New York is now the 11th state to remove mental health treatment inquiries from the state’s bar application. stigma
The goal in removing this question is to promote law students’ well-being and put an end to the fear that reporting treatment for a mental illness could compromise bar admission.
In a 2019 study regarding law-student wellbeing, the American Bar Association found that 42% of students reported that, in the past year, they thought they should seek help for emotional or mental health problems. Of that 42%, 45% of the students noted that “potential threat to bar admission” was a discouraging factor for seeking help.
Furthermore, according to a 2019 study conducted by the New York State Bar Association (“NYBA”), questions about mental health on the bar application could deter students form seeking assistance for said issues. The study also concluded that the Americans with Disabilities Act “casts serious doubt upon the legality of asking questions relating to mental disability” and that these types of questions seem to be “ineffective and unnecessary.”
Therefore, question 34 in the New York bar application will be replaced with a question that focuses on prior conduct, rather than on medical history regarding prior treatment and diagnosis. For more information on the specific wording of the removed question and the new wording, read the full NYBA article here.
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