A boost for clinical education in law schools.

New York is now requiring 50 hours of pro bono work for admission to the bar.

Law students in the state are able do legal work if they are supervised by law faculty or legal services groups.

According to [a NYT editorial], the measure could be controversial because it “wades into a fierce debate among lawyers over whether mandatory pro bono service is the right solution—and because it could hit the pocketbooks of young lawyers at a time when they are struggling to find jobs.”

You'd better go to a law school that will provide you with the clinics and make room on your schedule — ousting other courses you might think you need — if you want to practice law in New York.

ADDED: Actually, I think the clinics won't count for pro bono credit, because you get course credit. Law faculty will be incentivized to offer a separate pro bono option, with no course credit.