The Court of Appeals, New York State's highest court, is composed of a Chief Judge and six Associate Judges, each appointed to a 14-year term. New York's highest appellate court was established to articulate statewide principles of law in the context of deciding particular lawsuits. The Court thus generally focuses on broad issues of law as distinguished from individual factual disputes. There is no jurisdictional limitation based upon the amount of money at stake in a case or the status or rank of the parties.

After consultation with law school administrators and review of American Bar Association (ABA) Standards for Approval of Law Schools, the Court of Appeals has amended section 520.3 of the Rules for the Admission of Attorneys and Counselors at Law (22 NYCRR Part 520), regarding the study of law in an approved law school in the United States, effective April 1,2012.

In an effort to better prepare law school graduates for the practice of law, the Court amended section 520.3 to allow students to complete up to 30 credits in clinics, field placement programs or externships. Additionally, recognizing the ever-increasing role of technology in legal education, section 520.3 now permits up to 12 credit hours of distance education courses to count toward the number of credits required for graduation. To provide students some flexibility in completing their programs of study, the Court amended section 520.3 to eliminate residency weeks and scheduled days requirements. In place of those requirements, the revised Rule provides that the law school's academic year must consist of at least 130 days over an eight-month period, and the course of study leading to a first degree in law must be completed in no fewer than 24 months and no later than 60 months after the program is commenced. Finally, to more closely comport with the ABA's current national accreditation standards, the Court amended section 520.3 to increase the total number of credits required for graduation from 80 to 83, 64 credits of which must be earned by attendance in regularly scheduled classroom courses at the law school.

The Court revised sections 520.4, 520.5, and 520.6 to reflect the changes to section 520.3. In addition, the Court made some additional minor changes to section 520.4, regarding the law office study program, and section 520.6, regarding the eligibility of foreign-educated students to sit for the bar exam; however, these revisions do not effect a major substantive change to those provisions. Amended Rules.