Montana Cases February 08, 2022: In re Pierson

Case Description

1

ORDER

Joshua T. Pierson has petitioned for 1) waiver of the three-year test requirement for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), and 2) temporary admission to the State Bar of Montana pending Pierson's taking of the July 2022 Montana Bar Exam.

By rule, applicants for admission upon examination must provide evidence of the requisite score on a Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) taken within three years of sitting for the Montana bar exam. Rule VILA., Rules of Admission. According to the petition, Pierson passed the MPRE in 2017, has remained an active attorney in good standing in Virginia and the District of Columbia, and *'at no time has Petitioner faced any disciplinary or ethical issues." Pierson has established good cause for waiver.

We have granted temporary or provisional admission to qualified applicants pending their passage of the bar exam. As we explained in Petition of Gosch, "[temporary admission until sitting for the bar exam may be appropriate in circumstances where a candidate does not qualify for admission on motion or for transfer of a UBE score." Petition of Gosch, 07-0303, March 7, 2016. As Pierson notes, we have granted temporary admission in similar circumstances. In the Matter of the Temporary Admission to Practice of Dale Schowengerdt, 07-0303, October 29, 2014; In re the Petition of Alwyn T. Lansing, 06-0422, October 5, 2021. The petition states that Pierson will work under the direct supervision of the Solicitor General during the pendency of his temporary admission. Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that the request for waiver of the three-year test requirement for submission of a prior MPRE score in conjunction with Petitioner's admission by examination is GRANTED.

2

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the request for temporary admission to the State Bar of Montana pending Petitioner's taking of the bar exam in July 2022 is GRANTED. The Clerk of this Court will administer the usual oath and issue a temporary certificate granting Petitioner permission to practice law. This admission applies only while Petitioner is employed with the Office of the Attorney General, which shall notify the Court if Petitioner ceases to be employed by that office.

The Clerk is directed to provide copies of this order to Petitioner and to the State Bar of Montana.