Assembly Bill A10669

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  10669

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              June 13, 2012
                               ___________

Introduced  by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Simotas) --
  read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary

AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to the rule-making  power
  of  the  New  York state court of appeals as to admission of attorneys
  and counsellors

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Subdivision  3  of  section  53  of the judiciary law, as
amended by chapter 450 of the laws  of  1994,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  3.  (A) The court shall prescribe rules providing for a uniform system
of examination of candidates for admission to practice as attorneys  and
counsellors,  which shall govern the state board of law examiners in the
performance of its duties. The court shall not by its rules cause to  be
barred  from  examination or, upon successful completion of the examina-
tion process, subsequent admission to the state bar, provided he or  she
shall  otherwise  meet any requirements for admission, any person who is
currently admitted to practice in the jurisdiction of another state  and
has  received  a degree from a law school which qualifies such person to
practice law in such state, other than a law school which grants  credit
for  correspondence  courses, provided that such person has been engaged
in the actual practice of law in the state in which  they  are  admitted
for no less than five years.
  (B)  NOTWITHSTANDING  THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVI-
SION, THE COURT SHALL NOT BY ITS RULES CAUSE TO BE BARRED FROM  EXAMINA-
TION,  OR  UPON SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE EXAMINATION PROCESS, SUBSE-
QUENT ADMISSION TO THE STATE BAR, ANY PERSON WHO: (I)  HAS  SUCCESSFULLY
PASSED  THE  BAR EXAMINATION OF ANOTHER STATE, (II) HAS BEEN ADMITTED TO
PRACTICE AND BE IN GOOD STANDING IN ANOTHER STATE, (III) HAS RECEIVED  A
JURIS  DOCTORATE  DEGREE  FROM  A  LAW  SCHOOL  WHICH IS ACCREDITED BY A
REGIONAL OR NATIONAL ACCREDITING AGENCY RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED  STATES
DEPARTMENT  OF EDUCATION WHOSE SCOPE OF AUTHORITY INCLUDES FIRST PROFES-
SIONAL DEGREES IN LAW AND WHICH LAW SCHOOL QUALIFIES  FOR  PARTICIPATION
IN THE FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM UNDER TITLE IV OF THE FEDERAL HIGHER

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD16220-01-2

A. 10669                            2

EDUCATION  ACT  OF NINETEEN HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE, AS AMENDED, AND (IV) HAS
COMPLETED AN EXTERNSHIP IN NEW YORK UNDER THE DIRECTION AND  SUPERVISION
OF  AN  ATTORNEY ADMITTED TO PRACTICE LAW IN THE STATE, OF NOT LESS THAN
ONE  CALENDAR YEAR, DOCUMENTED BY LOG OR OTHER MECHANISM WHICH THE COURT
SHALL ESTABLISH, BY RULE, CONSISTENT WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS  SUBDI-
VISION.
  S 2. The court of appeals shall promulgate rules necessary to effectu-
ate the provisions of this act.
  S  3.  This  act shall take effect immediately; provided, that section
one of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law.