Bar Exam Eligibility
Modes of Qualifying for New York Bar Examination
Juris Doctor Graduates of ABA Approved Law Schools
Provisionally Approved Law Schools
Residency Requirements
Correspondence Study, Self-Study, On-Line Law Degrees
Law Office Study/Clerkship
Unapproved Law School
Foreign Law School Study
MODES OF QUALIFYING FOR NEW YORK BAR
EXAMINATION
Section 520 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals for the Admission
of Attorneys and Counselors at Law provides four routes for an
applicant to qualify to take the New York bar examination, all of
which require at least some form of classroom study in a law school.
1. ABA Approved Law School Study (JD graduates) -
Applicant attended and was graduated with a first degree in law from
a law school or law schools in the United States which at all times
during the period of applicant's attendance was or were approved by
the American Bar Association (ABA). (Section 520.3 of the Rules of
the Court of Appeals)
List of ABA Approved Law Schools
2. Law Office Study/Clerkship - A combination of
law school study at an ABA approved law school and law office study
(520.4 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals).
3. Unapproved Law School Study - Graduation from an
unapproved law school in the United States with a Juris Doctor
degree and practice in a jurisdiction where the applicant has been
admitted for 5 of the 7 years immediately preceding application to
sit for the New York bar examination. (Section
520.5 of the Rules of
the Court of Appeals)
4. Foreign Law School Study – Successful completion
of a program of study at a law school outside of the United States
that is both durationally and substantively equivalent to a program
of study at an approved law school in the United States, and if
required, successful completion of an additional program of study at
an approved law school in the United States. (Section
520.6 of the
Rules of the Court of Appeals) (See also, "Foreign Legal Education"
section of this website)
Applicants are strongly encouraged to carefully review the
eligibility rules in Section
520.6 of the Rules of the Court of
Appeals for the Admission of Attorneys and Counselors at Law before
applying to sit for the bar examination. It is the responsibility of
each applicant to be aware of the eligibility requirements and to
demonstrate their compliance with the requirements of the Court
Rules.
JURIS DOCTOR GRADUATES OF ABA APPROVED LAW
SCHOOLS
Prospective applicants for the New York bar examination who are
pursuing a Juris Doctor degree at an ABA approved law school should
be aware that the requirements of Rule 520.3 may be more restrictive
than the ABA standards. Graduation from an ABA approved law school
does not automatically qualify an applicant to sit for the New York
bar examination. JD students and graduates should be aware of the
following:
Provisionally Approved Law Schools.
The law school which the applicant attended must have been approved
by the ABA during all periods of the applicant’s attendance.
Provisional ABA approval is acceptable provided that the law school
had provisional status during all periods of the applicant’s
attendance. If the law school did not have ABA approval during all
periods of the applicant’s attendance, it will be necessary for the
applicant to petition the Court of Appeals under Section
520.14 of
the Rules of the Court of Appeals, for a waiver of strict compliance
with the provisions of Section 520.3 of the Court Rules. Applicants
who will need to petition the Court of Appeals for a waiver should
do so as early as possible and preferably no later than 60 days
prior to the date of the bar examination.
Program of Study must satisfy the instructional requirements of Rule
520.3. Graduates of ABA approved law schools with a first degree in
law should be prepared to submit sufficient proof that the program
of study that they followed satisfies the instructional requirements
of Section 520.3, including the Residency Requirements of subsection
(d) and (e).
Residency Requirements. All
applicants seeking to qualify for the New York bar examination on
the basis of graduation with a first degree in law from an ABA
approved law school or graduation from an unapproved law school or
foreign legal study must demonstrate that the program of study which
they pursued fully complies with the residency requirements of
either a full time program under Section 520.3(d) or a part time
program under Section 520.3(e). The rule sets forth minimum and
maximum number of calendar weeks in which the applicant may be in
residence in the law school program. The rule prevents an applicant
from completing their law school program of study in either too
short or too long of a period of time.
Rule 520.3(d) requires ”a full-time program shall consist of at
least 75 and no more than 105 calendar weeks in residence, including
reading periods not to exceed one week per semester and
examinations, of at least 10 classroom periods per week, scheduled
principally between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., totaling not
less than the equivalent of 1,120 hours of classroom study,
exclusive of examination time. A calendar week shall include four
days of scheduled classes; however, no more than three three-day
weeks per semester may be counted toward the 75-week minimum. A
semester which includes successful completion of at least 10 credit
hours per week of study shall be counted as 15 full-time weeks in
residence toward the residency weeks requirement of this
subdivision. As allowed under subdivision (h) of this section, a
summer session which includes successful completion of at least 5
credit hours per week of study shall be counted as 7.5 full-time
calendar weeks in residence toward the residency weeks requirement
of this subdivision.”
Rule 520.3(e) requires “a part-time program shall consist of at
least 105 and no more than 135 calendar weeks in residence,
including reading periods not to exceed one week per semester and
examinations, of at least eight classroom periods per week,
irrespective of the hours at which the classroom periods are
scheduled, totaling not less than the equivalent of 1,120 hours of
classroom study, exclusive of examination time. A calendar week
shall include three days of scheduled classes; however, no more than
three two-day weeks per semester may be counted toward the 105-week
minimum. A semester which includes successful completion of at least
8 credit hours per week of study shall be counted as 15 part-time
weeks in residence toward the residency weeks requirement of this
subdivision. As allowed under subdivision (h) of this section, a
summer session which includes successful completion of at least 4
credit hours per week of study shall be counted as 7.5 part-time
calendar weeks in residence toward the residency weeks requirement
of this subdivision.
As provided in Rule 520.3(d), a full-time student must successfully
complete a minimum of 10 credit hours per week of study, with
classes scheduled at least 4 days per week, to be entitled to
residency credit for a given semester or term. Part-time students
must successfully complete a minimum of 8 credit hours per week of
study, with classes scheduled at least 3 days per week, to be
entitled to residency credit for a given semester or term.
Generally, if a full-time student successfully completes at least 10
credits per semester, the student may not be in residence in the law
school program for more than 7 semesters; if a part-time student
successfully completes at least 8 credits per semester the student
may be in residence in the law school for more than 9 semesters.
Students should also be aware that summer terms in which the student
successfully completes at least 5 credits for full-time students, or
4 credits for part-time students, will result in 7.5 weeks of
residency credit. No residency credit is awarded for an unsuccessful
semester, term or period of study.
Weekend Programs Do Not Satisfy Eligibility Requirements. Since Rule
520.3(e) requires part-time students to have classes scheduled at
least 3 days per week, prospective bar exam applicants should be
aware that pursuing a weekend program of study WILL NOT qualify an
individual to sit for the New York bar examination.
Proof of Compliance Required for Graduates of ABA Approved Law
Schools. Applicants qualifying to sit for the bar examination under
Section 520.3 must file with the Board either (a) an original and
official transcript from their law school with date of graduation or
(b) a completed Certificate of Law School Attendance Form, together
with the completed Specimen of Applicant’s Handwriting Form no later
than February 1st for the February exam and no later than June 15
for the July exam.
CORRESPONDENCE STUDY, SELF-STUDY, ON-LINE
LAW DEGREES
Law degrees obtained by way of correspondence, external, internet or
self study do not qualify an individual to take the New York bar
examination.
LAW OFFICE STUDY/CLERKSHIP
New York is one of only a few jurisdictions that permits an
applicant to qualify to take the bar examination on the basis of
some law school study combined with law office study or clerkship.
Section 520.4 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals sets forth the
eligibility requirements for law office study. Interested applicants
are urged to carefully review the requirements of Section
520.3 To
qualify to take the bar examination on the basis of law office study
under Section 520.4, the applicant must demonstrate:
- (1) that applicant commenced the study of law after applicant's 18th birthday; and
- (2) that applicant successfully completed at least one academic year as a matriculated student in a full-time program or the equivalent in a part-time program at an approved law school and at the conclusion thereof was eligible to continue in that school's degree program; and
- (3) that 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 allowed pursuant to this
section for attendance in an approved law school, shall aggregate
four years.
Applicants who are interested in pursuing law office study must first obtain an evaluation of their eligibility from the State Board of Law Examiners before commencing any period of law office study.
After carefully reviewing rule, the applicant should submit a written request for an evaluation of eligibility to the Board office. Requests for an evaluation shall be made in the form of a letter and shall be accompanied by
- (a) an original and official transcript from the applicant’s law school; and
- (b) a written statement from an authorized official at the applicant’s law school which includes the student’s full-time or part-time status for each period of study attended, a characterization of each period of study as successful or unsuccessful, and whether the student was eligible to continue in the law school’s degree program at the conclusion of the studies.
Upon receipt of the request for an evaluation together with the
required supporting documentation, the Board will determine whether
the applicant meets the threshold criteria under Section
520.4 and
issue a written determination in due course.
If an applicant meets
the threshold criteria, the Board will then determine how much
credit toward the four year requirement the applicant should receive
for their law school study, and notify the applicant how many weeks
of law office study must be completed before the applicant may apply
for the bar examination. Next, the applicant must obtain a position
as a law clerk/student in a law office, and have the attorney with
whom he or she is working complete and file a Certificate of
Commencement of Law Office Study with the Court of Appeals.
The Court's Address:
Clerk
Court of Appeals
20 Eagle Street
Albany, NY 12207
The applicant must study law in the law office under the supervision of an attorney who is admitted to practice law in New York for a period of four years. (Credit toward this four year requirement is given for successfully completed semesters in an ABA approved law school.) Once the required period of law office study is completed, the applicant is eligible to apply for the New York State bar examination. When applying for the bar examination, the applicant and the attorney or attorneys responsible for the law office study both must complete affidavits.
UNAPPROVED LAW SCHOOL STUDY
Graduates of non-ABA Approved law schools located in the United
States who have also actively practiced law in a U.S. jurisdiction
for 5 of the 7 years preceding application to the New York bar
examination may qualify to sit for the bar examination under Section
520.5 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals. Rule
520.5 sets forth
the following requirements which must be met by graduates of non-ABA
approved law schools seeking to take the New York bar examination:
- (1) applicant 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 a law school which grants credit for correspondence
courses; and
(2) the applicant has received a degree from such law school which qualifies such applicant to practice law in such state, territory or in the District of Columbia; and
(3) the applicant's course of study complies with the instructional and program requirement of section 520.3(c) through (i) of the Rules of the Court of Appeals, including the residency requirements of subdivision (d) or (e) [See Residency Requirements above]; and
(4) that while admitted to the bar in the highest court in any other state or territory of the United States or in the District of Columbia, applicant has actually practiced therein for at least five years of the seven years immediately preceding the application to sit for the bar examination.
Proof of compliance required for Graduates of non-ABA Approved law schools. Applicants qualifying to sit for the bar examination under Section 520.5 must file the following proof in the Board office no later than February 1st for the February exam and no later than June 15 for the July exam:
- (a) Your law school must file the Law School Certificate of Attendance form, a copy of which may be downloaded from the “Forms” section of the Board’s website;
- (b) Proof of admission to practice in another jurisdiction or jurisdictions in the form of a Certificate of Good Standing;
- (c) An affidavit from the applicant setting forth the periods and places of law practice including the dates and names of employers;
- (d) Affidavits from supervising attorneys, partners, judges, confirming proof of practice for five of the seven years preceding application to the New York bar exam;
- (e) Your completed handwriting sample certified by an authorized official at your law school or by a Notary Public.
FOREIGN LAW SCHOOL STUDY
Section 520.6
of the Rules of the Court of Appeals for the Admission of Attorneys
and Counselors at Law contains the eligibility requirements for
applicants who wish to qualify for the New York State bar
examination based on the study of law in a foreign country.
Compliance with the requirements of the Rules of the Court of
Appeals must be proved to the satisfaction of the Board before an
applicant may be permitted to sit for the bar examination. For more
detailed information concerning the eligibility requirements for
foreign educated attorneys, individuals should carefully review Rule
520.6 and the information located in the
Foreign Legal Education
section of this website
