New York Civil Practice
Law & Rules





NYCPLR Article 94

ADMISSION TO PRACTICE

9401. Committee.
9402. Application for admission.
9403. Referral to another judicial district.
9404. Certificate of character and fitness.
9405. Prior application.
9406. Proof.
9407. Filing.

Rule 9401. Committee. The appellate division in each judicial department shall appoint a committee of not less than three practicing lawyers for each judicial district within the department, for the purpose of investigating the character and fitness of every applicant for admission to practice as an attorney and counselor at law in the courts of this state. Each member of such committee shall serve until his death, resignation or the appointment of his successor. A lawyer who has been or who shall be appointed a member of the committee for one district may be appointed a member of the committee for another district within the same department.

Rule 9402. Application for admission. Every application for admission to practice pursuant to the provisions of paragraph a of subdivision one of section ninety of the judiciary law by a person who has been certified by the state board of law examiners, in accordance with the provisions of section four hundred sixty-four of said law, shall be referred by the appellate division to the committee for a district in its judicial department. Every application for admission to practice which is made on motion without the taking of the bar examination, pursuant to rules of the court of appeals and the provisions of paragraph b of subdivision one of section ninety of the judiciary law, by a person already admitted to practice in another jurisdiction, shall be referred by the appellate division to the committee for a district in its judicial department.

Rule 9403. Referral to another judicial district. Notwithstanding rule 9402, any application for admission to practice pending before a committee, may be referred to the committee for another judicial district in the same or another department by order or direction of the presiding justice of the appellate division of the department embracing the district in which the application is pending. Such order or direction may be made only upon the written request of the chairman or acting chairman of the committee before which the application is pending and only upon his written certification either:

1. that the applicant, since he applied to take the bar examination or to dispense with such examination or since he applied on motion to be admitted to practice, has changed his actual residence to such other judicial district in the same or other department, or, if not a resident of the state, has acquired full-time employment in or changed his place of full-time employment to such other judicial district in the same or other department; or

2. that the majority of the members of such committee are not qualified to vote on the application or have disqualified themselves from voting or have refrained from voting thereon; or




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Article 94, Continued . . .

3. that the members of such committee are equally divided in their opinion as the application; or

4. that strict compliance with rule 9402 will cause undue hardship to the applicant.

Rule 9404. Certificate of character and fitness. Unless otherwise ordered by the appellate division, no person shall be admitted to practice without a certificate from the proper committee that it has carefully investigated the character and fitness of the applicant and that, in such respects, he is entitled to admission. To enable the committee to make such investigation, the justices of the appellate division are authorized to prescribe and from time to time to amend a form of statement or questionnaire to be submitted by the applicant, including specifically his present and such past places of actual residence as may be required therein, listing the street and number, if any, and the period of time he resided at each place.

Rule 9405. Prior application. In the event that any applicant has made a prior application for admission to practice in this state or in any other jurisdiction, then upon said statement or questionnaire or in an accompanying signed statement, he shall set forth in detail all the facts with respect to such prior application and its disposition. If such prior application had been filed in any appellate division of this state and if the applicant failed to obtain a certificate of good character and fitness from the appropriate character committee or if for any reason such prior application was disapproved or rejected either by said committee or said appellate division, he shall obtain and submit the written consent of said appellate division to the renewal of his application in that appellate division or in any other appellate division.

Rule 9406. Proof. No person shall receive said certificate from any committee and no person shall be admitted to practice as an attorney and counselor at law in the courts of this state, unless he shall furnish satisfactory proof to the effect:

1. that he supports the constitutions of the United States and of the state of New York; and

2. that he has complied with all the requirements of the applicable statutes of this state, the applicable rules of the court of appeals and the applicable rules of the appellate division in which his application is pending, relating to the admission to practice as an attorney and counselor at law.

Rule 9407. Filing. Every application for admission to practice, together with all the papers submitted thereon, upon its final disposition by the appellate division shall be filed in the office of the clerk of such appellate division.