Faced with the national crisis presented by the coronavirus, courts and bar admissions officials are debating how to protect the public through lawyer licensing, while balancing the critical need for access to justice and the concerns of law graduates waiting to take a bar exam that may be delayed due to public health issues.  Some commentators have argued for diploma privilege, under which new graduates would become lawyers without ever taking a bar exam at all.

The Wyoming State Bar today announced that 26 people have been recommended for admission to practice law in Wyoming.

In response to the uncertainty surrounding the July Bar exam and at the request of the Wyoming State Bar, the Board of Law Examiners and the Character and Fitness Committee, the Wyoming Supreme Court has issued an emergency rule (Rule 203) to allow applicants to the Bar to practice law in Wyoming while their admission is pending.

The Wyoming Supreme Court has suspended three lawyers from the practice of law in Wyoming for failing to comply with the Rules of the Wyoming Supreme Court for Continuing Legal Education.

Wyoming Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael K. Davis, who acts as Chairman of the Judicial Nominating Commission, announced today that Circuit Court Judge Robert A. Castor, Second Judicial District, will be retiring effective July 3, 2020.

By now, everyone should be familiar with the basic protective steps for COVID-19 defined by health authorities. However, the spread of the coronavirus has caused massive disruption and created a potential minefield for Wyoming lawyers, who retain all their ethical duties under the Rules of Professional Conduct.

The Wyoming Supreme Court has issued an order enjoining Freedom resident, Clyde Wallace Stock, from engaging in the unauthorized practice of law.