Juris Doctor Graduates of ABA approved Law Schools
Prospective applicants for the New York bar examination who are
pursuing a Juris Doctor degree at a law school approved by the
American Bar Association (ABA) should be aware that the requirements
of Rule 520.3 may be more restrictive than the ABA standards.
Graduation from an ABA approved law school does not automatically
qualify an applicant to sit for the New York bar examination.
Approved Law Schools.
The law school which the applicant attended must have been approved
by the ABA during all periods of the applicant’s attendance and must
be located in the United States or its territories. Provisional ABA
approval is acceptable provided that the law school had provisional
status during all periods of the applicant’s attendance. If the law
school did not have ABA approval during all periods of the
applicant’s attendance, it will be necessary for the applicant to
petition the Court of Appeals under Section 520.14 of the Rules of
the Court of Appeals, for a waiver of strict compliance with the
provisions of Section 520.3 of the Court Rules. Applicants who will
need to petition the Court of Appeals for a waiver should do so as
early as possible and preferably no later than 60 days prior to the
date of the bar examination.
Overview of Instructional, Credit Hour and Course of Study Requirements (Applicants should read Rule 520.3 in its entirety for all requirements):
- Program and course of study at ABA approved law school must
be completed no earlier than 24 months and no later than 60
months after commencement of all law study.
- A student is not permitted to enroll in coursework that
exceeds 20% of total coursework required for graduation.
- At least 83 credits hours must be required for graduation.
- At least 64 of the 83 credit hours must be earned in
classroom study.
- At least 2 credit hours must be earned in a course in
professional responsibility.
- Up to 30 credits hours may be granted for clinical courses,
field placements programs and externships (including classroom
components), within defined parameters, toward the 83 credit
hours.
- Up to 12 credit hours may be awarded toward the 83 credit
hours (but not the 64 classroom credit hours) for joint degree
or other courses taught at another school within the university
or at a school affiliated with law school.
- Up to 12 credit hours of synchronous distance education
courses, within defined parameters, may be included in the 83
credit hours and the 64 classroom credit hours.
- No more than one-third of total credits required for
graduation may come from study in a foreign country.
Proof of Compliance Required for Graduates of ABA Approved Law
Schools. Applicants qualifying to sit for the bar examination under
Section 520.3 must file with the Board a completed Certificate of Law School Attendance Form, together
with the completed Specimen of Applicant’s Handwriting Form, no later
than February 1st for the February exam and no later than
June 15th
for the July exam.
CORRESPONDENCE STUDY, SELF-STUDY, ON-LINE
LAW DEGREES
Law degrees obtained by way of correspondence, external, internet or
self study do not qualify an individual to take the New York bar
examination.