<p> <a href="/topics/New_York_%28state%29">New York</a> will notch a national first next year when it requires new lawyers to do 50 hours of unpaid work as a condition for a license to practice in the state. It's an innovative initiative that should help meet the growing need among the poor and near poor for representation in civil matters such as foreclosures and evictions. Students and graduates can do the work under the supervision of school faculty, law firms or legal service organizations.</p> 
<p> About 10,000 people pass the state bar exam each year. A few days' work for each will total half a million hours a year of services. Documentation must be provided to the court's appellate divisions for admission to the bar. Officials must ensure the work is real and appropriate. Done right, this could be a win-win, providing experience for new lawyers and legal assistance for people who need it.</p>

New York will notch a national first next year when it requires new lawyers to do 50 hours of unpaid work as a condition for a license to practice in the state. It's an innovative initiative that should help meet the growing need among the poor and near poor for representation in civil matters such as foreclosures and evictions. Students and graduates can do the work under the supervision of school faculty, law firms or legal service organizations. About 10,000 people pass the state bar exam each year. A few days' work for each will total half a million hours a year of services. Documentation must be provided to the court's appellate divisions for admission to the bar. Officials must ensure the work is real and appropriate. Done right, this could be a win-win, providing experience for new lawyers and legal assistance for people who need it.

Opinion

VPHIT06

A win-win: Pro bono lawyers before they're pros

Newsday

0M3IXCQC.JPG

Opinion Columns

Opinion Rail Module

Transformation? In the Town of Oyster Bay? After stops and starts, yes.

Change is happening in Hicksville

Incumbent pols like to claim credit when trends are good and cast blame when they are not.

Credit on crime is in the eye of the voter

We are constantly reminded that life indeed is about the survival of the fittest.

Nature offers many lessons, some hard to accept

State health commissioner wears many hats as he navigates increasingly complex landscape.

A tricky time as vax noise sows confusion

After brutal fights, will voters who backed the losers in contested primaries come out in November?

Parties feel the tremors below the battlefield

Opinion Article Bottom Module

Think of the region as a workshop that gave the country's ideals a stress test.

If Philadelphia founded America, LI helped build it

We need a national effort to develop a Lyme disease vaccine and eradicate the tick population.

To make LI safe from ticks, cull more deer

Political interference threatens drug safety standards

See Matt Davies' latest cartoon

So is the opaque process behind the waitlist, and how the agency allocates units.

Housing authority's waitlist is unacceptable

Sign up for the Viewpoints newsletter

Viewpoints Newsletter Widget

Debating Propel Energy's power path

Opinion Video Playlist

The Point is Newsday Opinion's daily newsletter inside the local, city and state political scenes.

Blakeman's Brady Bunch blitz

The backing for left-wing progressives remains limited in swing states.

Democrats' greatest divide isn't race or money

Congress should reassert its authority over drug regulation.

FDA turmoil: Political interference threatens drug safety standards

Our goal is not only to educate students but to help them envision possibilities they may never have considered.

Opening the doors of justice to students

Ticks, unchecked AI

Rather than give proper assurances, Blakeman issued spiteful partisan remarks.

No voters should be intimidated

Suffolk Dem progressives on the prowl

They constitute a consequential element of monetary policy.

The $19 trillion bond question confronting central banks

The laws that have made it easier to refuse routine shots haven't helped.

New kindergarten vaccine data has RFK Jr.'s stamp all over it

TPS workers, ICE detentions, bullying, life skills classes

Dig deeper and you see that past a certain point, more money is not the answer.

LI schools: Ahead of a very mediocre pack

App Nativo Ad Unit Slot

Opinion - megaslot

Nassau County and Suffolk County editorials, columns, guest essays, cartoons, letters and more.

Stay logged in.