Momentum Builds for Allowing NY Bar Applicants to Keep Mental Health History Secret (New York Law Journal)
New York Law Journal, June 10, 2019
Momentum Builds for Allowing NY Bar Applicants to Keep Mental Health History Secret
The new president of the New York State Bar Association is announcing today that he’s launching a blue-ribbon committee to determine if the state should remove questions about mental health disorders from applications for the bar. The move mirrors efforts underway nationwide…. “It doesn’t say ‘do you have type 1 diabetes or do you have a chronic medical condition where you’re constantly taking care of yourself,’” said Eileen Travis, director of the Lawyer Assistance Program for the New York City Bar Association. Travis, who visits New York law schools frequently to urge students to seek treatment for emotional problems, said she hopes the question is removed. “It has this extremely intrusive quality to it,” she said.
