Disclosures about State Licensure for the Practice of Law

There are federal rules which require all schools to disclose information to admitted students about their degree programs if the degree is advertised as leading to a professional license. Each school must disclose to a student if the degree they were admitted to will not (or might not) qualify them to sit for the bar exam in the state the student lists as their residence. These rules apply to schools which train people to become a member of any state-licensed profession, ranging from doctors, plumbers, hairdressers, to lawyers.  There are exceptions for professions which may work in a state without licensure, such as states which allow in-house practice without licensure.  The intent of these rules is to allow admitted students to educate themselves about whether a degree program will enable them to obtain professional licensure in the state of their residence.

At NYU School of Law, law is the only profession which we prepare students for. Some of our degree and certificate programs are not designed to satisfy state law licensure requirements, or are advanced graduate degrees in law which are not designed for those entering the profession. Law licensure is regulated separately by each state, district, and territory within the US. Broadly, if one gains licensure in a state jurisdiction, that license only allows one to practice law in that jurisdiction. Many of our students take the New York State bar exam and hope to practice in New York State. We also place our graduates nationally and internationally. (Our programs are not designed to qualify one to practice law in other countries; this page will only address law licensure within the United States.)

Most of our students are in our JD program. A JD (Juris Doctor) degree from NYU School of Law can fulfill the legal education requirements to sit for any US state’s bar exam. The JD degree is the main legal educational credential (first professional degree) in the US.

Our other advanced degrees and certificates are not intended for entry level students. For example, the Master of Studies in Law in Taxation degree is intended for those already licensed as Certified Professional Accountants, as well as Economists and other non-lawyer tax professionals. It is intended for those who are already licensed and practicing in their field and cannot be used to qualify one to practice law in any US jurisdiction. It is not intended to qualify students for any professional certification, in the field of law or any other field. Lawyers licensed in other countries may wish to view our FAQ.

Generally, law licensure can be broken down into these steps:

• Qualify to sit for a state’s bar exam by:
  • Completing any pre-legal education required by a state, such as an undergraduate degree.
  • For JD programs: pass a Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) or a Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
  • Gain admission to an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school and complete a law degree which a state recognizes as meeting degree requirements. Most commonly this would be the JD degree. This often requires taking specific coursework.
• Take and pass the State’s bar exam.
• Take and pass a Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE)
• Be reviewed by the state bar examiners for character and fitness issues. Some states require this review prior to the bar exam, while most perform this after the bar exam has been passed.
• Fulfill any additional requirements to become admitted to a state bar, such as pro bono work, state-specific law courses and exams, skills and competency requirements, etc.
• Complete ongoing Continuing Legal Education (CLE) and abide by all rules of the state bar. Some continuing education may be required prior to admission and CLE is commonly required each year after admission.

Exceptions: There are some exceptions, however. For example, in fewer than 10 states, one may qualify to sit or a state bar exam on an apprenticeship model, by studying law while working in a law office, or some combination of legal education and legal work. Some states allow for a JD from a non-ABA accredited or online school to be used to qualify to sit for their bar exam, while many do not. Some states allow lawyers licensed in other jurisdictions to gain “admission on motion” after a number of years of practice. Some states allow for temporary practice orders in some circumstances, to allow law school graduates to practice under the supervision of an attorney pending their passing the bar exam. Some states allow for spouses of active duty military to practice temporarily, and there may be special rules allowing for practice without licensure for foreign legal consultants, corporate “in-house” counsel, legal services organizations, or pro bono lawyers. Law licensure is not required to practice before the IRS or the Tax Court; one may instead take and pass a test to become an enrolled agent or one who is authorized to practice before the tax court.

In more detail:

Juris Doctor (JD): All bar examiners accept this credential to qualify to sit for the bar exam, but restrictions apply and there are additional requirements to gain licensure. Please review the discussion and chart below.

NYU School of Law’s JD program is ABA accredited and our JD degree will generally serve to fulfill the legal education requirement of US state bar examiners. We also offer dual and joint degree programs which include the JD, such as a JD/MBA. Only the JD portion of these joint/dual degrees would qualify one to sit for the bar exam.

The bar exam: In many states the bar exam is two or sometimes three days in duration and may be composed of several separate tests. Some states create their own exam questions which are relevant to their jurisdiction. Many states use a closed-book Uniform Bar Exam which may consist of multiple choice, essay, and skills tests. The multiple-choice multistate bar exam (MBE) commonly tests subjects which are covered in the required first year curriculum of many law schools: torts, civil procedure, criminal law and procedure, constitutional law, contracts, real property, and evidence. The multistate essay examination (MEE) may cover those same topics plus additional topics such as family law, trusts and estates, or business associations. The multistate performance test is used by many jurisdictions to test lawyering skills and supplies legal research and legal problems to test how applicants analyze and solve these problems by writing a will, memo, contract provision, etc. Many bar applicants take an optional bar exam preparation course offered by commercial enterprises, though this is not required by any jurisdiction.

Other requirements: The bar exam is one major step towards obtaining a license to practice law in that jurisdiction. There are many other requirements to becoming licensed to practice law, however.

For example, the national conference of bar examiners, a group which offers guidance to state bar examiners, lists many categories of qualifications necessary to practice law and also lists categories of issues which can prevent an applicant from becoming licensed. Bar examiners generally investigate each applicant thoroughly and require an exhaustive list of disclosures of every known address, phone number, employer, traffic citation, and educational experience. Law schools and bar exam applications often both ask for information on past infractions, and any discrepancies between the two applications can cause issues when applying to the bar exam.

The categories of issues noted by the national conference of bar examiners in their Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements include:

• unlawful conduct
• academic misconduct
• making of false statements, including omissions
• misconduct in employment
• acts involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation
• abuse of legal process
• neglect of financial responsibilities
• neglect of professional obligations
• violation of an order of a court
• evidence of mental or emotional instability
• evidence of drug or alcohol dependency
• denial of admission to the bar in another jurisdiction on character and fitness grounds
• disciplinary action by a lawyer disciplinary agency or other professional disciplinary agency of any jurisdiction

Each state may have different items it focuses on.

JD degree:

The following chart details whether the NYU JD degree, or any joint or dual JD degree option will meet each state law licensure educational requirements. An underlying assumption is that all NYU JD students possess a “baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university or its international equivalent,” as is required in our admission criteria. This chart is based on information provided by the states to the national conference of bar examiners in the Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, states may temporarily change their requirements. For example, state bar examiners were generally allowing online coursework to count towards their requirements during any state mandated restrictions on in person meetings, though in many cases that flexibility appears to have been limited to 2020 and also 2021 in some cases.