Law Schools

New York To Do Away With Mental Health Question On Bar Exam Application

This is an important change that could eliminate a barrier to mental health treatment.

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Bottom line—law students feel more stressed and experience more mental health issues than ever before, whether it’s student debt or the job market, or the demands of being a law student. This is the last thing they should have to contemplate as they apply to the bar.

— Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), chair of the New York Senate’s Judiciary Committee, in comments given after introducing legislation strike a question from the New York bar application that asks law students about their mental health. A question present on the current application to take the New York bar exam asks law students if they have “any condition or impairment” including a “mental, emotional, psychiatric, nervous, or behavioral disorder.” If the question is answered affirmatively, the applicant is then asked to explain the condition and disclose whether ongoing treatment is being received. A majority of states still ask questions about mental health on bar exam applications.

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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