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Governors propose revising Law Day oath; chief counsel warns court rule process required
Summary
Governors discussed revising the oath recited at Law Day ceremonies. Chief Garcia warned that the oath is a pre-admission requirement under Admission and Practice Rule 5 and any change would require a court rule amendment through the GR 9 process; governors agreed to coordinate on timing and alternative-pathway submissions.
Governor Dresden raised concerns about the wording and length of the oath used during Law Day ceremonies and suggested the oath “could use some work.”
“Perhaps we could work on that,” Dresden said, adding that the phrasing felt “overlong” and “a little bit clunky.” President Angebel and other governors responded positively and indicated interest in developing revised wording for future ceremonies.
Chief Garcia cautioned that the oath is part of the pre-admission requirements set by Admission and Practice Rule 5 and that changing the oath would require a proposed amendment to the court under the GR 9 process. “The oath is part of the pre admission requirement for the bar, and it's set by admission and practice rule 5, which means this change would require a proposed amendment to the court under the GR 9 process,” Garcia said, and asked that proponents coordinate with the admission office to ensure limited-practice officers are not left out of any change.
Why it matters: altering the oath used at admission ceremonies involves more than ceremonial text; it intersects with court-adopted rules governing admission and practice. Chief Garcia also asked for coordination with staff working on “alternative pathways” to the bar to avoid sending multiple, uncoordinated proposals to the court, noting a planned submission in October.
Discussion versus direction: governors expressed support for drafting a revised oath and for coordination with court rule processes, but the roundtable produced no formal motion or vote to amend rules. Chief Garcia requested coordination with her team on timing for any proposals to the court.
Ending: governors expressed intent to work toward a revised oath for a future Law Day, with staff coordination requested to align any rule amendments and alternative-pathway changes before submitting proposals to the court.
