New York Skills Competency Requirement for Admission of Attorneys Pathway One Plan - Academic Policies - Office of the Registrar - American University Washington College of Law

New York State Skills Competency Requirement For Admission Of Attorneys

Pathway One Plan

In December 2015, the New York State Court of Appeals adopted Section 520.18 to the Rules for the Admission of Attorneys and Counselors at Law (22 NYCRR 520.18). The provision requires applicants seeking admission in New York to establish that they have acquired skills and professional values necessary to competently practice law. Applicants may satisfy this requirement by completing one of five separate pathways described in section 520.18.

Under Pathway One, a law school must “develop[] a plan identifying and incorporating into its curriculum the skills and professional values ... required for its graduates’ basic competence and ethical participation in the legal profession,” consistent with ABA Standards 302(b)-(d), and must certify that “the applicant has acquired sufficient competency in those skills and sufficient familiarity with those values.”[1]

The Washington College of Law has identified the skills and professional values necessary for our graduates’ “basic competence and ethical participation in the legal profession.” The table below indicates the courses where such skills and professional values can be acquired. Students must demonstrate competence in at least one course in each category. A grade of “C” or higher is sufficient to demonstrate competence in these courses.


Skill	Courses (J.D. Students)	Courses (LL.M. Students)
Knowledge of substantive and procedural law (including case law, key concepts, and principles)	Civil Procedure Constitutional Law Contracts Criminal Law Criminal Procedure Torts Property This skill can be acquired in other doctrinal courses as well.	American Legal Institutions U.S. Business Law U.S. Contracts Law U.S. Constitutional Law U.S. Criminal Law
Legal analysis and reasoning, including critical thinking and practical reasoning skills.	Legal Rhetoric Civil Procedure Constitutional Law Contracts Criminal Law Criminal Procedure Legal Ethics Torts Property Approved experiential courses This skill can be acquired in other doctrinal courses as well.	American Legal Institutions U.S. Business Law U.S. Contracts Law U.S. Constitutional Law U.S. Criminal Law Legal Research & Writing Approved experiential courses
Proficiency in legal research	Legal Rhetoric Advanced Legal Research & Writing Any Clinical course Courses and/or Directed Research that satisfy the Upper Level Writing Requirement	Legal Research & Writing LL.M. Writing requirement
Proficiency in fact and other information-gathering skills	Legal Rhetoric Interviewing and Counseling Criminal Trial Advocacy Civil Trial Advocacy Pre-Trial Civil Litigation Scientific Evidence and Expert Testimony Evidentiary Foundations and Objections Homicide Prosecution Any Clinical course	Legal Research & Writing Interviewing and Counseling Criminal Trial Advocacy Civil Trial Advocacy Pre-Trial Civil Litigation Scientific Evidence and Expert Testimony Evidentiary Foundations and Objections Homicide Prosecution Any Clinical course
Written and oral communication skills	Legal Rhetoric Legal Drafting: Contracts Approved experiential courses	Legal Research & Writing Approved experiential courses
Ability to engage in problem-solving and to exercise professional judgment, including identifying the advantages, disadvantages, and risks associated with particular courses of action	Any Clinical course Any externship seminar Corporate Compliance and Ethics Criminal Trial Advocacy Civil Trial Advocacy Health Care Fraud and Abuse Pre-Trial Civil Litigation Scientific Evidence and Expert Testimony Evidentiary Foundations and Objections Homicide Prosecution Appellate Advocacy Pre-Trial Litigation Other approved experiential courses	LL.M. Externship Corporate Compliance and Ethics Criminal Trial Advocacy Civil Trial Advocacy Health Care Fraud and Abuse Pre-Trial Civil Litigation Scientific Evidence and Expert Testimony Evidentiary Foundations and Objections Homicide Prosecution Appellate Advocacy Pre-Trial Litigation Approved experiential courses
Knowledge of applicable rules of professional responsibility, and the ability to recognize and resolve ethical dilemmas	Legal Ethics Any Clinical course	Legal Ethics Any Clinical course
Ability to work collaboratively with others	Legal Rhetoric Corporate Compliance and Ethics Criminal Trial Advocacy Civil Trial Advocacy Pre-Trial Civil Litigation Scientific Evidence and Expert Testimony Evidentiary Foundations and Objections Homicide Prosecution Advanced Constitutional Law (Marshall-Brennan) International Business Negotiations International ADR: Global Sovereign Disputes Practicum Strategic Litigation in International Human Rights: Theory & Practice International Criminal Law Practicum Advanced International Law: Law & Peace Negotiations Any Clinical course	Corporate Compliance and Ethics Criminal Trial Advocacy Civil Trial Advocacy Pre-Trial Civil Litigation Scientific Evidence and Expert Testimony Evidentiary Foundations and Objections Homicide Prosecution International Business Negotiations International ADR: Global Sovereign Disputes Practicum Strategic Litigation in International Human Rights: Theory & Practice International Criminal Law Practicum Advanced International Law: Law & Peace Negotiations
Professional Value	Courses (J.D. Students)	Courses (LL.M. Students)
Provision of competent representation	Legal Ethics Legal Rhetoric Any Clinical course	Legal Ethics
Striving to promote justice, fairness, and morality	Legal Ethics Any Clinical course	Legal Ethics
Striving to improve the profession	Legal Ethics Externship Seminar Any Clinical course	Legal Ethics LL.M. Externship
Professional self-development	Legal Rhetoric Externship Seminar Any Clinical course	Legal Research & Writing

[1] A school may certify an applicant under Pathway 1 if the applicant “received a grade that the school considers sufficient to demonstrate competence in courses the school has designated as teaching the skills and professional values needed for basic competence and ethical participation in the legal profession.”

Approved by Full Faculty October 22, 2018