The Chief Judge’s comments grabbed the headline, but the fine print of “what counts” towards the 50 hours and “who” this applies to must be spelled out ASAP. As Professor Sheff notes in a comment on the post at PrawfsBlag, the requirement is vague about “who” this applies to and only states that those seeking admission in 2013 are impacted. If I submit my application in December 2012, am I seeking admission in 2012 or 2013? I hope I won’t need to wait until December to find out.

On the other hand, the merits of the requirement deserve to be debated, and all sides are weighing in. But this goes to “what counts,” and here the Chief Judge has once again provided very few details. If the net is cast wide, incorporating many activities that law students already engage in, I think the requirement will be easy to satisfy. If the 50 hours must be spent performing specific pro bono services, I suspect it won’t be as easy as the Chief Judge anticipates. One must also question whether our local legal services office has the capacity or staff to handle 100 or 200 new students walking in the door seeking work? If not, where are we to turn?

Finally, I’m struck by how quickly this debate has crossed over to whether all attorneys should be required to do pro bono work. Maybe some see the student requirement as a gateway to mandatory pro bono in NY? I don’t really know if this is driving the new debate, but most importantly for my friends and I . . . it is taking the spotlight off of the questions that really need to be answered!!