new york

bar admission administrative agency:

new york state supreme court
appellate division
second department
45 monroe place
brooklyn, ny 11201
tel: 718/875-1300
website: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/ad2/

new york state supreme court
appellate division
third department
p.o. box 7288
capitol station
albany, ny 12224-0288
tel: 518/473-8729
fax: 518/402-2066
e-mail: ad3admissionsoffice@courts.state.ny.us
website: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/ad3/

new york state supreme court
appellate division
fourth department
m. dolores denman courthouse
50 east avenue
rochester, ny 14604
tel: 716/530-3100
website: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/ad4/

bar admission options:

without bar examination
1. attorney applicants: in its discretion, the appellate division (see contact information above) may admit to practice without examination an applicant who meets the other state bar requirements (see below) and who has been admitted to practice before the highest court of any u.s. jurisdiction, provided that:
a) the attorney is over 26 years of age;
b) the attorney is a graduate of a law school approved by the aba;
c) at least one jurisdiction in which the attorney is admitted would similarly admit an attorney admitted to practice in new york to its bar without examination (new york state has reciprocity with the following states: alaska, colorado, district of columbia, georgia, illinois, indiana, iowa, kentucky, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, nebraska, new hampshire, north carolina, north dakota, ohio, oklahoma, pennsylvania, tennessee, texas, utah, virginia, washington, west virginia, wisconsin, and wyoming.); and
d) the attorney has actually practiced for at least five of the seven years immediately preceding the application. actual practice may include:
(1) legal services provided while in federal military or civilian service;
(2) legal services to any corporation;
(3) full-time teaching in a law school approved by the aba for a period of at least five years immediately preceding the application, and attainment of the rank of professor or associate professor;
(4) employment as a judge, magistrate, referee or similar official for the federal, state, or local government in a tribunal of record, or as a law clerk to such judicial official; or
(5) in a combination or cumulation of service among the above categories of practice or legal service where the appellate division has determined that such five years of combined or cumulative service is the equivalent of the required practice.

attorneys seeking admission without examination should refer to the applicable court rules [22 nycrr part 520] and must first apply to the new york state board of law examiners to be certified to the appropriate judicial department.

application deadline: not applicable.

application/admission fees: $400.00 (certificate of legal education), plus $300.00 registration fee.

with bar examination
examination required for all other applicants.

examination components:
1. academic: mbe, one mpt question, five state essays, and 50 state multiple-choice questions. mbe score can be transferred only from a concurrent exam.
2. ethics: mpre is transferable from any jurisdiction. any applicant who took the mpre prior to 2002 and attained a scaled score of 72 will be considered as having met the requirement. commencing with the march 2002 mpre, the passing score in new york is a scaled score of 85. an applicant may take the mpre prior to or subsequent to completion of the requirements for taking the new york state bar examination.

examination dates:
february; july (postmark deadline: at least 90 days but not more than 120 days before the date of the examination).

application/admission fees: $250.00

other state bar requirements:

1. minimum age: 21

2. (a) graduation from a law school approved by the aba; or (b) the completion of at least one academic year as a student in a full-time program (or the equivalent in a part-time program) at an approved law school and subsequent study of law in law office(s) located in new york state under the supervision of one or more attorneys admitted to practice law in new york state for a four-year aggregate period of time; or (c) graduation from a law school in the u.s. which is not approved by the aba, admission in another jurisdiction, and practice for five of the seven years immediately preceding the application; or (d) the study of law in a foreign country provided such legal education meets specified criteria.

3. character check by a committee on character and fitness appointed by the appellate division of the supreme court. each of the four new york appellate division departments has the discretion to adopt additional procedures for ascertaining the moral character and general fitness of applicants which may include a report of the ncbe.

4. required annual fees: $235.00 (if admitted in 1995 or before); $155.00 (if admitted 1996-1997); $100.00 (if admitted 1998-1999); $70.00 (if admitted 2000 - april, 2002); $0.00 (newly-admitted attorneys); plus $300.00 biennial registration fee.

regulation of in-house counsel

new york does not specifically address the regulation of in-house counsel.

bar association status:

[ ] mandatory

[x] voluntary
annual dues – see above.
 

specialty certification

disciplinary rule 2-105 allows lawyers to identify themselves as specialists if they have been certified by an organization approved by the appellate division of the state court or accredited by the aba. however, the rule requires lawyers who identify themselves as specialists to include the following disclaimer: "the [name of private certifying organization] is not affiliated with any governmental authority. certification is not a requirement for the practice of law in the state of new york and does not necessarily indicate greater competence than other attorneys experienced in this field of law." the rule also permits lawyers certified through other state affiliated certification programs to identify themselves as specialists, but requires a similar disclaimer: "certification granted by the [name of state certification program] is not recognized by any governmental authority within the state of new york. certification is not a requirement for the practice of law in the state of new york and does not necessarily indicate greater competence than other attorneys experienced in this field of law."