Joining the D.C. Bar

I am finally a member of the D.C. bar!

It took almost exactly a full year to waive into the District of Columbia bar. I knew what to expect however because almost all of the associate attorneys on my floor have some administrative horror story about the D.C. Committee on Admissions. I was warned that my application would languish if I didn’t constantly pester the Committee (and they were right.)

Waiving into the District of Columbia Bar should be a simple process because I am already licensed in Texas. But the process was surprisingly complicated and seemed to involve fees every step of the way. The Committee wanted school transcripts, my test scores, and a certificate of good standing from the Texas Supreme Court.

Oh, and $418.

I then had to pay $500 to a third-party company to rerun the same background check that Texas already did the year before — the background check entailed me remembering every address since college, character references, and contacting all of my former employers.

And then there’s the waiting — which was the worst part.

After months of radio silence, I start to check-in on my application around December. At the time, the Committee on Admissions wasn’t answering the phone and not responding to emails. Oh, and their mailbox was full.

Months passed, but I keep calling. Eventually, I finally get someone to pick up the phone. They tell me that Committee on Admissions doesn’t have my background check. During another call back to the Committee, another person tells me the real story: the Committee either lost my background check or never downloaded it before the link expired. (They also blamed the government shutdown.)

The person promises to re-request my background check and tells me to call back later. 

So, I check in every few weeks and keep being told variants on the same story — we are working on it, call back later.

Eventually, the Committee on Admissions office stops answering my calls, so I decided to show-up to their office in person (to the horror of the administrators.) The Committee on Admissions is actually run by the D.C. Court of Appeals, which is a 5 minute walk from my office in Chinatown.

Jump-starting my application

So, I show up to the D.C. Court of Appeals building, make it past the rude security guards, and find an Administrator in the Committee on Admissions office.

Admin: “What’s your last name?”

Me: “Jansen.”

Admin *gasps*: “You’re the guy who called today!”

Me: “Yes… But you didn’t pick up the phone.”

Admin: “And you’re the guy who just emailed today!”

Me: “Yes, but you’ll note that email is on a thread of months worth of emails that you never replied to…”

Admin: “… But this takes time.”

Me: “It’s been almost a year.”

Admin: “Oh, it’ll probably be another week or so…”

Me: “Your office told me that last month.”

Admin: “Well, *I* just got assigned your case today and I’ll look into it. You have to give me time.”

Me: “How am I supposed to know you’re working on it if this office doesn’t reply to my emails?”

Admin: “Fine. I’ll process your file in the morning.”

I received my confirmation email the next day informing me that I’ve been approved to join the D.C. bar. There was supplemental paperwork and a 10-day waiting period (that no one at my office knows the purpose of).

Once the Committee on Admissions sent my certification to the D.C. Bar, things moved quickly — I got my license number within a week and now I’m official! The year of pestering (and exorbitant fees) were all worth it. Hopefully I’ll never have to do this process again. 💅