Rule
Rule 56, Supreme Court Rules
Eligible students:
3rd year student at an accredited law school, certified by Dean, may not accept compensation
from client.
Eligible law offices; required supervision:
Attorney General, Public defender, legal aid program “sponsored, approved, or recognized” by
the State Board of Bar Examiners, and Child Advocate.
Supervisor must be counsel of record, must be personally present in Family court or Court of
Common Pleas unless presence is waived by Court. Supervisor witnesses consent forms,
prepares student, and takes professional responsibility.
Permitted scope of practice:
Family, civil, and criminal courts, justices of the peace, Human Relations Commission, in
proceedings listed specifically in the Rule (no appellate)
Approval process:
The approval of a student must be initiated by the agency, not the student.
To be certified for student practice, Form II (from the law school) and Form III (from the
student) must be submitted to the court by Widener faculty . For each case in which a student
will appear in court, proof of consent by the client is submitted to the trial judge using Form I,
which is signed by the client and by the supervising attorney. These forms are appended to the
Rule.
Clinical faculty from Widener Law School advise as follows:
“The Dean of the Law School must certify the students and I must sign their Supreme Court
Oath. They must be admitted to the limited practice of law by a Justice of the Delaware Supreme
Court, and may not practice until the Justice (in person) administers the oath. I must move their
admission as a member of the Delaware Bar (only a Delaware attorney may move the admission
of the student). This requirement may not be accomplished by paperwork alone and must be
done in open court before a Justice of the highest court in the State of Delaware.”
For further information, contact Prof. Dana Harrington Conner
dlharringtonconner@widener.edu [dlharringtonconner@widener.edu]
_______________________________________________________________________
The text of the Rule and all forms may be viewed and downloaded from
http://courts.delaware.gov/Rules/?supremerules.pdf