AFLA SEEKS COVID WAIVER TO ASSIST NEW YORK BAR APPLICANTS

On November 2, 2020, the American Foreign Law Association (AFLA)  AFLA submitted Amicus curiae letter authored by AFLA Vice President William B. Bierce to the New York Court of Appeals and the New York Board of Law Examiners in support of a waiver permitting any bar applicant (foreign or American) to take certain examinations for the New York bar at locations outside New York and the United States due to the COVID crisis.

Current New York rules require each bar applicant to pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) within three years after passing the New York bar examination.  The applicant must take the MPRE in New York or a few other states. The United States has been in emergency mode since January 31, 2020, with various lockdowns, quarantines and travel restrictions.

AFLA argued that a waiver or alternate solutions permitting interim admission under a qualified attorney’s supervision would avoid unnecessary hardships or discrimination against those applicants respecting New York’s travel advisories implemented by Governor Andrew Cuomo.