Court Of Appeal Rules 2018

[Denisha Padley]

b) Saving Clause. Those provisions of the rules of the Court of Appeals for the admission of attorneys and counselors at law that prescribe the qualifications for admission to the New York State bar examination, which were in effect at the time an applicant for admission commenced the study of law, to the extent that the application thereof was or would have been less restrictive or burdensome, shall determine the applicant's eligibility for admission to such examination.

(a) Application to sit for the New York State bar examination. An applicant who seeks to sit for the New York State bar examination prescribed in section 520.8 of this Part shall furnish to the New York State Board of Law Examiners, in accordance with its rules, proof satisfactory to said board:

(b) Transfer of Uniform Bar Examination Score Earned in Another Jurisdiction. Effective October 1, 2016, an applicant who sat for the Uniform Bar Examination in another jurisdiction may transfer the score earned on that examination to New York in lieu of taking the Uniform Bar Examination in this State. The applicant shall pay to the New York State Board of Law Examiners the fee prescribed by section 465 of the Judiciary Law and shall file with the Board, in accordance with its rules, proof satisfactory to said Board that the applicant:

(2) the applicant attended and successfully completed the prescribed course of instruction required for a first degree in law at an approved law school, but has not been awarded the degree as of the date proof of eligibility to sit for the bar examination is required to be filed with the State Board of Law Examiners. The State Board of Law Examiners shall not certify the applicant for admission to the bar pursuant to section 520.7(a) of this Part until the applicant has presented satisfactory proof that the applicant has been awarded a first degree in law; or

(c) The academic program, calendar and instructional requirements contained in the American Bar Association Standards and Rules of Procedure for the Approval of Law Schools shall apply with the exception of distance education provisions, which are as follows:

(1) Distance education course. A distance education course is a course in which students are separated from all faculty members for more than one-third of the course instruction and the instruction involves the use of technology to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and all the faculty members, either synchronously or asynchronously; and

(e) Credit for law study in foreign country. An approved law school may, in its discretion, grant such credit as it may deem appropriate toward the total credits required for a first degree in law, but not exceeding one-third of the total credits required for the degree, to an applicant who has studied law in a law school in a foreign country. No such credit shall be allowed for law study in a foreign country that was undertaken in a distance education course as defined in paragraph (c)(1) of this section, nor shall any credit be allowed for correspondence courses.

(2) the applicant successfully completed the prescribed requirements of the first year of full-time study in a first degree in law program at an approved law school as defined in section 520.3(b) of this Part, whether attending full-time or part-time, earning a minimum of 28 credit hours (the threshold period);

(5) the applicant thereafter studied law in a law office or offices located within New York State, under the supervision of one or more attorneys admitted to practice law in New York State, for such a period of time as, together with the credit permitted pursuant to this section for attendance in an approved law school, shall aggregate four years.

(b) Employment and instruction requirements. An applicant studying law in a law office or offices within New York State must be actually and continuously employed during the required period as a regular law clerk and student in a law office, under the direction and subject to the supervision of one or more attorneys admitted to practice law in New York State, and must be actually engaged in the practical work of such law office during normal business hours. In addition, the applicant must receive instruction from the supervising attorney or attorneys in those subjects that are customarily taught in approved law schools.

(c) Credit for attendance in approved law school. Credit shall be allowed toward the required four years of combined law school and law office study in accordance with subdivision (a) of this section as follows:

(2) following the threshold period, two weeks of credit shall be allowed for every additional successfully completed credit hour at an approved law school, but only if at the conclusion of the semester in which the credits were earned the applicant was in good academic standing, was not on academic probation and was eligible to continue in the school's degree program.

(d) Vacations. Vacations taken by the applicant in excess of one month in any year of law office study shall be deducted from the period of law office study for which credit shall be given, but if the applicant does not take a vacation there will not be an adjustment in the period of study required by this section.

(e) Certificate of commencement of law office study. It shall be the duty of the attorney or attorneys with whom a period of law office study is about to be commenced to obtain from, complete and file with, the Clerk of the Court of Appeals a certificate of commencement of clerkship, Appendix B-2, infra. At the time the certificate of commencement of clerkship is filed, the applicant shall provide the Court of Appeals with a copy of the determination of the State Board of Law Examiners of the credit to which the applicant is entitled under subdivision (c) of this section.

(f) Credit for law study in law office. Credit shall be given only for study in a law office or offices engaged in after the successful completion of the threshold period of law school study and after the filing of the certificate required by subdivision (e) of this section.

(a) General. An applicant who has studied law in any law school in any other state or territory of the United States or in the District of Columbia, other than an approved law school as defined in section 520.3(b) of this Part, and has received a degree from such law school that qualifies the applicant to practice law in such state, territory or in the District of Columbia, may qualify to take the New York State bar examination by submitting to the New York State Board of Law Examiners satisfactory proof that:

(2) the applicant's course of study complies with the instructional requirements of section 520.3(c) through (e) of this Part and with the curriculum, academic program and academic calendar requirements for an approved law school; and

(3) while admitted to the bar in the highest court in any state or territory of the United States or in the District of Columbia, the applicant has actually practiced therein for at least five years of the seven years immediately preceding the application to sit for the bar examination.

(a) General. An applicant who has studied in a foreign country may qualify to take the New York State bar examination by submitting to the New York State Board of Law Examiners satisfactory proof of the legal education required by this section.

(1) The applicant shall show fulfillment of the educational requirements for admission to the practice of law in a country other than the United States by successful completion of a period of law study in a law school or schools each of which, throughout the period of the applicant's study therein, was approved by the government or an authorized accrediting body in such country, or of a political subdivision thereof, to award a first degree in law, and satisfaction of the following requirements:

(i) (a) Durational requirements. The program and course of law study successfully completed by the applicant was substantially equivalent in duration to the legal education provided by an American Bar Association approved law school in the United States, and in substantial compliance with the following requirements: 83 credit hours must be required for graduation, 64 of which must be earned by attendance in regularly scheduled classroom courses at the law school, a minimum of 700 minutes in instruction time, exclusive of examination time, must be required for the granting of one credit hour, and no credit shall be allowed for correspondence courses, on-line courses, courses offered on DVD or other media, or distance education courses; and

(b) Substantive requirements. Such other country is one whose jurisprudence is based upon the principles of English Common Law, and that the program and course of law study successfully completed by the applicant were the substantial equivalent of the legal education provided by an American Bar Association approved law school in the United States.

(a) Durational deficiency. If the applicant does not meet the durational requirements of clause (i)(a) of this paragraph, the applicant may cure the deficiency by providing satisfactory proof that the applicant has at least two years of foreign legal education that meets the substantive requirements of clause (i)(b) of this paragraph and that the applicant has graduated from an LL.M. degree program at an American Bar Association approved law school in the United States meeting the requirements of paragraph (3) of this subdivision.

(b) Substantive deficiency. If the applicant does not meet the substantive requirements of clause (i)(b) of this paragraph, the applicant may cure the deficiency by providing satisfactory proof that the applicant meets the durational requirements of clause (i)(a) of this paragraph and that the applicant has graduated from an LL.M. degree program at an American Bar Association approved law school in the United States meeting the requirements of paragraph (3) of this subdivision.

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