Bill Text: NY S08648 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

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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: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-08 - PRINT NUMBER 8648A [S08648 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S08648-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         8648--A

                    IN SENATE

                                      July 1, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be  committed  to  the  Committee  on  Rules  --  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
    23  animals,  duly  appointed,  when exercising the special powers conferred
    24  upon such corporations under section fourteen hundred three of the  not-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16602-05-0
        S. 8648--A                          2

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