License: ATTORNEY

Judicial Department Board of Law Examiners
401 Church Street, Suite 2200
Nashville, TN 37219-0000
(615) 741-3234

ATTORNEY<br><br> A lawyer prepares legal documents, does courtroom work and acts as advocate, counsel, and negotiator for clients. <br><br>REQUIREMENTS: <br>Be of good moral character and satisfy education and examination requirements. <br><br>EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS: <br>A Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an ABA accredited or Tennessee Board of Law Examiners approved law school. <br><br>EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS:<br> A written examination with two sections: the multi-state (multiple choice) and an essay examination. Administered biannually, February and July. <br><br>CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: <br>Twelve hours of continuing legal education (CLE) plus 3 hours of ethics professionalism CLE must be completed annually. Of this 12 hours, all attorneys must include 5 in classroom hours. There is a cap of 8 hours of distance learning or online hours that can be counted towards compliance each year.<br><br>RECIPROCITY WITH OTHER STATES:<br> An attorney who has been actively engaged in the full time practice of law for five of the last seven years, may waive into Tennessee without taking the Bar examination. <br><br>PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS:<br>A complete list of professional organizations can befound on the Tennessee Bar Association website at: www.tba.or/info/tennessee-legal-organizations

  • Registry
  • Third-party exam required
  • Degree required
  • Continuing education required
  • No criminal record requirements
License information updated 07/19/2022