(A) The Supreme Court shall appoint a commission composed of six lawyers who are members of the Nebraska State Bar Association to make recommendations to the Court regarding applicants for admission to practice law in the State of Nebraska. One commissioner is selected from each Supreme Court judicial district. Each commissioner is appointed for a term of 6 years. Each commissioner may serve two full terms. In the event of a vacancy, the Supreme Court may appoint a commissioner to fill any unexpired term. A commissioner from each Supreme Court judicial district shall be appointed every 6 years beginning with the following schedule:

A Commissioner appointed to fill a vacancy is not precluded from serving two additional full terms.

   (B) The Commission so appointed will, following application for admission by motion, or following an application for admission by examination, examine proofs for qualification filed in accordance with these rules and may direct the director of admissions to make further investigation as to the qualifications of any applicant as it deems necessary. The Commission shall make the final recommendation to the Supreme Court as to admission. The Commission will examine examination applicants upon the subjects selected by the NCBE for the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), and the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). The method of conducting the examinations shall be determined by the Commission in its discretion, consistent with the procedures established by the NCBE. The purpose of the examination will be to determine whether an individual examination applicant is qualified and competent to be permitted to practice law in the State of Nebraska. The scores for passing the examination will be established by the Supreme Court.

   (C) The Supreme Court will select one of the Commission members as chair, who shall preside at meetings of the Commission and who shall be entitled to vote on any matter before the Commission. The Commission may select a vice-chair to preside at the meetings in the absence of the chair.

   (D) Commissioners may recuse themselves for any conflict of interest involving an applicant. Commissioners shall inform the chair and the director of the existence of any conflict of interest.

   (E) Each member of the Commission is authorized to administer oaths in any proceeding before the Commission on matters relative thereto and has the power in such matters to subpoena witnesses, to subpoena documents, and to take depositions.

   (F) The Commission may employ counsel in connection with any matter pertaining to an applicant and, as provided herein, may employ consultants who may provide the Commission with advice on matters involving specialized knowledge bearing on an applicant.

Rule 2 amended December 29, 1993; effective March 1, 1994. Renumbered and codified as § 3-102, effective July 18, 2008; § 3-102 amended July 25, 2013, effective August 1, 2013; § 3-102(A) and (B) amended February 12, 2020.