Chief Judge Approves Temporary Authorization Program

To alleviate the hardship on bar applicants due to the delay in bar examination, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore approved a program designed to provide temporary authorization for qualified law graduates to engage in the limited practice of law. Practice orders promulgated by the Appellate Division departments will allow all covered candidates employed in New York to work under the supervision of a qualified attorney in good standing who has been admitted to practice law in New York for at least three years. Temporary authorization will be available to all first-time takers of the bar examination, including both J.D. and LL.M. candidates, irrespective of their graduation year. The temporary authorization program is intended to carry qualified candidates through their swearing-in date, so long as those candidates pass their first bar examination no later than 2021 and promptly seek admission to the bar following the release of exam results. For further details, read the memo here.