The Supreme Court of South Carolina

RE: Amendments to South Carolina Appellate Court Rules

O R D E R

Pursuant to Article V, 4, of the South Carolina Constitution, the following amendments are made to the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules:

(1)  Rule 402(n), SCACR, is amended to read as follows:

(n)  Confidentiality.

(1)  The files and records maintained by the Board of Law Examiners, the Committee on Character and Fitness, and the Clerk of the Supreme Court relating to Bar applications, Examinations, and admissions shall be confidential, and shall not be disclosed except as necessary for the Board, the Committee or the Clerk to carry out their responsibilities. The Board of Law Examiners, the Committee on Character and Fitness, and the Clerk may disclose information to the National Conference of Bar Examiners and to the bar admission authorities in other jurisdictions, and may disclose the names of those persons who have passed the Bar Examination or those who are or will be admitted and the date of their admission. The Supreme Court may authorize the release of confidential information to other persons or agencies.

(2) Notwithstanding the above, beginning with the results of the February 2011 Bar Examination, the Clerk may release the following information to law schools regarding applicants taking the South Carolina Bar Examination who are graduates of that law school: the names of the applicants who took the Examination and whether they passed or failed the Examination, the number of times each applicant has taken the South Carolina Bar Examination, the Law School Admission Council number for each applicant, and the overall pass rate of the applicants on each section of the Bar Examination. Any information released to law schools pursuant to this rule shall be kept confidential by the law school, shall only be used for statistical analysis, and shall only be released for purposes of reporting aggregated information to accrediting bodies. Each law school requesting the release of the above information shall, on a form approved by the Supreme Court, agree to comply with the confidentiality and use restrictions placed on this information.

(2) The phrase "Rule 402(i)" in Rules 405(k), 414(h), and 415(h), SCACR, is replaced with the phrase "Rule 402(n), SCACR."

(3) Rule 424, SCACR, is amended by adding the following:

(j) Confidentiality. The files and records maintained by the Clerk relating to the licensing of foreign legal consultants shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed except as necessary by the Clerk to carry out his or her responsibilities. The Clerk may disclose information to the National Conference of Bar Examiners and to the bar admission authorities in other jurisdictions, and may disclose the names of those persons who are licensed as foreign legal consultants and date of their licensing. The Supreme Court may authorize the release of confidential information to other persons or agencies.

These amendments shall take effect immediately.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Columbia, South Carolina
December 3, 2010