Ricky Tai (’16), a student at the University of Tennessee College of Law, was recently featured in a National Law Journal article, “Bellying Up to the Bar Exam Early” (subscription required).
Tai is one of 11 third-year law students from seven schools outside of New York participating in the state’s novel Pro Bono Scholars Program. The program, which was first announced in 2014, allows students in their final year of law school to devote their last semester of study to performing pro bono service for the poor through an approved externship program, law school clinic, legal services provider, law firm or corporation. Students are permitted to take the New York bar examination in February of their final year of study, before they graduate.
“If you’re a student from outside New York and you know it’s where you want to practice, even if you don’t have a job lined up, Pro Bono Scholars can help you get out there earlier,” Tai said in the National Law Journal article. “That’s important because we have so much debt coming out of law school.”
The New York Unified Court System will begin accepting applications for next year’s group of scholars in May. More information is available here.