Bill Text: NY S06537 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides for the implementation of a program for the free provision of certain services to unrepresented persons living at or below two hundred percent of the national poverty level who must appear in certain proceedings in the civil court of the city of New York and the housing part thereof and the Buffalo city court and the housing part thereof.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO JUDICIARY [S06537 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S06537-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6537 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE June 1, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sen. JACOBS -- (at request of the Office of Court Adminis- tration) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to employment of housing court advocates and consumer court advocates to assist indigent persons in certain court proceedings The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 212 of the judiciary law is 2 amended by adding a new paragraph (w) to read as follows: 3 (w) Establish and regulate programs in the use of housing court advo- 4 cates and consumer court advocates in accordance with article seventeen 5 of this chapter. 6 § 2. Section 478 of the judiciary law, as amended by chapter 22 of the 7 laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 8 § 478. Practicing or appearing as attorney-at-law without being admit- 9 ted and registered. It shall be unlawful for any natural person to prac- 10 tice or appear as an attorney-at-law or as an attorney and counselor-at- 11 law for a person other than himself or herself in a court of record in 12 this state, or to furnish attorneys or counsel or an attorney and coun- 13 sel to render legal services, or to hold himself or herself out to the 14 public as being entitled to practice law as aforesaid, or in any other 15 manner, or to assume to be an attorney or counselor-at-law, or to 16 assume, use, or advertise the title of lawyer, or attorney and counse- 17 lor-at-law, or attorney-at-law or counselor-at-law, or attorney, or 18 counselor, or attorney and counselor, or equivalent terms in any 19 language, in such manner as to convey the impression that he or she is a 20 legal practitioner of law or in any manner to advertise that he or she 21 either alone or together with any other persons or person has, owns, 22 conducts or maintains a law office or law and collection office, or 23 office of any kind for the practice of law, without having first been EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08832-02-7S. 6537 2 1 duly and regularly licensed and admitted to practice law in the courts 2 of record of this state, and without having taken the constitutional 3 oath. Provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be held to 4 apply (1) to officers of societies for the prevention of cruelty to 5 animals, duly appointed, when exercising the special powers conferred 6 upon such corporations under section fourteen hundred three of the not- 7 for-profit corporation law; or (2) to law students who have completed at 8 least two semesters of law school or persons who have graduated from a 9 law school, who have taken the examination for admittance to practice 10 law in the courts of record in the state immediately available after 11 graduation from law school, or the examination immediately available 12 after being notified by the board of law examiners that they failed to 13 pass said exam, and who have not been notified by the board of law exam- 14 iners that they have failed to pass two such examinations, acting under 15 the supervision of a legal aid organization when such students and 16 persons are acting under a program approved by the appellate division of 17 the supreme court of the department in which the principal office of 18 such organization is located and specifying the extent to which such 19 students and persons may engage in activities otherwise prohibited by 20 this statute; or (3) to law students who have completed at least two 21 semesters of law school, or to persons who have graduated from a law 22 school approved pursuant to the rules of the court of appeals for the 23 admission of attorneys and counselors-at-law and who have taken the 24 examination for admission to practice as an attorney and counselor-at- 25 law immediately available after graduation from law school or the exam- 26 ination immediately available after being notified by the board of law 27 examiners that they failed to pass said exam, and who have not been 28 notified by the board of law examiners that they have failed to pass two 29 such examinations, when such students or persons are acting under the 30 supervision of the state or a subdivision thereof or of any officer or 31 agency of the state or a subdivision thereof, pursuant to a program 32 approved by the appellate division of the supreme court of the depart- 33 ment within which such activities are taking place and specifying the 34 extent to which they may engage in activities otherwise prohibited by 35 this statute and those powers of the supervising governmental entity or 36 officer in connection with which they may engage in such activities; or 37 (4) an attorney and counselor-at-law or the equivalent who is admitted 38 to the bar in another state, territory, district or foreign country and 39 who has been admitted to practice pro hac vice in the state of New York 40 within the limitations prescribed in the rules of the court of appeals; 41 or (5) an attorney licensed as a legal consultant under rules adopted by 42 the court of appeals pursuant to subdivision six of section fifty-three 43 of this chapter and rendering legal services in the state within limita- 44 tions prescribed in such rules; or (6) to a person who has been certi- 45 fied as a housing court advocate or a consumer court advocate by the 46 chief administrator of the courts pursuant to article seventeen of this 47 chapter when such person provides services in accordance with the 48 provisions of such article. 49 § 3. The judiciary law is amended by adding a new article 17 to read 50 as follows: 51 ARTICLE 17 52 HOUSING COURT ADVOCATES AND CONSUMER 53 COURT ADVOCATES 54 Section 600. Program in the use of housing court advocates and consumer 55 court advocates.S. 6537 3 1 601. Certification of housing court advocates and consumer court 2 advocates. 3 602. Advisory board. 4 603. Assignments. 5 604. Chief administrator to make rules. 6 § 600. Program in the use of housing court advocates and consumer 7 court advocates. In accordance with this article, the judiciary shall 8 implement and oversee a program for the free provision of certain 9 services to unrepresented persons living at or below two hundred percent 10 of the federal poverty level who must appear in the proceedings speci- 11 fied in this article in the civil court of the city of New York and in 12 the Buffalo city court, and in the housing parts of such courts 13 ("program"). Under this program, these services shall be provided by 14 specially trained non-lawyers (certified as housing court advocates or 15 consumer court advocates as provided herein) under the supervision of 16 attorneys-at-law admitted to the practice of law in this state in the 17 employ of not-for-profit service providers, including but not limited to 18 legal services provider organizations, approved by the chief administra- 19 tor of the courts. 20 § 601. Certification of housing court advocates and consumer court 21 advocates. Any person may, upon his or her application, be certified by 22 the chief administrator of the courts as a housing court advocate or a 23 consumer court advocate provided he or she shall have satisfied such 24 minimum educational and other qualifications, and received such train- 25 ing, as the chief administrator shall prescribe. 26 § 602. Advisory board. 1. The chief administrator of the courts shall 27 establish an advisory board to assist the chief administrator in 28 discharge of his or her responsibilities under this article. 29 2. The advisory board shall consist of not more than fourteen members, 30 each member to be appointed by the chief administrator for an initial 31 term of two years. After serving an initial term, each member may be 32 re-appointed to further terms of three years each. The chief administra- 33 tor shall choose two of the members of the advisory board to serve as 34 co-chairs thereof at his or her pleasure provided one shall be chosen 35 upon the recommendation of a bar association and the other shall be 36 chosen upon the recommendation of an appropriate law school, college or 37 educational institution. 38 § 603. Assignments. 1. A not-for-profit service provider, including 39 but not limited to a legal services provider organization, may, upon its 40 application and the submission of a plan for use of housing court advo- 41 cates and/or consumer court advocates in accordance with this article, 42 be approved by the chief administrator of the courts to participate in 43 the program. 44 2. Pursuant to the plan of a not-for-profit service provider approved 45 under subdivision one of this section and under the supervision of an 46 attorney-at-law admitted to the practice of law in this state and in the 47 employ of such provider, each person certified as a housing court advo- 48 cate or a consumer court advocate in accordance with section six hundred 49 one of this article may provide the following services for unrepresented 50 persons specified in section six hundred of this article: 51 (a) advice, counsel or other assistance in the preparation of plead- 52 ings; 53 (b) advice, counsel or other assistance in the preparation of an order 54 to show cause to vacate a default judgment, prevent an eviction or 55 restore an action or proceeding to the calendar to amend or enforceS. 6537 4 1 provisions of a stipulation or order previously entered into; provided 2 this shall include authority to sign an answer or order to show cause; 3 (c) negotiate with a party or his or her counsel or representative the 4 terms of any stipulation or order to be entered into; and 5 (d) address the court on behalf of any such person. 6 Notwithstanding the foregoing, a housing court advocate or consumer 7 court advocate may only provide such services in such parts of the New 8 York city civil court (including the housing part thereof) and of the 9 Buffalo city court (including the housing part thereof), and in such 10 actions and proceedings in those parts as the chief administrator may 11 authorize; except that: (i) for a housing court advocate, the provision 12 of such services may not be authorized other than in (A) summary 13 proceedings brought pursuant to 22 NYCRR 208.42(d), or 22 NYCRR 14 210.42(b), and (B) actions described in subdivision (n) of section two 15 hundred three of the New York city civil court act or in paragraph five 16 of subdivision (a) of section two hundred three of the uniform city 17 court act, and (ii) for a consumer court advocate, the provision of such 18 services may not be authorized other than in actions and proceedings in 19 relation to a consumer credit transaction as defined in subdivision (g) 20 of section two thousand one hundred one of the New York city civil court 21 act or in subdivision (f) of section one hundred five of the civil prac- 22 tice law and rules. 23 § 604. Chief administrator to make rules. The chief administrator of 24 the courts shall promulgate rules in order to effectuate the provisions 25 of this article. 26 § 4. On or before January first of the fourth year following the date 27 on which this act becomes a law, the chief administrator of the courts 28 shall submit to the governor, the legislature and the chief judge of the 29 state a report evaluating the efficacy of the program in the use of 30 housing court advocates and consumer court advocates authorized by this 31 act. This report shall include any recommendations the chief administra- 32 tor may have with respect to expansion of the program into other courts 33 and other classes of cases. 34 § 5. This act shall take effect January 1, 2018.
