According to our records, it now appears that the Board is in receipt of all required foreign documents to begin review of your eligibility to sit for the New York State bar examination. Your file will now be processed. This could take up to six months (please consult the Board’s website at http://www.nybarexam.org/Foreign/ForeignLegalEducation.htm for all applicable deadlines). There may be further delays in rendering a determination if the Board requires additional information in order to complete its review.
We strongly advise you to wait until you have received a determination before submitting an application to sit for the examination and paying the non-refundable $750 application fee.
The New York State Board of Law Examiners has completed its review of your foreign documentation submitted in support of your request for an advance evaluation of your eligibility to sit for the New York State bar examination under Section 520.6 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals for the Admission of Attorneys and Counselors at Law [22 NYCRR 520.6]. Your foreign credentials including your foreign law school transcript has been approved by the Board. However, the Board's final decision with respect to your eligibility to sit for the New York bar examination is contingent on your submission of, and the Board's approval of, the required proof of successful completion and graduation with a qualifying LL.M. degree from an ABA-approved law school in the United States.
After careful consideration of your foreign law school transcripts and other documentation the Board has concluded that your foreign law school study is either (1) not of sufficient duration or (2) not substantively equivalent to the legal education provided by an ABA-approved law school in the United States pursuant to the requirements of Rule 520.6. However, you may cure this deficiency and qualify to sit for the New York bar examination upon successful completion of a qualifying LL.M. degree from an ABA-approved law school in the United States, which fully complies with all of the requirements set forth in the cure provision of Rule 520.6(b)(3).
A comprehensive review of Rule 520.6 and its LL.M. curriculum requirements may be found on the Board's website at: http://www.nybarexam.org/Foreign/ForeignLegalEducation.htm. We urge you to carefully review Rule 520.6 and the information located in the Foreign Legal Education section of the Board's website to insure that the LL.M. program that you have completed, or which you are currently pursuing or which you plan to pursue, fully satisfies the requirements of Rule 520.6 before you submit an application and pay the $750 application filing fee to sit for the New York State bar examination.
While you are not required to submit any additional foreign documentation to the Board, you will be required, after you graduate with an LL.M. degree from an ABA-approved law school in the United States, to request your U.S. law school to send to the Board, by no later than February 1 for a February exam or by no later than June 15 for a July exam, the following required documents: (1) a final official transcript of your LL.M. degree; (2) the completed LL.M. Certificate of Attendance Form, which you may download at: http://www.nybarexam.org/Docs/LLMCertificateofAttendanceForm.pdf; and (3) the completed Specimen of Applicant's Handwriting Form, a copy of which may be downloaded from the Board's website at http://www.nybarexam.org/Docs/HandwritingSampleForm.pdf.
Please be advised the Board's final decision with respect to your eligibility to sit for the New York bar examination is contingent on your submission of, and the Board's subsequent approval of, the final official LL.M. transcript and the completed LL.M. Certificate of Attendance Form. Upon the Board's receipt and approval of the required LLM documents you will be notified by email regarding the Board's final determination of your eligibility to sit for the bar examination.