Employer Requirements and Qualifications

To participate in the SPPE program, employers must:

• Be a law firm, solo practitioner, business entity, non-profit organization or government agency that regularly operates in Oregon
• Employ the Provisional Licensee for at least 20 hours of legal work per week
• At minimum, pay the Provisional Licensee the same salary and benefits as other recent law school graduates (there is a limited exemption if the Provisional Licensee has a grant or stipend, or provides pro-bono services)
• Employ an attorney who is qualified and willing to serve as a supervising attorney
• Provide Professional Liability Coverage for the Provisional Licensee, or obtain a waiver
• Provide the Provisional Licensee with the workspace, tools and technology to accomplish assigned tasks
• Include Provisional Licensees in any training or educational activities provided to other new lawyers, and compensate the licensee for that time to the same extent as other new lawyers
• Arrange the Provisional Licensee's schedule and workload to allow them to complete portions of the program that do not benefit the employer directly
• Provide reasonable accommodations for Provisional Licensees who live with disabilities

Supervising Attorneys Requirements and Qualifications

Supervising attorneys must:

• Supervise the Provisional Licensee's work (supervising attorneys may delegate supervisory responsibility to other attorneys in their organization who are active members of the Oregon State Bar and qualified to provide adequate supervision)
• Be an active member of the Oregon State Bar, including in the two years leading up to their application to the SPPE program, and have been an active member of a bar for at least three of the five years preceding the application, unless they are a federal judge, magistrate, or bankruptcy judge whose primary chambers are in Oregon
• Have no record of public discipline in any jurisdiction, or obtain a waiver
• Have the same employer as the Provisional Licensee
• Not be an immediate family member of their Provisional Licensee
• Watch video training modules explaining the SPPE program
• Watch or attend at least two hours of training on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion that may arise in the SPPE program
• Supervise the Provisional Licensee's schedule and workload to give them sufficient time to complete program requirements
• Accommodate the Provisional Licensee's reasonable requests for work that will help them complete the program or otherwise develop their professional skills
• Complete the short templates required for submission of the Provisional Licensee's portfolio materials
• Provide regular feedback that will help the Provisional Licensee develop their skills and better serve clients

SPPE Application and Qualifications

SPPE applicants will receive an email linking to their application after their supervising attorney and employer applications are processed. An initial fee of $1,000 is due with the SPPE application. To qualify for the program, an applicant must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Secure a commitment of employment from a qualified employer and supervising attorney
• By the end of the SPPE program, complete law school courses in Business Associations, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contract Law, Criminal Law or Investigatory Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Torts, and Real Property

And meet one of the following educational requirements:

• Hold a JD or LLB degree from an ABA-accredited law school
• Hold a JD or LLB degree from a non-ABA accredited law school in the United States, and:
  • Be admitted to practice before the highest tribunal of another state, the District of Columbia, or a federal territory where the requirements for admission are substantially equivalent to Oregon's requirements
  • Practice in that jurisdiction for at least three of the five years immediately preceding application for the program
• Hold a JD-equivalent degree from a law school in a foreign jurisdiction and be able to show that:
  • The requirements for admission to practice law in Oregon and in the jurisdiction where you were educated are substantially similar;
  • Applicant is admitted to practice law in a jurisdiction where English Common Law is the basis of jurisprudence, or have been admitted to practice law in any U.S. jurisdiction after passing a U.S. bar exam
  • Applicant graduated from a law school that is equivalent to an ABA-accredited law school

Applying for a Certificate of Eligibility

The certificate of eligibility confirms that you qualify for the SPPE program, but does not grant you a provisional license to practice law. To issue a certificate of eligibility, the admission department needs:

• A copy of the applicant's graduation certificate from their law school registrar. If you graduated from a U.S. non-ABA accredited law school, you must also submit proof of licensure in another jurisdiction. If you graduated from a foreign law school, you must also submit proof of licensure in another jurisdiction and proof of degree equivalency.
• A completed character and fitness form and any additional information requested by admissions during the character and fitness review

Applying for a Provisional License

After receiving a certificate of eligibility, applicants will need to complete the following steps before receiving a Provisional License:

• Notify the admissions department that the applicant has established PLF coverage or exemption status. After an applicant is issued a certificate of eligibility, the admissions department will notify PLF, which will contact the applicant and their employer within 48 hours with instructions on how to establish coverage or exemption status
• Complete a verification of employment form
• Complete a verification of a supervising attorney form
• Sign an oath of a Provisional Licensee, which will be uploaded to the Application Portal under “Admission Documents”

Halfway Portfolio Requirements

Applicants can submit halfway portfolio requirements at any time before completing 350 hours of program work. However, after an applicant has logged at least 350 hours of program work, they must submit to your application portal:

• An up-to-date learning plan
• Any timesheets not yet submitted and an updated cover sheet
• Any completed evidence of competence in professional responsibility
• Any completed log of diversity, equity, inclusion or access to justice activities
• At least three pieces of written work product, documentation of client interactions, and/or documentation of negotiations.

Program Requirements

To complete the SPPE, applicants must submit:

• Eight written work products
• Two client interaction sessions
• Two negotiations
• A passing Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination score or the professional responsibility journaling alternative
• Up to four hours of SPPE training videos
• 15 hours of MCLE practice overviews
• 10 hours of activities related to diversity, equity, inclusion and access to justice
• 675 hours of work toward the program, recorded in monthly timesheets
• A learning plan

Applicants are encouraged to submit completed materials to the application portal on a rolling basis as they work through the program. Applicants must earn a “qualified” score from BBX on work products, client interactions and negotiations. If an applicant’s work product is found not qualified they can submit additional work product until meeting each requirement.