The New York Bar Requirements for Foreign-Trained Attorneys

Understanding Qualifications

As noted above, foreign lawyers are eligible to sit for the New York Bar Exam after earning their foreign degrees and completing an LL.M. program. In addition to an LL.M., if your foreign education is different from that generally required by United States law schools, you may be required to complete additional study taking classes at ABA-approved law schools in the United States. For example, the New York Bar requires that the candidate satisfy client counseling and legal ethics requirements, and those subjects are not usually covered in foreign law courses. Other "missing" subjects may include U.S. Constitutional law , federal taxation, and public international law.
If a foreign lawyer has an LL.B. or first degree in law (prior to 2000), they may qualify to take the bar exam without having to meet the LL.M. requirement. This is however an exception, and the applicant will have to show exceptional circumstances (i.e., a specialization in U.S. law, or an overall high GPA in their studies). This is a relatively rare exception to the general rule that foreign lawyers need an LL.M. to sit for the New York Bar Exam. More likely is a requirement to take additional courses at an ABA-approved law school.

Education Qualifications for International Applicants to the NY Bar

Foreign-educated lawyers should be sure that their educational credentials are in order. To be eligible to apply for the New York bar examination, the applicant must have achieved a Juris Doctor degree that is equivalent to a JD degree obtained at an ABA approved law school. Although the Board does not publish a list of schools and degrees that are pre-approved, the Board does consider applicants with a variety of international degrees. These include degrees from institutions in Canada, Australia, England, and a few other countries. Many applicants have been successful with degrees from countries that are not in the list above. However, there are some degrees that are specifically rejected by the Board review panel. These include, but are not limited to, the following: Maîtrise en droit from France; diplôme d’aptitude à la profession d’avocat (CAPA/CRFPA) from France; Licenciado en Derecho from most universities in Mexico; degrees from non-standard English-language universities in the Caribbean or elsewhere. It is important to remember that the legal education system in other countries varies greatly from that in the United States. Thus, an applicant’s first step is to have his or her academic records from law schools and all post-secondary schools evaluated by a credential evaluation agency. The Board accepts evaluations primarily by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. The applicant must submit his or her transcripts and other relevant information to a credentialing company that is member of the National Association of Credential Evaluating Services (NACES) or the Association of International Credential Evaluators (AICE). These organizations perform a consumer protection function in their role of accrediting credential evaluation companies. As the Board has a catchall provision that applies to any school not in those two organizations, applicants from outside the United States can shop around, as long as they plan to complete all of the steps listed below. Applicants who wish to do this should note that each service has its own process for ordering a WES or ECE evaluation. Some have online orders. All require certain documents to be mailed, usually including your original transcripts. When evaluating foreign lawyers’ academic credentials, the Board requires NASBA’s minimum course requirements in addition to coursework like legal research, writing and analysis, and professional responsibility. In addition, applicants must have sufficient education in U.S. law to satisfy the Board’s non-classroom, "distance learning" requirement that includes U.S. Constitutional law and U.S. legal research. The Board will often treat some other subjects, such as contracts, as meeting both U.S. and New York (state-specific) requirements if they are taught by bar exam professors. While most foreign attorneys will be planning to complete this requirement during the LLM program, they should remember that the Board also requires attorneys to complete a pro bono requirement and sit for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE). Applicants should plan on enrolling in an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school. While there are a few American Bar Association approved online law schools, the Board will not consider applicants from those schools "unless a semester credit hour gap cannot be avoided in order to complete the educational requirements."

Credential Evaluation Process

The next step in the application process is Essential Character and Fitness Determination and Credential Evaluation. For applicants who received law degrees outside the United States, the New York State Board of Law Examiners ("the Board") requires foreign law school transcripts for evaluation by the Board to verify diplomas. If the foreign law school cannot provide a transcript directly from the issuing school to the Board, then a copy of the degree must be submitted, along with official transcripts, translated into English by a credential evaluation service.
This credential evaluation service must certify that the applicant’s foreign law school meets specific and comparable requirements for graduation from an ABA-accredited law school in the United States. The educational credentials must be submitted in conjunction with an official transcript from the foreign law school or a notarized copy of the applicant’s diploma.
A credential evaluation service is also responsible for reviewing the subjects and number of credit hours taken during the candidate’s foreign legal studies for comparison with the ABA jurisdiction’s first-year program of legal studies. The rules governing credential evaluation services are therefore very strict, and only eight services are authorized by the Board to perform these evaluations. It is therefore vital to use one of these sources.
In addition, the following documents must be included along with the Applicant’s Law School Certification Form, and Credential Evaluation Directives and Fee Schedule in order for the petition to begin the credential evaluation process: Applicants from Canada and the United Kingdom should carefully note that the Board relies on the government-issued official transcripts (by the government agency charged with maintaining post-secondary credentials) for initial review of the applicant’s foreign law school degree.
If, after review, the transcript is accepted as meeting essential credential evaluation requirements, the Board will move forward with the examination administration and Applicants Law School Certification Form will be returned to the applicant.
The Board is under no time restrictions when it comes to determining whether applicants’ educational credentials meet requirements for admission to the New York Bar. However, it tends to process such applications within 90 days. Petitions falling within this area are generally assigned to other legal and administrative professionals who will review the entire application in its entirety and offer their decision and reasons as to why the petition should or should not be accepted.

Taking the NY Law Exam and MPRE

Aside from the basic requirements for admission and passing the New York bar exam, foreign lawyers have to take the New York Law Exam and the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE). New York has a distinct New York Law Exam. The NYLE is a unique bar examination based on New York law. The NYLE is only administered twice a year (in March and in September) in conjunction with the Uniform Bar Exam. It assesses understanding of New York-specific laws and basic professional ethics and attorneys’ duties in New York. Subject areas covered can be found online. You must complete a minimum passing score of 66 to pass the New York Law Exam (NYLE). Score results are typically released within four weeks after the exam date. The NYLE is offered in February, May, July and November in association with the UBE. The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination is also a prerequisite to admission to the New York bar and must be passed with a score of at least 85. Since foreign-educated lawyers might not be familiar with U.S. legal standards, there are various resources available for review and practice of both the NYLE and the MPRE listed on the following webpage. There are many dedicated preparatory courses available for those who plan to apply for the New York bar exam.

Visa & Immigration Issues

Although most foreign-trained lawyers will want to start in a non-immigrant status such as a student Visa or a work Visa, there are several important visa and immigration considerations that they should think about before and while preparing for the New York Bar Exam. Generally, this consideration can be broken down into three critical steps, which include: (1) taking necessary English language tests, such as the TOEFL or IELTS; (2) applying and being granted a Certificate of Qualification from N.Y. State’s Supreme Court; and, (3) obtaining an entry Visa and/or an Employment Authorization Document.
The first step is a clear requirement of passing the bar exam. But these tests can often take many months to obtain results and may require extensive studying , so it is best to familiarize yourself with the test requirements early on. The second step is critically important because it is a prerequisite for taking the July Bar Exam, which is the only exam offered for foreign lawyers in N.Y. and therefore the primary bar exam that foreign lawyers will take to practice in the state. Finally, the third and final step is also very important in order to obtain an entry visa and/or an EAD to allow you to both take the July Bar Exam and, after successfully passing the exam, to actually practice law in New York.

Tips for Success

Important tips for success with the uniform bar exam
Utilize past exam questions. Most likely the biggest of your study materials will be reading. Whether it is a commercial bar review course or one of the many bar prep books, there will be a lot of content to read. The best way to understand how the New York bar exam tests the various topics is to work through past bar questions. Personally, I think it is important to use past real exam questions because they provide the most accurate representation of what the actual exam will be like. There are three resources that provide all past NY bar exam essay questions. The NCBE provides exams from 1995 to now – available here. The NY Board of Law Examiners offers a select group of past exams and model answers here. Lastly, Julie Brook’s course above also provides the entire range of past NY essays as well as guides on the best ones to review. She also includes the model answers.
Memorization – The Bar Exam is in essence a standardized test. The method of testing is highly formulaic. By having a general idea of the "formula" or concentration of a passing essay, you can better understand what points are necessary to make. Julie Brooks provides a guide here to help. It is also important to note that if pages fill with black ink might frighten you, you might need to consider an alternative career path. Success on the bar exam does not require you to muster genius. Everyone must be pretty much along the same lines of total volume of information memorized. The only thing that separates a passing grade and a fail is formatting. It is important to consider the ways you can best demonstrate your knowledge to the grader.
Timer apps. Having gone through bar prep before, I personally find them to be one of the most stressful parts – the timer. There are a range of apps that can time the exam and help you better understand your pacing. The two I found most useful are BarMax and NCBE Timer App (both free). BarMax is designed specifically to prep for the bar exam. The app allows you to take practice MBE/MBE/MPT/NY essays on your iPad. The app costs $29.99, but it was by far the most effective for me – well worth the price. The NCBE timer is exactly what it says it is. It very simply times you and alerts you when to stop writing. The app costs $15.99, but works seamlessly with the apps interface.
Schedule – Like almost any bar prep course, a schedule is essential. Sadly, I can’t help you here. I had a personal situation that required my attention last summer, which left me with a lot less time than I would have liked to devote to bar prep. I tried to treat it like a part time job, but I slipped into the bad habit that I’m sure many others also fall prey to – simply watching videos and reading – but not doing practice work. My own study schedule cost me dearly on the New York bar exam. But that is not to say that one can’t be successful with a less rigorous work schedule. I just recommend my fellow foreign lawyer readers take a better approach than I did. Ask yourself how many MPTs/MBEs/NY essay outlines you need to do within the time frame. Try that for a week or two, and adjust along the way to suit your needs.

Now That You Qualify – Practicing Law in NY

Post-Qualification: Practicing Law in New York After Taking the Bar Exam
So you’ve passed the bar? Congratulations! Entering into the world of practicing law, however, requires some important steps. Upon successful completion of the New York State Bar Examination (the "Bar"), an applicant must also complete the process for admission to practice. This process, known as admission on motion, includes satisfactory completion of the Applicant’s Character and Fitness application to the New York State Board of Law Examiners (the "Board") as well as additional requirements.
Aside from completing an application and calling in for an interview, an applicant, to be admitted to the bar, must also satisfy the character and fitness portion of admission. "Character and fitness" refers to the requirement that a candidate for admission must demonstrate to the Board his or her current good moral character, general fitness and ability to practice law in the State of New York. Moral character, as defined by the New York Rules of Professional Conduct §1.0(h), means right conduct or behavior, including good moral worth, personal fortitude, integrity and honesty. Where an applicant has suffered a serious criminal offense, the Board will require responses to its inquiries during the character interview as to the applicant’s rehabilitation.
After taking the Bar and receiving a passing score, the Board will notify the applicant of further steps required for admission to the bar as "the next step in your journey towards becoming a member of the legal profession." This notification consists of a formal letter in the mail which outlines the next steps required . These steps require disclosure of any changes in one’s background after submission of one’s character and fitness application. Applicants are also required to submit the form requesting order of admission from the Court by submitting to the Board a statement attested to by the presiding judge of the Appellate Division in the judicial district in which the applicant studied law.
Once the abovementioned requirements are completed, payment of the admission fee and Personal Statement Form are required to complete the process. Admission fees, according to the Board, are the same and referenced as "Application Fees" for admission to the bar. Application fees are based on the district in which an applicant was sworn in. Please note, applicants do not have to reserve a swearing-in date to pay their Application fees.
Finally, once successfully completing these requirements and payment of the required fees, an applicant will be notified (by mail) of the date and time of the court ceremony of admission. The bar admission ceremony for all the new admittees of the Appellate Division’s First Department is held in June at Lincoln Center in New York City (the "First Department Ceremony"). Where an applicant is being sworn in for admission in New York County, the applicant must attend the First Department Ceremony. However, for those being admitted in any other counties, applicants are required to attend a ceremony that is held by the Appellate Division of the Judicial District in which the applicant resided for at least six months immediately prior to taking the Bar exam.