The Supreme Court of South Carolina

In re: Amendment to Rule 402, SCACR

O R D E R

Pursuant to Article V, § 4, of the South Carolina Constitution, Rule 402(d)(1)(i) and (ii), SCACR, are hereby amended to state as follows:

(i) $700 for applications filed from December 1 to January 10 or from August 1 to August 31.

(ii) $1,050 for applications filed during the remainder of the application periods.

In addition, the second paragraph of Rule 402(d)(1) , SCACR, is hereby amended to state as follows: 

If the applicant has been admitted to practice law for more than one (1) year in another state, the District of Columbia, or another country at the time the application is filed, the applicant shall file one (1) additional copy of the application along with an additional fee of $800.  A portion of this fee will be used to obtain a character report from the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Finally, the fifth paragraph of Rule 402(d)(1), SCACR, is hereby amended to state as follows:

Petitions seeking permission to file a late application are strongly discouraged, and only petitions documenting extraordinary circumstances justifying the late filing will be granted. If a petition for late filing is submitted, the petition must comply with the provisions of Rule 240, SCACR, must contain facts showing that extraordinary circumstances exist, and must be accompanied by a fully completed bar application, along with all required original attachments. Under no circumstances will petitions be accepted for filing after March 15 for the July Bar Examination or November 15 for the February Bar Examination. Unless otherwise directed by the Court, the filing fee for a late application will be $1,500, plus an additional $800 fee if the applicant has been admitted to practice law for more than one (1) year in another state, the District of Columbia, or another country at the time the application is filed. The filing fee is non-refundable and may not be credited to a later examination.

These amendments shall take effect immediately.   

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Columbia, South Carolina
June 8, 2012