Members admitted to the West Virginia State Bar are subject to the following requirements:

Newly admitted members are required to complete a mandatory Bridge- the-Gap Program sponsored by the State Bar within twenty-four months after admission to the West Virginia State Bar. The mandatory Bridge-the-Gap Program shall be provided by the State Bar at least twice per year at locations within West Virginia. The Bridge-the-Gap Program will be provided free of charge to newly admitted members. Continuing legal education credit shall be available for completing the mandatory Bridge the-Gap Program.

Please check www.wvbar.org/events for the next scheduled Bridge the Gap Seminar date and location.

Bridge the Gap Exemption Requests

A member required to complete the Bridge-the-Gap Program may, upon application and approval, be exempted from the Bridge the Gap requirement if:

  • the member can certify having been admitted to practice in another jurisdiction for a minimum of five years; or
  • the Commission can certify that the member has completed a comparable mandatory new lawyer training program offered by the state bar
    of another jurisdiction of at least seven credits, including two credits of legal ethics, law office management, attorney well-being, or elimination of bias in the legal profession.

The request for an exemption must be filed no later than twenty-four months after admission to the West Virginia State Bar and no extensions of time are permitted.

If you meet one or both of the conditions above and wish to apply for an exemption from the Bridge the Gap program please click here for the BTG Exemption Request form.

Extension of the Bridge the Gap Requirement
Attorneys admitted to the WV State Bar between May 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020 have been granted a one-year extension of time to complete mandatory the Bridge-the-Gap Program.

This extension is in addition to the one-year extension previously granted by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia to those admitted between July 1, 2018, and April 30, 2019. A determination was made that additional attorneys were adversely affected by the cancellation of the Bridge-the-Gap program scheduled in April 2020 due to COVID.

Click here to see the Order of the Court

Questions?
Contact Samantha Chase at chases@wvbar.org