New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore. Photo: Tim Roske

Prospective attorneys in New York will no longer have to answer a question about mental health in their applications to practice in the state, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore announced Wednesday in her 2020 State of the Judiciary address.

"After study, the question has been found to have an adverse impact on law students in need of mental health services," DiFiore said. "Students have avoided treatment for fear of the negative effect it may have on their bar admission."

The removal of the question followed calls for change from the New York State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association and the deans of nearly every law school in the state.

A state bar association working group found that the question should be removed because it added unnecessary pressure to students in law school and may not even be legal, according to a report published in August.

About halfway through the Application for Admission to Practice as an Attorney in New York State, the question asked the applicant if they have "any condition or impairment" including a "mental, emotional, psychiatric, nervous, or behavioral disorder."

DiFiore said that moving forward, the application will "focus on disclosure of behavior and conduct that is relevant to a candidate's fitness to practice law."

New York State Bar Association president Henry "Hank" Greenberg immediately praised the move in a statement.

"Today marks a historic step forward in addressing the ongoing mental health crisis in the legal profession," Greenberg said. "Future generations of New York lawyers no longer need to live in fear that bravely and smartly seeking treatment for mental health issues could one day derail their careers."

The newly rewritten question is more tightly focused. It asks only whether the applicant has used "any condition or impairment" as a defense in a formal proceeding at school or in a workplace setting.

The full text of the new question is as follows: "Within the past seven years, have you asserted any condition or impairment as a defense, in mitigation, or as an explanation for your conduct in the course of any inquiry, any investigation, or any administrative or judicial proceeding by an educational institution, government agency, professional organization, or licensing authority; or in connection with an employment disciplinary or termination procedure?" the question asks, according to the state bar association.

Read more:

NY's Law School Deans Ask Court Officials to Remove Mental Health Question for Attorney Applicants