Dear Students,
As many of you are completing your summer internships (at public interest and private sector employers), we want to remind you that in order to satisfy the NY State Bar’s new pro bono requirement, you will be required – after passing the bar exam and before being admitted to the Bar – to submit two types of notarized affidavits that your employers will sign:
1) Legal Employment Affidavits from every law-related position you have held, including paid or unpaid internships, summer associate positions, volunteer work in law school clinics or elsewhere, http://www.nybarexam.org/Admission/Part%20III-LawRelEmployMay2011.pdf;
2) A new form confirming your pro bono hours, http://www.nycourts.gov/attorneys/probono/AppForAdmission_Pro-BonoReq_Fillable.pdf
You are not required to complete these forms now, but it may be helpful to do so – especially for those of you working outside of New York – who may have the easiest time accessing your employers now.
If you have any questions about whether a particular job qualifies as pro bono under the New York State rule, please consult their website and FAQ’s, http://www.nycourts.gov/attorneys/probono/baradmissionreqs.shtml. We at NYU do not have authority to tell you whether something qualifies as pro bono or does not, but if the rule and FAQ’s leaves ambiguity about your job, please email us at pilc.info@nyu.edu, and we will reach out to the Bar and see if they will clarify it.
While you will be required to send the bar original affidavits, we have designed a system to help you track your hours for your personal use. On CSM, there is a new shortcut called “Pro Bono,” through which you can track your own hours and upload copies of any documents – including affidavits – that you would like to store in CSM. Below are instructions.
If you have any questions, please reach out to us at 212-998-6686 or pilc.info@nyu.edu.
How to track pro bono hours on CSM/Symplicity:
How to Activate the Pro Bono Module on Symplicity
1. Log onto your Symplicity profile. From your Symplicity homepage, click on “Pro Bono Hours Tracking” link on the right-hand side of the homepage.
2. If you have not previously registered to activate pro bono hours on Symplicity, then you will be directed to the Pro Bono Hours Tracking “Terms of Use” page. Read the information carefully on the page and check the box next to “I understand” and click on the “Submit” button.
3. You will then have access to the “Pro Bono Reporting” tab.
How to Add Pro Bono Hours on Symplicity
1. From your Symplicity homepage, click on “Pro Bono Hours Tracking” on the right-hand side of the homepage.
2. Select the “Pro Bono Reporting” tab.
3. Click on “Add New” button.
4. Review the instructions on the page and fill in all the required information. When you are finished, click on the “Submit” button.
How to Upload your form Affidavit of Compliance on Symplicity
1. From your Symplicity homepage, click on “Pro Bono Hours Tracking” on the right-hand side of the homepage.
2. Select the “Pro Bono Reporting” tab.
3. Click on the “Edit” button next to the Employer to which you wish to upload an Affidavit of Compliance.
4. Click on the “NYS Pro Bono Rule Affidavit of Compliance” tab.
5. Click on the “Choose File” button to upload a saved electronic copy of the Affidavit of Compliance from your computer to the Pro Bono Module on Symplicity. Select the file you wish to upload.
6. After you have selected the file you wish to upload, click the “Save” button.
7. A link will appear the page with the name of the file you selected to upload signaling the successful upload of the file.
How to Retrieve a Previously Saved Affidavit of Compliance on Symplicity
1. From your Symplicity homepage, click on “Pro Bono Hours Tracking” on the right-hand side of the homepage.
2. Select the “Pro Bono Reporting” tab.
3. Click on the “Edit” button next to the Employer from which you wish to retrieve your previously saved Affidavit of Compliance
4. Click on the “NYS Pro Bono Rule Affidavit of Compliance” tab.
5. Click on the link with the name of the file you previously uploaded to begin download of the file.