Trial Experiences
Although subject to some exceptions, an attorney admitted to practice law in South Carolina may not appear alone as counsel in any hearing, trial, or deposition in a case pending before a court of this state until (1) the attorney completes the trial experiences required under Rule 403 of the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules (SCACR), (2) the attorney files a certificate or affidavit of completion with the Supreme Court, along with a $50 filing fee, and (3) the Supreme Court notifies the attorney that the trial experiences have been approved. A link to Rule 403, SCACR, and a link to the certificate that must be submitted to the Office of Bar Admissions appear below.
Please note that the trial experiences required under Rule 403(b)(2) and (3) may be satisfied by viewing videos available on the South Carolina Bar's website at https://www.scbar.org/cle-resources/quicklinks/rule-403-videos/. If you do not have an account with the SC Bar please email cosinfo@scbar.org. If you previously had an account as a Candidate under the South Carolina Course of Study and you are not sworn in, you should use the same log in information to access the Rule 403 Trial Experience videos. Please note that it may take up to 48 hours after registration for the videos to be viewable.
Please note that you will be unable to print the required certificate of completion yourself. Once you have completed the videos, send an email to cosinfo@scbar.org to request the certificates of completion.
Any questions relating to the videos should be directed to the South Carolina Bar at cosinfo@scbar.org.
You will file your completed Certificate at the Supreme Court, Office of Bar Admissions. The Certificate must be completed, the Certification by Attorney section must be completed and signed, and certificates of completion from the SC Bar videos must be attached, along with the $50 filing fee. Certificates submitted from applicants who have not been sworn into the South Carolina Bar will not be accepted. If your trial experiences are approved, your Rule 403 Certification will be displayed in the Attorney Information System (AIS) on the Certifications tab, and you will receive a certificate by mail.