N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 22 § 520.3

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 36, September 4, 2024
Section 520.3 - Study of Law in Law School
(a)General.

An applicant may qualify to take the New York State bar examination by submitting to the New York State Board of Law Examiners satisfactory proof that:

(1) the applicant attended and was graduated with a first degree in law from an approved law school;
(2) the applicant attended and successfully completed the prescribed course of instruction required for a first degree in law at an approved law school, but has not been awarded the degree as of the date proof of eligibility to sit for the bar examination is required to be filed with the State Board of Law Examiners. The State Board of Law Examiners shall not certify the applicant for admission to the bar pursuant to section 520.7(a) of this Part until the applicant has presented satisfactory proof that the applicant has been awarded a first degree in law; or
(3) the applicant satisfies the requirements of section 520.17 of this Part.
(b)Approved law school defined.

For purposes of this Part, an approved law school is one:

(1) that is approved by the American Bar Association at all times during the period of the applicant's attendance; and
(2) that is located in the United States or its territories.
(c) The academic program, calendar and instructional requirements contained in the American Bar Association Standards and Rules of Procedure for the Approval of Law Schools shall apply with the exception of distance education provisions, which are as follows:
(1) Distance education course. A distance education course is a course in which students are separated from all faculty members for more than one-third of the course instruction and the instruction involves the use of technology to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and all the faculty members, either synchronously or asynchronously; and
(2) Up to 15 credit hours for distance education courses may be counted toward both the credit hours required for graduation and the classroom credit hours required; and
(3) No credit shall be allowed for distance education courses until the student has completed the equivalent of 28 credit hours toward the first degree in law; and
(4) Remote participation in a non-distance education course by a student as an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act or any other law requiring accommodation will not cause the course to count toward the distance education credit limits in this section for the accommodated student. The law school must document all instances in which it permits a student's remote participation in a nondistance education course for which credits will not be counted toward distance education credit limits in this section.
(d) Law school certificate of attendance. The applicant shall file a law school certificate of attendance with the State Board of Law Examiners that must include:
(1) a certification that the applicant has successfully completed the prescribed course of instruction for the J.D. degree at a law school approved by the ABA at all times during the period of the applicant's attendance;
(2) the date of graduation or the date on which the J.D. degree will be conferred;
(3) the number of credits completed in distance education courses under section 520.3(c)(1) of this Part; and;
(4) a certification that the applicant did not complete any credits in distance education courses during the first 28 credit hours toward the first degree in law.
(e) Credit for law study in foreign country. An approved law school may, in its discretion, grant such credit as it may deem appropriate toward the total credits required for a first degree in law, but not exceeding one-third of the total credits required for the degree, to an applicant who has studied law in a law school in a foreign country. No such credit shall be allowed for law study in a foreign country that was undertaken in a distance education course as defined in section 520.3(c)(1) of this Part, nor shall any credit be allowed for correspondence courses.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 22 § 520.3

Amended, New York State Register December 10, 2014/Volume XXXVI, Issue 49, eff. 12/10/2014
Amended New York State Register December 30, 2015/Volume XXXVII, Issue 52, eff. 12/30/2015
Amended New York State Register May 8, 2024/Volume XLVI, Issue 19, eff. 5/8/2024