Relates to temporarily admitting certain attorneys graduating from law school or taking the bar exam during the COVID-19 state disaster emergency; such attorney may be admitted on a permanent basis if they remain in good standing under section 90 of the judiciary law and work at least 100 hours under the supervision of a permanently admitted attorney.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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10846
IN ASSEMBLY
July 24, 2020
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Simon) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT in relation to temporarily admitting certain attorneys graduating
from law school or taking the bar exam during the COVID-19 state
disaster emergency; and providing for the repeal of such provisions
upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule, or regulation
2 to the contrary, any person who has graduated or will graduate from an
3 American Bar Association accredited law school or who would otherwise be
4 eligible to take the New York state bar examination, has demonstrated
5 compliance with section 520.9 of the rules of the court of appeals, and
6 has satisfied the requirements for good moral character and general
7 fitness requisite for an attorney- and counselor-at-law as required by
8 section 90 of the judiciary law and who intends to primarily practice
9 law in the state of New York shall be admitted to practice in all the
10 courts of record of the state on a temporary basis. An individual who
11 remains in good standing in accordance with section 90 of the judiciary
12 law and practices law for a minimum of 100 hours under the supervision
13 of a permanently admitted attorney, who shall submit an affirmation of
14 the nature and extent of the supervision to the committee on character
15 and fitness and shall, upon such completion of such supervision, trans-
16 mit the candidate's credentials to the appellate division, shall be
17 admitted to practice in all courts of record of the state on a permanent
18 basis. Such submission shall not be made earlier than three months after
19 having completed the requisite number of supervised hours. Such super-
20 vised work shall be completed no later than 18 months after September
21 30, 2021 or such date as the COVID-19 state disaster emergency ends,
22 whichever is later.
23 § 2. Nothing contained in this act shall be construed as rescinding
24 any rules promulgated or waivers thereof by the court of appeals
25 pertaining to admission to practice as an attorney- and counselor-at-law
26 that are not inconsistent with this act.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16993-05-0
A. 10846 2
1 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
2 deemed repealed on September 30, 2021 or upon the expiration of the
3 COVID-19 state disaster emergency, as declared pursuant to Executive
4 Order Number 202 of 2020, and any extensions, amendments or modifica-
5 tions thereto, whichever is later; and the provisions of this act shall
6 apply to any individual whose application for admission to the New York
7 state bar is pending on such date.