Due to several important and timely NY distinctions, students intending to apply to take the NY bar exam must carefully read and review all the information and deadlines contained in the NY Bar Examiners website.
Pathways for Skills Competency and Professional Values New York State Bar Admission Requirement (Rule 520.18)
Students who began their legal education after August 1, 2016 must satisfy a Skills Competency and Professional Values requirement for Admission to the Bar in New York State. Pathway 1 allows an applicant from an American Bar Association approved law school to satisfy the skills competency and professional values requirement by submitting a certification from the applicant’s law school confirming that (1) the law school has developed a plan identifying and incorporating into its curriculum the skills and professional values that, in the school’s judgment, are required for its graduates’ basic competence and ethical participation in the legal profession, and has made this plan publicly available on the law school’s website; and (2) the applicant has acquired sufficient competency in those skills and sufficient familiarity with those values. Western New England University School of Law has carefully evaluated this standard, and satisfies Pathway 1 by requiring all Western New England University School of Law graduates to have successfully completed the following courses and requirements which build on and enhance the skills and professional values that demonstrate compliance with the law school's Mission and learning objectives:
Introduction to the Law
This class introduces students to the study of law. It is designed to give students the knowledge and skills that will enable them to get the most out of their other first-year courses. The goals of the course include introducing students to the purposes and pedagogy of law school, providing techniques and strategies for learning the law, and providing information on background concepts. Students will gain an understanding of the American legal system, explore the function of case law and how it relates to other sources of the law, and learn to actively engage in case analysis.
Introduction to the Legal Profession
This skills course is designed to introduce students to aspects of legal practice through a simulated client representation. The goals of the course include helping students develop an understanding of the importance of professionalism, legal ethics, and competency and to provide opportunities for students to engage in hands-on lawyering skills.
Lawyering Skills I and Lawyering Skills II
Lawyering Skills I and II teach students the basic techniques of legal research, legal analysis, legal writing, and oral advocacy--essential tools of the lawyering profession. The full-time Legal Research and Writing faculty work closely with students in smaller classroom settings introducing case briefing, case synthesis, and analysis through a series of research and writing assignments. Students learn how to research legal issues, frame legal arguments, and analyze legal problems. In addition to learning traditional research methods, students are also trained to use computer-assisted legal research including Lexis and Westlaw. This full-year course culminates in an oral argument in a simulated court setting, during which each student argues a motion based on a brief written by the student.
Professional Responsibility
This course examines the legal and ethical issues that lawyers confront regularly as they perform their unique, and often conflicting, role in today's society. The course addresses the nature and scope of the attorney's responsibilities and obligations to the administration of justice, to clients, to society, and to the profession. The course examines the application of the laws regulating the conduct of lawyers in relation to the development of professional ethics.
Experiential Learning
Graduates must complete six (6) experiential learning credits. Experiential learning has a high priority at Western New England University School of Law. The clinical programs allow the student to apply legal theory learned in the classroom to real-life lawyering, representing actual clients in real cases. These programs prepare the student for the practice of law, as they gain practical knowledge and begin to develop professional skills and values under the supervision of experienced practitioners and a faculty member. In addition to providing valuable firsthand experience, clinics help develop essential lawyering skills such as legal writing, interviewing, and negotiation. Participation in a clinical program also offers an exciting and creative way to establish connections with practicing attorneys and to build a resume of legal experience.
Pro Bono Requirement (50 Hours)
Admission to the NY Bar requires 50 hours of pro bono service. Pro bono service is uncompensated and is defined as the provision of law-related services to: (1) persons of limited means; (2) charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters which are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means; (3) individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties or public rights; (4) charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental, or educational organizations in matters in furtherance of their organizational purposes, where the payment of standard legal fees would significantly deplete the organization's economic resources; (5) activities for improving access to the law, improving the legal system, or improving the legal profession; and (6) educational activities for improving the public's understanding of the law, the legal system, or the legal profession.
Upper Level Writing Requirement
All students must complete at least 2 units of advanced writing skills. These courses further develop and refine the research, analysis, citation, and writing skills introduced in the Lawyering Skills course. With close supervision and guidance, students will develop their own research strategies using a wide range of research materials. The writing component of these courses will consist of drafting practical documents, such as appellate briefs, interrogatories, client letters, demand letters, etc.. Students will also examine, critique, and revise examples of typical written documents in law practice, and may present their work orally. The courses often include peer assessment, self-editing, small group and individual conferences, and class presentations.
Guidelines for Distance Learning Credits
There is a limit of 20 distance learning credits for admission to New York Bar. New York requires bar applicants to have attended a law school that requires at least 83 credits to earn the JD, of which only 15 of those credits may be in distance learning courses. Because Western New England University School of Law requires 88 credits to earn a JD, students may take 20 distance learning credits and still be eligible for admission in New York.
New York also denies eligibility to applicants who took any distance education credits in the first third of their JD program. For this reason, our part-time evening program does not comply with this aspect of the NY Court of Appeals Rules for the Admission of Attorneys. Visit our Instructions Before Registering page for additional information.
