Chapter 5 - Attorneys-at-law
CHAPTER 5 - ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW
33-5-101. State board of law examiners; composition; qualificationsand term of members; vacancies.
Thestate board of law examiners shall consist of five (5) members of the bar of atleast five (5) years standing, who shall be appointed by the supreme court, andshall hold office for the term of three (3) years; provided, that not more thanone (1) member shall be appointed from the same judicial district. In case avacancy shall occur by death, resignation or otherwise, the same shall be filledby appointment by the court for the remainder of the term of the member whoseplace has become vacant. Removal of a member from the district in which heresided when appointed shall be construed as creating a vacancy.
33-5-102. State board of law examiners; date, rules and quorum formeetings; election of officers; examinations to be in writing; supreme court toprescribe rules.
Thestate board of law examiners shall hold at least two (2) regular meetings eachyear for the examination of applicants, at times and places as prescribed byrules of the supreme court. Special meetings may be held as determined by theboard from time to time. At all meetings, a majority of the board constitutes aquorum. The board shall select a chairman and secretary from its membership.All examinations shall be in writing upon questions prepared or approved by theboard. The supreme court shall prescribe rules not inconsistent with this actto carry out the purposes of this act and secure a system of uniformexamination for admission to the bar of this state.
33-5-103. State board of law examiners; compensation; per diem;mileage.
Themembers of the state board of law examiners shall receive as compensation tendollars ($10.00) for each day necessarily employed in attending the meetings ofthe board, and shall also receive per diem and mileage allowance as allowed tostate employees for attending the meetings and performing the duties incumbentupon them as members of the board. The expenses of the board and its members inthe performance of their duties and the compensation of its members shall bepaid out of the state treasury upon an itemized voucher duly verified andaccompanied by a certificate signed by a majority of the members of the boardshowing that the expense has been actually and properly incurred in theperformance of the duties devolving upon the board, or that the compensationhas been duly earned, as the case may be. Upon the presentation of the voucherand certificate, the auditor shall draw his warrant upon the treasurer for theamount thereof in favor of the proper person. However, the aggregateexpenditures and salaries of the state board of law examiners shall not exceedthe amount of revenue collected by the board.
33-5-104. Applications for admission to bar; generally.
Allapplications for admission to the bar of this state shall be made by petitionto the supreme court. The same shall be referred to the state board of lawexaminers, who shall examine the applicant vouching his qualification for admissionto the bar. The said board shall report its proceedings in the examination ofapplicants to the supreme court with their recommendation in the premises. Ifthe court shall then find the applicant to be qualified to discharge the dutiesof an attorney and to be of good moral character, and worthy to be admitted, anorder shall be entered admitting him to practice in all the courts of thisstate.
33-5-105. Applications for admission to bar; qualifications ofapplicants.
Noone shall be admitted to the bar of this state who shall not be an adultcitizen of the United States and a person of good moral character. No one shallbe examined unless he shall give satisfactory evidence of having studied law atleast three (3) years in a law school approved by the state board of lawexaminers, or shall give satisfactory evidence of having attended a law schoolas herein provided for a period of at least one (1) year, and in additionthereto shall have studied law at least two (2) years in the office of a memberof the bar, or one (1) of the judges of this state, or shall give satisfactoryevidence of having attended a law school as herein provided for a period of two(2) years, and in addition thereto shall have studied law at least one (1) yearin the office of a member of the bar, or one (1) of the judges of this state.Said study must have been actually and not constructively commenced andcontinued.
33-5-106. Applications for admission to bar; fees; applicant entitledto two examinations; certificate of admission; disposition of fees.
Everyapplicant for admission to the bar of this state shall pay a fee as set by theWyoming supreme court pursuant to W.S. 33-1-201 at the time of filing theapplication. On payment of one (1) fee by applicants for admission byexamination the applicant shall be entitled to two (2) examinations when thesecond is applied for not later than one (1) year after having taken the first.The payment of the fee shall also entitle the applicant, upon being admitted,to a certificate of admission. All money shall be received and collected asprovided by law. The state treasurer shall place the money to the credit of aseparate account.
33-5-107. Applications for admission to bar; fraudulent applicationcause for revocation.
Anyfraudulent act or presentation by an applicant in connection with hisapplication, or examination, shall be sufficient cause for the revocation ofthe order admitting him to practice.
33-5-108. Bar examinations; place; examinations out of presence of board.
Theexamination of any applicant shall be conducted pursuant to rules of thesupreme court, upon written questions prepared or approved by the board, in thepresence of one (1) or more examiners, the district judge or some otherdiscreet and competent person selected by the board or a majority of itsmembers. The questions and answers shall be returned to the board by the personconducting the examination and the board shall report thereon as in othercases.
33-5-109. Bar examinations; no assistance or advice permitted.
Atany examination of applicants for admission to the bar, it shall be unlawful topermit the person being examined to receive, during the examination and afterthe questions have been submitted to him, any assistance or advice from anyother person or persons, book or memorandum.
33-5-110. Admission of foreign attorneys.
Anyperson who may have been admitted to practice as an attorney in the highestcourt of any other state or territory, and who shall have been engaged inpractice therein may, in the discretion of the supreme court, be admitted topractice in the courts of this state without an examination, upon presentationof his certificate of such admission, and upon showing to the satisfaction ofthe court that he is still in good standing as an attorney in the courts ofsuch other state or territory, and that he is a person of good moral character.The court may adopt rules for the proof of such qualifications.
33-5-111. Foreign attorneys admitted without examination to trypending case.
Membersof the bar of any other state, district or territory of the United States, whomay be employed as counsel in any case pending before any of the courts of thisstate, may be admitted for all the purposes of the case in which they are soemployed, by the court before which said case is pending, without examination.
33-5-112. Oath of attorney; attorney not to be surety on official orjudicial bond.
Noperson shall be deemed admitted to the bar until he shall have taken an oath tothe effect that he will support, obey, and defend the constitution of theUnited States, and the constitution and laws of this state, and that he willfaithfully and honestly and to the best of his ability discharge the duties ofan attorney and counselor-at-law. The said oath may be administered by theclerk, or one (1) of the justices of the supreme court, in or out of court, orby a district judge in his district, or the clerk of court in his county; andwhen not taken in the supreme court in open session the same shall be reducedto writing, signed by the person taking, and certified to by the officeradministering the same and filed in the office of the clerk of the supremecourt. If taken in open court the journal shall show that fact. No practicing attorneyshall be taken on any official bond, or bond in any legal proceeding in thedistrict in which he may reside.
33-5-113. Disbarment or power of courts to punish not affected.
(a) Nothing in this act contained shall be construed to deprivethe courts of this state, or any of them, of the power as at present existing,of disbarring or otherwise punishing members of the bar.
(b) Upon receipt from the department of family services of acertified copy of an order from a court to withhold, suspend or otherwiserestrict a license to practice law for failure to pay child support, theWyoming state bar shall notify the party named in the court order of thewithholding, suspension or restriction of the license in accordance with theterms of the court order. The order shall be forwarded to the Wyoming supremecourt for final action. No appeal under the Wyoming Administrative ProcedureAct shall be allowed for a license withheld, suspended or restricted under thissubsection.
33-5-114. Penalty for deceit or collusion.
Anattorney and counselor who is guilty of deceit or collusion, or consentsthereto, with intent to deceive a court or judge, or a party to an action orproceeding, or brings suit or commences proceedings without authority therefor,is liable to be disbarred, and shall forfeit to the injured party trebledamages, to be recovered in a civil action.
33-5-115. Attorney may be required to show authority.
Thecourt may, on motion of either party, and on the showing of reasonable groundstherefor, require the attorney for the adverse party, or for any one (1) ofseveral adverse parties, to produce or prove, by his own oath or otherwise, theauthority under which he appears, and until he does so, may stay allproceedings by him, on behalf of the parties for whom he assumes to appear.
33-5-116. Payment of annual license fee; fiscal year of state bar.
(a) All members of the state bar shall by the second week ofOctober pay to the treasurer of the state bar, as a license fee for the ensuingyear, an amount to be established by the board of commissioners of the Wyomingstate bar pursuant to W.S. 33-1-201. Honorary and retired members may beexempted completely from the payment of any fees or allowed to pay less thanthe regular license fee in the discretion of the board of commissioners. Feesshall constitute a fund to be held and disbursed by the treasurer upon order ofthe board.
(b) The fiscal year of the state bar shall be from October 1through September 30.
33-5-117. Unauthorized practice.
Itshall be unlawful, and punishable as contempt of court, for any person not amember of the Wyoming state bar to hold himself out or advertise by whatsoevermeans as an attorney or counselor-at-law.