Supreme Judicial Court Rules  Section 1: Purpose (Effective August 1, 2026)

To cultivate knowledge and competency in the practice of law and promote public service and access to justice, certain qualified and supervised law students and recent law school graduates may appear without compensation to represent a client as student practitioners before courts and administrative agencies in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Subject to the provisions of this rule and upon being certified by the Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for the county of Suffolk, student practitioners may appear on behalf of the Commonwealth; any subdivision, municipality, or agency of the Commonwealth; indigent criminal defendants; and indigent parties in civil proceedings. Student practitioners must be supervised by an attorney as described in Section 5 of this rule. Rule 3:03 does not require that a law student be certified in order to participate in litigation lawfully conducted by another, when the participation consists of such activities as interviewing parties or witnesses, investigating facts or law, or writing briefs or memoranda.