The following email was sent to NYU Law students on March 18, 2020.
Dear Students:
I write to provide an update to all current students planning to pursue admission to the New York State Bar. As noted in an email to the community last week, we are aware that the temporary transition to remote instruction in response to the coronavirus emergency raises questions of bar eligibility in New York State and elsewhere.
I am pleased to share that today the New York State Court of Appeals has granted our application for a waiver of strict compliance with the state bar’s limitations on distance learning for all students enrolled at NYU Law in the Spring 2020 semester. The Court’s order, attached here, acknowledges the necessity of NYU Law’s transition to remotely-taught, synchronous classes in the Spring 2020 semester, and permits all NYU Law students engaged in these classes, in both the J.D. and LL.M programs, to sit for the New York bar examination if they are otherwise bar-eligible.
Additionally, the American Bar Association has assured the deans of ABA-approved law schools that the Association is in full support of the decision made by schools across the country to teach and learn remotely for much of the current semester.
I hope that this news provides some measure of relief to you all in an uncertain time.
Trevor Morrison
Trevor W. Morrison
Dean
Eric M. and Laurie B. Roth Professor of Law
New York University School of Law