Civil Litigation in New York City

How to Gain Admission to the New York State Bar

2018-02-22T10:40:00.000-05:00

To practice as an attorney in the State of New York, you must be admitted to the bar of the State of New York. You may apply for admission to the bar of New York either by Motion/Reciprocity or by taking the New York Bar Exam. One must then apply for approval from the Character & Fitness Committee before finally becoming admitted to the New York bar. This article will address how to gain admission to the New York State Bar and become licensed to practice as an attorney in New York.

Admission on Motion/Reciprocity
New York State permits admission on motion, without examination, for applicants who have practiced for 5 of the preceding 7 years, are admitted to practice in at least 1 reciprocal jurisdiction, and have graduated from an ABA approved law school. New York has reciprocity with the following states: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virgina, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

If you meet these qualifications, you must obtain a Certificate of Legal Education from the NY BOLE. The application can be found at http://www.nybarexam.org/Docs/motion.pdf The fee for the certification is $400.

The Bar Examination
If you are not eligible for Admission on Motion/Reciprocity, you must take the New York bar examin order to be admitted to the New York State Bar. The NY bar exam is given on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July annually. The application period for the July bar exam is typically the month of April and the application period for the February bar exam is typically the month of November. Applications can be found at http://www.nybarexam.org. You may apply either online or by mailing in a paper application. The application fee is $250 and an additional $100 if you would like to take the bar on an laptop. If you file an online application, the fee is paid via Mastercard or Visa. If you mail in a paper application, the fee is paid by certified check, cashier's check, money order or travelers check. All payments should be made payable to: "NYS Board of Law Examiners."

Character & Fitness
All applicants to the New York State Bar must be evaluated for their character and fitness to practice law. Once an applicant has passed the bar exam, they may submit their application to the Character & Fitness Committee for review. The application may be found at http://www.nybarexam.org/Docs/AdmissionsPackage.pdf.

Depending upon your address, you will be admitted in either the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th department and send your application there. Each department may have their own additional forms or requirements. For instance, the 2nd department requires you to complete an Orientation to the Profession Program, information about which can be found at http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/ad2/orientation.shtml.

For more information for each specific department's requirements, see their own sites:

1st Department: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/ad1/Committees&Programs/CFC/index.shtml
2nd Department: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/ad2/attorneymatters.shtml
3rd Department: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/ad3/Admissions/Index.html
4th Department: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/ad4/index.htm

Interview
As part of your Character & Fitness application, you must have an interview with a member of the Character & Fitness committee. This will be scheduled after all of your paperwork has been submitted.

Admission
Finally, after everything has been completed and you have been recommended for admission to the bar of the State of New York, you will be given a date to be sworn in. You must attend your swearing in in order to be admitted to practice in the State of New York.

Central Compliance Part (CCP) in Kings County (NY Supreme Court)

2014-09-24T10:01:00.001-04:00

If you are practicing law in New York, odds are you will find yourself with a case in Kings County (Brooklyn) and will be stuck in dreaded CCP for a compliance conference or discovery motion. To learn all the ins and outs of CCP, check out the link below:

Central Compliance Part (CCP) in Kings County (NY Supreme Court)

Preliminary Conferences in Kings County

2011-07-25T13:52:00.001-04:00

Intake/PC Part
Room 923
No calendar call or check-in.
Default at 11:00 a.m.

All preliminary conferences in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Kings County are held in the Intake Part (also known as the PC Part). Preliminary conferences start at 9:30 a.m. There is no calendar call or check in, you simply sign in on the calendar outside and try to find the other parties in the suit. (Do this by calling out the case name or your adversary's law firm. Once all parties have arrived, you can complete a preliminary conference order together and then conference the matter before the law secretary. If your adversary fails to appear by 11:00 a.m. the PC will be adjourned. If this is the second time your adversary fails to appear, the case will either be marked disposed (if you are the defendant) or you can complete a default PC order (if you are the plaintiff).

New York County Motion Submissions--Room 130

2011-07-20T18:08:00.001-04:00

In New York County after you file your motion with the court, it is sent to Room 130. On the motion's return date, it will be on the calendar in Room 130 and will either be marked fully submitted or adjourned (your motion can also be withdrawn if you so please).

Essentially the calendar call starts at 9:30 a.m. and the court officer reads through the dozens of cases (usually over 100) on the calendar. If a party wants and adjournment to put in papers, all parties can either stipulate to an adjournment and submit a stip prior to the return date or a party can request an adjournment in person. Adjournments are generally granted unless the motion has been on the calendar greater than 60 days. If you wish to oppose an adjournment, you can request to argue before a judicial referee who will hear argument after the calendar call is complete.

In addition to requesting adjournments, parties may also submit response papers in Room 130.

If no one requests an adjournment or if all papers have been submitted. The matter will be marked submitted and assigned to a part and given a date for oral argument.

How to File an Order to Show Cause in Kings County

2011-07-20T17:08:00.000-04:00

While typically motions are just "put in service" because a judge must first sign an Order to Show Cause (OSC) before it can be served upon all parties, you may want to (or your partner may want you to) go and file Orders to Show Cause in person. Here is how to file an OSC in Kings County.

Go to the County Clerk's Office (room 189) and have your OSC reviewed (Window #5) and pay for it (Window #4).
Go to the Ex Parte Clerk's Office (10th floor) and submit your OSC to be reviewed. If the OSC is an Emergency OSC, you will likely wait until it is reviewed and signed by the judge. Otherwise, you will be given a form to check for the signed & scanned order online.

For a more detailed explanation on how to file an OSC in Kings County go here: How to File an Order to Show Cause in Kings County

Richmond County Supreme Court, Civil Term

2011-07-20T16:31:00.004-04:00

There are 2 courthouses for the Richmond County (Staten Island) Supreme Court (listed below). The main courthouse is 18 Richmond Terrace.

18 Richmond Terrace
Staten Island, NY 10301

120 Stuyvesant Place
Staten Island, NY 10301

The hours of operation for the Richmond County courthouses are 9:00 a.m. until 5:00p.m.

Bronx County Supreme Court, Civil Term

2011-07-20T16:28:00.002-04:00

The Bronx County courthouse is located at

851 Grand Concourse
Bronx, NY 10451

The hours of operation for the Bronx County courthouse is 9:00 a.m. until 5:00p.m.

Queens County Supreme Court, Civil Term

2011-07-20T16:27:00.000-04:00

There are two courthouses for the Queens County Supreme Court (listed below). The Jamaica courthouse is the main Queens County courthouse.

88-11 Sutphin Blvd
Jamaica, NY 11435

25-10 Court Square
Long Island City NY 11101

The hours for both Queens County courthouses are 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Kings County Supreme Court, Civil Term

2011-07-20T16:23:00.001-04:00

The Kings County Supreme Court is located at:

360 Adams Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

The hours of operation for the Kings County courthouse is 9:00 a.m. until 5:00p.m.

New York County Supreme Court, Civil Term

2011-07-20T16:17:00.003-04:00

The New York County Supreme Court has 4 separate courthouses for the civil term (listed below). 60 Centre Street is the main courthouse.

60 Centre Street
New York, NY 10007

80 Centre Street
New York, NY 10013

111 Centre Street
New York, NY 10013

71 Thomas Street
New York, NY 10013

The hours of operation for the courthouses are 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.