If you would like a Third-Year Practice Certificate for Virginia (or other jurisdictions), please file a request with the Student Records Office (SRO). The request form is available on LawWeb and must be printed and hand-submitted to SRO (or emailed in PDF format to studentrecords@law.virginia.edu).
To obtain a certificate from the Virginia Bar pursuant to Rule 15 (here), you must have completed at least four semesters of law school, and successfully completed the following courses:
- Civil Procedure (LAW 6000)
- Criminal Law (LAW 6003)
- Evidence (LAW 6104)
- Professional Responsibilty (LAW 7071 or 7072)
If you are a 2L and will need your practice certificate for a summer job in between your 2L and 3L year, SRO cannot request a certificate until we can confirm the satisfactory completion of the prerequisites above. So, please submit your Third-Year Practice Certificate request by April 15 so that SRO can obtain a preliminary grade (i.e. to confirm at least a passing grade) from your instructors, thereby allowing SRO to make the request to the Virginia Bar during the 3rd week of May. Otherwise, SRO must wait until the final grading deadline (in early June) to be able to confirm a rising 3L's satisfation of the prerequisites.
RISING 3Ls
in June, after final grades have been submitted, SRO makes a request to the VA Bar to obtain a 3L practice certificate for all rising 3Ls who have satisfied the prerequisites above. SRO typically receives the certificates from the VA Bar by early-to-mid August.
SPRING CLINIC PARTICIPANTS
3Ls who enroll in clinics for just the spring term and who need a 3L practice certificate should contact SRO to initiate the process for obtaining a 3L Practice Certificate from the Virginia Bar.
