CALL TO ACTION!

The Virginia State Bar and Supreme Court are considering MSJDN’s petition to change the Commonwealth’s military spouse attorney admission rule to remove the supervision requirement.

Please take a moment to email your support for this change to publiccomment@vsb.org by May 17th – whether you live in Virginia, are licensed in Virginia, or there’s any chance you and your family may be stationed there some day, it’s important to speak up and show your support for this common-sense change that will allow military spouse attorneys to work, volunteer, and thrive when stationed in Virginia. Additional details from the bar on submitting a comment are available here.

MSJDN has collected input from our members over the five years that the Virginia rule has been in effect; these comments reflect the unwieldy implications of a supervision requirement:

• “I couldn’t find a sponsor.”
• “The provisional license available…is too restrictive to be of use to a litigator.”
• “[The] rule requires supervision. From speaking with other attorneys, that makes the rule unmanageable and impractical to justify the expense of obtaining it.”
• “[The] milspouse provisional admission is great, but difficult for litigators because it requires a sponsor when in court.”
• “[The] rule requires supervision by another attorney, which would have made my litigation job search impossible.”

How can you help?

Submit a comment to the Virginia State Bar by May 17th to let them know that you support the amendment to remove the supervision requirement. Here’s how:

• • via e-mail to publiccomment@vsb.org

Attorneys and the public can submit a comment, but if you are…

• Barred in Virginia: Please include your status as a member of the State Bar along with your support for adoption of the amendment.
• Living in Virginia as a military spouse attorney: Share your story as a military spouse attorney and how this rule change would help you.
• Practicing elsewhere on a military spouse attorney license: If you are practicing on a military spouse license without supervision, please share how the rule has helped you.

You can also share this story with your network using the buttons below and ask them to submit a comment in support of removing the supervision requirement.