S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5700--A
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 25, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRAUNSTEIN, DenDEKKER, REILLY, ROBERTS, JAFFEE,
STEVENSON, MENG, BRONSON -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CROUCH,
GABRYSZAK, JORDAN, LOSQUADRO, MALLIOTAKIS, MARKEY, McKEVITT, MONTESA-
NO, TENNEY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary --
recommitted to the Committee on Judiciary in accordance with Assembly
Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to practicing or appear-
ing as an attorney-at-law without being admitted and registered
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 478 of the judiciary law, as amended by chapter 201
of the laws of 1993, is amended to read as follows:
S 478. Practicing or appearing as attorney-at-law without being admit-
ted and registered. It shall be unlawful for any natural person to prac-
tice or appear as an attorney-at-law or as an attorney and counselor-at-
law for a person other than himself OR HERSELF in a court of record in
this state, or to furnish attorneys or counsel or an attorney and coun-
sel to render legal services, or to hold himself OR HERSELF out to the
public as being entitled to practice law as aforesaid, or in any other
manner, or to assume to be an attorney or counselor-at-law, or to
assume, use, or advertise the title of lawyer, or attorney and counse-
lor-at-law, or attorney-at-law or counselor-at-law, or attorney, or
counselor, or attorney and counselor, or equivalent terms in any
language, in such manner as to convey the impression that he OR SHE is a
legal practitioner of law or in any manner to advertise that he OR SHE
either alone or together with any other persons or person has, owns,
conducts or maintains a law office or law and collection office, or
office of any kind for the practice of law, without having first been
duly and regularly licensed and admitted to practice law in the courts
of record of this state, and without having taken the constitutional
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00471-10-2
A. 5700--A 2
oath. Provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be held to
apply (1) to officers of societies for the prevention of cruelty to
animals, duly appointed, when exercising the special powers conferred
upon such corporations under section fourteen hundred three of the not-
for-profit corporation law; or (2) to law students who have completed at
least two semesters of law school or persons who have graduated from a
law school, who have taken the examination for admittance to practice
law in the courts of record in the state immediately available after
graduation from law school, or the examination immediately available
after being notified by the board of law examiners that they failed to
pass said exam, and who have not been notified by the board of law exam-
iners that they have failed to pass two such examinations, acting under
the supervision of a legal aid organization when such students and
persons are acting under a program approved by the appellate division of
the supreme court of the department in which the principal office of
such organization is located and specifying the extent to which such
students and persons may engage in activities otherwise prohibited by
this statute; or (3) to law students who have completed at least two
semesters of law school, or to persons who have graduated from a law
school approved pursuant to the rules of the court of appeals for the
admission of attorneys and counselors-at-law and who have taken the
examination for admission to practice as an attorney and counselor-at-
law immediately available after graduation from law school or the exam-
ination immediately available after being notified by the board of law
examiners that they failed to pass said exam, and who have not been
notified by the board of law examiners that they have failed to pass two
such examinations, when such students or persons are acting under the
supervision of the state or a subdivision thereof or of any officer or
agency of the state or a subdivision thereof, pursuant to a program
approved by the appellate division of the supreme court of the depart-
ment within which such activities are taking place and specifying the
extent to which they may engage in activities otherwise prohibited by
this statute and those powers of the supervising governmental entity or
officer in connection with which they may engage in such activities; OR
(4) AN ATTORNEY AND COUNSELOR-AT-LAW OR THE EQUIVALENT WHO IS ADMITTED
TO THE BAR IN ANOTHER STATE, TERRITORY, DISTRICT OR FOREIGN COUNTRY AND
WHO HAS BEEN ADMITTED TO PRACTICE PRO HAC VICE IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
S 2. Section 485 of the judiciary law, as added by chapter 1031 of the
laws of 1965, is amended to read as follows:
S 485. Violation of certain preceding sections a misdemeanor. [Any]
EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SECTION FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY-FIVE-A OF THIS ARTI-
CLE, ANY person violating the provisions of [sections] SECTION four
hundred seventy-eight, four hundred seventy-nine, four hundred eighty,
four hundred eighty-one, four hundred eighty-two, four hundred eighty-
three or four hundred eighty-four OF THIS ARTICLE, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
S 3. The judiciary law is amended by adding a new section 485-a to
read as follows:
S 485-A. VIOLATION OF CERTAIN SECTIONS A CLASS E FELONY. ANY PERSON
WHO VIOLATES THE PROVISIONS OF SECTIONS FOUR HUNDRED SEVENTY-EIGHT, FOUR
HUNDRED EIGHTY-FOUR, FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY-SIX OR FOUR HUNDRED NINETY-FIVE
OF THIS ARTICLE IS GUILTY OF A CLASS E FELONY WHEN HE OR SHE: (1) EITHER
IMPERSONATES AN ATTORNEY OR OFFERS LEGAL SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC UNDER A
TITLE OTHER THAN ATTORNEY; AND (2) CAUSES ANOTHER PERSON TO SUFFER MONE-
TARY LOSS OR DAMAGES EXCEEDING ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS OR OTHER MATERIAL
A. 5700--A 3
DAMAGE RESULTING FROM IMPAIRMENT OF A LEGAL RIGHT TO WHICH HE OR SHE IS
ENTITLED ACCORDING TO LAW.
S 4. Section 486 of the judiciary law, as added by chapter 1031 of the
laws of 1965, is amended to read as follows:
S 486. Practice of law by attorney who has been disbarred, suspended,
or convicted of a felony. Any person whose admission to practice as an
attorney and counselor-at-law has been revoked or who has been removed
from office as attorney and counselor-at-law or, being an attorney and
counselor-at-law, has been convicted of a felony or has been suspended
from practice and has not been duly and regularly reinstated, who does
any act forbidden by the provisions of this article to be done by any
person not regularly admitted to practice law in the courts of record of
this state, unless the judgment, decree or order suspending him shall
permit such act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor UNLESS OTHERWISE
PROVIDED BY SECTION FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY-FIVE-A OF THIS ARTICLE.
S 5. Subdivision 3 of section 495 of the judiciary law, as added by
chapter 1031 of the laws of 1965, is amended to read as follows:
3. No voluntary association or corporation shall ask or receive
directly or indirectly, compensation for preparing deeds, mortgages,
assignments, discharges, leases, or any other instruments affecting real
estate, wills, codicils, or any other instruments affecting disposition
of property after death or decedents' estates, or pleadings of any kind
in actions or proceedings of any nature. Any association or corporation
violating the provisions of this subdivision is guilty of a misdemeanor
UNLESS OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY SECTION FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY-FIVE-A OF THIS
ARTICLE.
S 6. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.