office or the prosecutor's office, or in private practice. Through observation, through performance of legal tasks, through appearances before state courts, student legal interns learn about their professional responsibilities to their clients and the courts.

Upcoming Legal Internship Examination Dates

Friday, April 20, 2012            (Application Deadline: April 6, 2012)

Monday, May 7, 2012          (Application Deadline, April 23, 2012 )

September 2012, Dates TBA

November 2012,  Dates TBA

January 2013, Dates TBA

Forms for the Licensed Legal Intern Program

  • Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma on Legal Internship  (includes Form 1 and Form 2 to be filed with the OBA)
  • University of Tulsa Intern Application    
  • Monthly Time Report Summary

    • The Licensed Legal Internship Program gives law students the opportunity to develop professional skills while working on actual court cases under the supervision of practicing attorneys. The requirements and administration for this program involve three separate entities:

    1. Supreme Court of Oklahoma, which has decreed the Rules of the Supreme Court on Legal Internship and authorizes the Oklahoma Bar Association and Oklahoma law schools to establish legal internship programs for law students;

    2. The Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA), which issues legal internship licenses to law students pursuant to the Supreme Court Rules and Regulations of the OBA Legal Internship Committee; and

    3. The University of Tulsa College of Law, which administers the program.

    Christy Caves is the liaison for all TU law students with the Oklahoma Bar Association for the Licensed Legal Intern Program. If you have any questions or concerns please do not contact the OBA directly. Rather, please direct your inquiries to Christy at 918.631.2890 or by email at christy-caves@utulsa.edu .

    Requirements for the Legal Intern Program

    Eligibility requirements

    1) Students must be a regularly enrolled at TU College of Law and have successfully completed 45 Juris Doctor credit hours including the following courses: Civil Procedure I and II; Professional Responsibility; and Evidence. Students may apply and take the exam prior to completion, but may not be sworn in until the requisite hours are completed.

    2) Students GPA must be a 2.0 or higher during the entire period of internship. If a student does not maintain a 2.0 or higher GPA, their license will automatically be terminated.

    3) The law student must meet all requirements to take the first Oklahoma Bar examination after graduation from law school in order to be eligible to apply for a limited license.

    If you are a graduate and are interested in this limited license, please contact the Professional Development office for details on how to apply.

    Registration requirement

    1) Registration and acceptance as a law student with the Board of Bar Examiners of Oklahoma Bar Association. Please note that character investigations and final approval from the Board of Bar Examiners may take up to six months. Students may apply and take the exam prior to approval, but may not be sworn in until the investigation has been completed and approved.

    For law student registration information and application forms and fee schedule, visit http://www.okbbe.com . Register early and save money!

    2) The law student may not have to register as a law student in Oklahoma, if they are registered as a law student in another state. If you have questions regarding registration, please contact Christy Caves in the Professional Development Office.

    Application requirement

    1) The law student must submit an Application for a Limited License (Form 1) with the OBA two weeks prior to the examination date. A $50 non-refundable check made payable to the OBA should be included along with the application for processing.

    2) A copy of the Limited License application (Form 1) and the University of Tulsa Intern application should also be submitted to the Professional Development Office to officially register your intent to sit for the examination.

    3) Application forms (Form 1 and Form 2) can be found in the Licensed Legal Interns Forms section of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma on Legal Internship.

    Examination requirement

    1) The Licensed Legal Internship examination shall consist of two one hour sections, Section A and Section B. The minimum passing score is 70% on each section. 

    All students are required to sit for Section A which consists of 50 true/false questions from the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma on Legal Internship. One hour will be allowed for the examination.

    A student that has been successfully tested over the Rules of Professional Conduct by achieving a minimum passing score of 75% for the State of Oklahoma on the Multistate Professional Responsibility examination (MPRE) shall be exempt from taking Section B.

    A copy of the MPRE Score must be submitted to the Professional Development Office with the University of Tulsa Intern application as documentation to exclude the student from testing for Section B.

    A student that has not obtained the 75% score on the MPRE, is required to sit for Section B. Section B is a one hour examination with 50 true/false questions.

    2) What to study for the examination?  Section A covers the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma on Legal Internship;  Section B covers the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct found in 5 O.S. Ch. 1, App. 3-A.

    All examinations will be given at 1:00 p.m. in Room 204, John Rogers Hall.

    Your application must be filed with the OBA two weeks prior to the exam.

    Good Standing requirement

    Upon successful completion of the Licensed Legal Intern examination the law school will provide:

    1) Law School Certificate, certifying your completion of 45 credit hours and GPA of 2.0 or higher.

    2) Law School Letter from the Dean stating that you are qualified for the license.

    Supervision requirement

    1)  All legal interns must work under the supervision of an “approved supervising attorney.” The student is responsible for finding his/her own supervising attorney.

    2)  The student must submit a supervising attorney application/affidavit (Form 2) in which the supervising attorney agrees to supervise the student and accepts responsibility for compliance with the Legal Internship Rules of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma. All supervising attorneys must be approved by the Oklahoma Bar Association.

    3)  If a student changes supervising attorney, a new application/affidavit must be filed and approved by the Oklahoma Bar Association.

    4)  The application can be found in the Licensed Legal Interns Forms section of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma on Legal Internship.

    A student may file all the other documents and begin the application process before finding a supervising attorney and take the legal internship examination. However, a student cannot be sworn in as a legal intern until the Supervising Attorney Form has been filed and approved by the OBA.

    Enrollment requirement

    1) As part of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s requirements for participation in the Licensed Legal Intern Program, the student is required to enroll in the relevant course, Law 5700 – the No Credit Internship Program. All licensed legal interns must be enrolled in this class at all times prior to graduation, including summer. Failure to enroll will result in license termination.

    Reporting requirement

    1) All Licensed Legal Interns must prepare and submit Monthly Summary Reports until placed on inactive status or graduation. Graduate licenses will remain active after graduation until the first bar examination/swearing in. The graduate intern is still required to obtain the minimum in-court hours each month. The graduate will then be on an honor system with his/her supervisor and not required to report hours to the law school.  

    2) The deadline for the report is the 5th day of the month following the reporting period.

        a) Summary reports require your Supervising Attorney’s signature. If you are unable to obtain his/her signature, submit the report with your signature by the due date and forward a final copy later with your supervisor’s signature.

        b) All reports should be submitted by 4:00 pm on the 5th day of the month following the reporting period. Anyone unable to meet the deadline is required to contact Christy Caves at 918.631.2890 or email at christy-caves@utulsa.edu

        c) Submit the late report as quickly as possible, together with a signed statement explaining the reason(s) why the report is late.

    Inactivating License 

    If a Licensed Intern is unable to obtain the required number of in-court practice hours to maintain compliance with the program rules, the intern is required to suspend the monthly in-court practice requirement by requesting that the license be placed on inactive status with the Oklahoma Bar Association. This will prevent the revocation of the limited license.

    An intern may request his/her license to be placed in inactive status by contacting the Wanda Murray, OBA Legal Intern Coordinator at wandar@okbar.org. A copy of the request and approval should also be sent to lawprofessional-development@utulsa.edu .

    Re-activating License

    If the student can now obtain the required number of in-court practice hours to maintain compliance with the program rules under the previously approved supervising attorney, he/she will need to contact Wanda Murray, OBA Legal Intern Coordinator at wandar@okbar.org and request to be re-activated.

    If the student can now obtain the required number of in court practice hours to maintain compliance with the program rules with a new supervising attorney, the student will need to submit the Change of Supervising Attorney Form along with a $10 check made payable to the Oklahoma Bar Association. The new Supervising Attorney will need to be approved by the Oklahoma Bar Association before the license can be activated.

    Quick Checklist

    The Licensed Legal Intern Program is mandated by Oklahoma Supreme Court statute so please review the requirements and rules carefully. Please contact the Professional Development Office or Christy Caves with any questions.

    1. Review carefully all the requirements and the Rules of the Oklahoma Supreme Court of the State for Licensed Legal Interns.
    2. Register as a law student with the Board of Bar Examiners of Oklahoma Bar Association (approval may take up to 4-6 months).
    3. Submit Form 1 with a $50 check to OBA; if you have a Supervising Attorney submit Form 2 to the OBA; submit copies of both these forms, a copy of your MPRE score, and a University of Tulsa Intern application to the Professional Development office.  All these forms must be submitted two weeks prior to LLI examination date.
    4. Sit for the next LLI Examination; a passing score for Section A and Section B is 70%.
    5. Enroll in Law 5700 - No Credit Internship Program class; must remain enrolled in class at all times prior to graduation.
    6. Wait for approvals from OBA; submit Form 2 for Supervisng Attorney (if you have not done so prior to this time); await Order for Swearing In Ceremony.
    7. After you are Sworn In, you are responsible for reporting your required hours monthly using the Monthly Reporting Summary.