Bill Text: NY A10661 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Relates to temporarily suspending the two-fail qualification for practice of law prior to passing the bar exam, and permits certain law graduates who have not yet had the opportunity to take the bar exam to practice under attorney supervision.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-09 - print number 10661a [A10661 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A10661-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                        10661--A

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      June 17, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON  RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Simotas,
          Galef, Simon, Griffin, Aubry, Lentol,  Gottfried,  O'Donnell,  Mosley,
          Seawright,  Cahill,  Abinanti,  Fahy,  Giglio,  Glick, Lavine, Jaffee,
          Ortiz, Lifton) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary
          -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted  as  amended
          and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to temporarily suspending
          the  two-fail  qualification  for practice of law prior to passing the
          bar exam for law graduates representing indigent clients; and  provid-
          ing 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. Section 478 of the judiciary law, as amended by chapter  22
     2  of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 478. Practicing or appearing as attorney-at-law without being admit-
     4  ted and registered. It shall be unlawful for any natural person to prac-
     5  tice or appear as an attorney-at-law or as an attorney and counselor-at-
     6  law  for  a person other than himself or herself in a court of record in
     7  this state, or to furnish attorneys or counsel or an attorney and  coun-
     8  sel  to  render legal services, or to hold himself or herself out to the
     9  public as being entitled to practice law as aforesaid, or in  any  other
    10  manner,  or  to  assume  to  be  an  attorney or counselor-at-law, or to
    11  assume, use, or advertise the title of lawyer, or attorney  and  counse-
    12  lor-at-law,  or  attorney-at-law  or  counselor-at-law,  or attorney, or
    13  counselor, or  attorney  and  counselor,  or  equivalent  terms  in  any
    14  language, in such manner as to convey the impression that he or she is a
    15  legal  practitioner  of law or in any manner to advertise that he or she
    16  either alone or together with any other persons  or  person  has,  owns,
    17  conducts  or  maintains  a  law  office or law and collection office, or
    18  office of any kind for the practice of law, without  having  first  been
    19  duly  and  regularly licensed and admitted to practice law in the courts
    20  of record of this state, and without  having  taken  the  constitutional
    21  oath.  Provided,  however, that nothing in this section shall be held to
    22  apply (1) to officers of societies for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16602-04-0

        A. 10661--A                         2

     1  animals,  duly  appointed,  when exercising the special powers conferred
     2  upon such corporations under section fourteen hundred three of the  not-
     3  for-profit corporation law; or (2) to law students who have completed at
     4  least  two  semesters of law school or persons who have graduated from a
     5  law school, who have taken the examination for  admittance  to  practice
     6  law  in  the  courts  of record in the state immediately available after
     7  graduation from law school, or  the  examination  immediately  available
     8  after  being  notified by the board of law examiners that they failed to
     9  pass said exam, [and who have not been notified  by  the  board  of  law
    10  examiners  that  they  have failed to pass two such examinations] or who
    11  have taken and failed to pass such exam one or more times, acting  under
    12  the  supervision  of  a  legal  aid  organization when such students and
    13  persons are acting under a program approved by the appellate division of
    14  the supreme court of the department in which  the  principal  office  of
    15  such  organization  is  located  and specifying the extent to which such
    16  students and persons may engage in activities  otherwise  prohibited  by
    17  this  statute;  or  (3)  to law students who have completed at least two
    18  semesters of law school, or to persons who have  graduated  from  a  law
    19  school  approved  pursuant  to the rules of the court of appeals for the
    20  admission of attorneys and counselors-at-law  and  who  have  taken  the
    21  examination  for  admission to practice as an attorney and counselor-at-
    22  law immediately available after graduation from law school or the  exam-
    23  ination  immediately  available after being notified by the board of law
    24  examiners that they failed to pass said exam, [and  who  have  not  been
    25  notified by the board of law examiners that they have failed to pass two
    26  such examinations] or who have taken and failed to pass such exam one or
    27  more  times,  when  such students or persons are acting under the super-
    28  vision of the state or a subdivision thereof or of any officer or agency
    29  of the state or a subdivision thereof, pursuant to a program approved by
    30  the appellate division of the supreme court  of  the  department  within
    31  which  such  activities  are  taking  place and specifying the extent to
    32  which they may engage in activities otherwise prohibited by this statute
    33  and those powers of the supervising governmental entity  or  officer  in
    34  connection  with  which  they  may  engage in such activities; or (4) an
    35  attorney and counselor-at-law or the equivalent who is admitted  to  the
    36  bar in another state, territory, district or foreign country and who has
    37  been  admitted  to practice pro hac vice in the state of New York within
    38  the limitations prescribed in the rules of the court of appeals; or  (5)
    39  an  attorney  licensed  as a legal consultant under rules adopted by the
    40  court of appeals pursuant to subdivision six of section  fifty-three  of
    41  this  chapter  and  rendering legal services in the state within limita-
    42  tions prescribed in such rules.
    43    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire upon  the
    44  expiration  of  the  declared  state  of emergency relating to the novel
    45  coronavirus (COVID-19), when upon such date the provisions of  this  act
    46  shall  be  deemed repealed; provided, that the chief judge of the office
    47  of court administration  shall  notify  the  legislative  bill  drafting
    48  commission  upon  the occurrence of the expiration of the state disaster
    49  emergency declared by executive order number 202 and any further  amend-
    50  ments  or  modifications,  and  as  may  be further extended pursuant to
    51  section 28 of the executive law, in order that the commission may  main-
    52  tain  an accurate and timely effective data base of the official text of
    53  the laws of the state of New York in  furtherance  of  effectuating  the
    54  provisions  of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the
    55  public officers law.
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