New York State Bar Association
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The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary
bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence.
for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of
jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...
; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice; and elevate the standards of integrity, honor, professional skill, and courtesy in the legal profession.


History

NYSBA was founded on November 21, 1876, in
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
, and then incorporated on May 2, 1877, by an act of the state legislature. Its first president was David B. Hill. Elliott Fitch Shepard helped found the association and, in 1884, was its fifth president. Among the reforms to the legislation signed into law that had created the association was the removal of the restrictions on the admission of women to the practice of law. In 1896, NYSBA proposed the first global means for settling disputes among nations, what is now called the Permanent Court of Arbitration at
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
. Its protocol for legal ethics ensued from the NYSBA's 1909 adoption of the 1908
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...
(ABA) Canons of Professional Ethics, which later evolved into the ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility."Schaffer Law Library’s Guide on Professional Responsibility", Albany Law School, pages 1 & 3. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
/ref> In 2001, the NYSBA adopted changes addressing multidisciplinary law practice. The U.S. state of New York was the last state using the code for many years, long after all other states–except California and Maine–had adopted the Model Rules. On December 17, 2008, the administrative committee of the New York courts announced that it had adopted a heavily modified version of the Model Rules, effective April 1, 2009. The NYSBA has memorandums of understanding with the Seoul Bar Association and the Dai-Ichi Bar Association of Tokyo. Hank Greenberg, the association's president and a shareholder at
Greenberg Traurig Greenberg Traurig is a multinational law firm, law and lobbying firm founded in Miami in 1967 by Mel Greenberg, Larry J. Hoffman, and Robert H. Traurig. As of 2025, it is the eighth-largest law firm in the United States. The firm has 49 locati ...
in Albany, announced the agreements in January 2020. New York's version of the Model Rules was created by adjusting the standard Model Rules to reflect indigenous New York rules that had been incorporated over the years into its version of the Model Code. Even though New York did not adopt the Model Rules verbatim, the advantage of adopting its overall structure is that it simplifies the professional responsibility training of New York lawyers, and makes it easier for out-of-state lawyers to conform their conduct to New York rules by simply comparing their home state's version of the Model Rules to New York's version. The New York State Bar has sought legislation to simplify and update court procedures; advocates to raise judicial standards and to enhance voluntary cases; established systems for maintaining the integrity of the profession; and provides public education and legal services to the indigent. Today, NYSBA includes over 74,000 members, of whom 18,000 reside out of state.


Structure

The control and administration of the state bar is vested in the House of Delegates, the decision and policy-making body of the association. The house meets four times a year (January, April, June and November). Action taken by the House of Delegates on specific issues becomes official state bar policy. The state bar's current structure includes 28 specialized substantive law sections, and more than 60 standing, special, and other committees.


New York Professional Responsibility Rules

On July 8, 2020, the NYSBA issued an ethics opinion authorizing New York lawyers to advise clients regarding compliance with New York's recreational marijuana law. The opinion also authorized New York lawyers to use marijuana for recreational purposes.


See also

* New York City Bar Association * State bar association


References

{{Authority control American state bar associations New York state courts Organizations established in 1876 1876 establishments in New York (state) Organizations based in Albany, New York 501(c)(6) nonprofit organizations