The New York City Bar Association is launching several new programs to help lawyers beginning their careers to obtain training and employment opportunities that current CLE programs lack.
The New York City Bar Association is launching several new programs to help new lawyers adapt their practices to the changing legal landscape. After over a year of analysis, the New York City Bar Task Force on New Lawyers in a Changing Profession released a report on November 14, 2013. The report recommended year-long courses that would develop fundamental changes in education and career focus for new lawyers to alleviate the “impediments to innovation” in the legal industry.
A City Bar-run New Lawyer Institute will allow for all New York City lawyers beginning their careers to obtain access to high-quality training, support and interaction and practical advice from experts in legal fields that the current CLE classes don’t offer to new attorneys. The City Bar will also partner with major employers to develop “Bridge-to-Practice” Programs that will provide training and employment opportunities for law students and new lawyers.
The report also identified a need to review the Bar Exam, and a working group is to report by next year on the necessary changes to how New York tests the knowledge and qualifications of new lawyers. Additionally, the report called for more effort to be put towards matching lawyers to the unmet civil legal needs of the middle class, and subject to funding, a new commercially sustainable business model will be developed to address the needs of people of moderate means.
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