Pursuant to the authority vested in me, and with the advice and consent of the Administrative Board of the Courts, I hereby amend 22 NYCRR §§ 118.3 and 118.4 to provide for the biennial registration of foreign legal consultants, effective January 1, 2018, to read as follows (new material underlined, deleted material stricken):

PART 118. Registration of Attorneys, In-House Counsel, and Foreign Legal Consultants

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Registration of In-House [Attorneys]Counsel and Foreign Legal Consultants

Section 118.3 Filing requirement

(a) Every in-house counsel and every foreign legal consultant approved by an Appellate Division for registration in New York State shall file an initial registration statement with the Chief Administrator of the Courts within 30 days of the date of receipt notice of such approval, or at such other time as the Chief Administrator may direct. During each alternate year thereafter, each such [in-house counsel]registrant shall file a subsequent registration statement within 30 days after the [in-house counsel's]registrant’s birthday, for as long as the [in-house counsel]registrant remains eligible for registration pursuant to [Part 522 of] the Rules of the Court of Appeals.

(b) The initial registration statement shall be filed by ordinary mail addressed to:

State of New York

Office of Court Administration

General Post Office

P.O. Box 29327

New York, NY 10087-9327

Subsequent registration statements shall be filed by an online program established for that purpose.

(c) The registration statement shall be on a form provided by the Chief Administrator and shall include the following information, attested to by affirmation:

(1) name of [in-house counsel]the registrant;

(2) date of birth;

(3) name when first registered;

(4) law school from which degree granted;

(5) year of initial registration;

(6) judicial department of registration [as in-house counsel];

(7) office addresses (including department);

(8) home address;

(9) business telephone number,

(10) social security number;

(11) e-mail address;

(12) race, gender, ethnicity and employment category (optional); [and]

(13) compliance with child support obligations[.]; and

(14) if registering as a foreign legal consultant, the name of the foreign country of his or her admission to practice.

(d) In the event of a change in any of the information required to be provided pursuant to subdivision [(e)] (c) of this section, the [in-house counsel]registrant shall file an amended statement within 30 days of such change.

(e) Failure by any in-house counsel or foreign legal consultant to comply with the provisions of this section shall result in [administrative] termination of the registrant's status as foreign legal consultant or in-house counsel pursuant to Part 521 or Part 522 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals, as well as disciplinary action by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

Section 118.4 Public access to [in-house counsel] registration information

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the information contained in the registration statement filed pursuant to section 118.3 of this Part shall be made available to the public upon submission of a written request and the payment of a charge for production, pursuant to the following schedule:

(1) Information for individual [registered in-house counsel]registrants by name:

(i) no charge for single inquiry;

(ii) $2.50 for each additional name.

(2) Names and business addresses of [registered in-house counsels]registrants by geographical area:

(i) $25.00 for 100 or fewer names;

(ii) $1.00 for each additional 100 names;

(iii) $100.00 for list of all [registered in-house counsels]registrants. Other requests may entail additional fees as circumstances warrant. Fees may be waived for requests by government agencies. Written requests for information shall be made to the Attorney Registration Unit, Office of Court Administration, 25 Beaver Street, New York, NY 10004.

(b)

(1) The home address of [an in-house counsel]a registrant shall be made available to the public only in the following circumstances:

(i) where no office is listed, the home address will be made public;

(ii) where an office address is listed, but a request for information alleges that the [in-house counsel]registrant cannot be located at that address, the home address will be made public only if the Chief Administrator determines, by independent inquiry, that the [in-house counsel]registrant cannot be located at the listed office address.

(2) The date of birth, social security number, race, gender, ethnicity and employment category of the [in-house counsel]registrant shall not be made available to the public.

(c) All information relating to a particular [in-house counsel]registrant will be provided to that [inhouse counsel]registrant or, on the [in-house counsel's]registrant’s written request, to any person or agency.

(d) All information will be available at all times to the attorney discipline committees of the Appellate Divisions.

Pursuant to the authority vested in me, and with the advice and consent of the Administrative Board of the Courts, I hereby amend section 202.70 of the Uniform Rules for the Supreme and County Courts (Rules of the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court), by adding to section 202.70(d)(2) and a new Appendix D, effective January 1, 2018, to read as follows (new material underlined):

(d) Assignment to the Commercial Division

(1) Within 90 days following service of the complaint, any party may seek assignment of a case to the Commercial Division by filing a Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI) that attaches a completed Commercial Division RJI Addendum certifying that the case meets the jurisdictional requirements for Commercial Division assignment set forth in subdivisions (a), (b) and (c) of this section. Except as provided in subdivision (e) below, failure to file an RJI pursuant to this subdivision precludes a party from seeking assignment of the case to the Commercial Division.

(2) Subject to meeting the jurisdictional requirements of subdivisions (a), (b) and (c) of this section and filing an RJI in compliance with subsection (d)(1) above, the parties to a contract may consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court by including such consent in their contract. A sample choice of forum provision can be found at Appendix C to these Rules of the Commercial Division. Alternatively, subject to meeting the jurisdictional and procedural requirements applicable to the Commercial Division and the federal courts, the parties to a contract may consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of either the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court or the federal courts in New York State by including such consent in their contract. An alternative sample choice of forum provision to that effect can also be found at Appendix C to these Rules of the Commercial Division. In addition, the parties to a contract may consent to having New York law apply to their contract, or any dispute under the contract. A sample choice of law provision can be found at Appendix D to these Rules of the Commercial Division.

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Pursuant to the authority vested in me, and with the advice and consent of the Administrative Board of the Courts, I hereby amend Rules 10 and 11 of section 202.70(g) of the Uniform Rules for the Supreme and County Courts (Rules of Practice for the Commercial Division), effective January 1, 2018, to read as follows (new material underlined):

Rule 10. Submission of Information; Certification Relating to Alternative Dispute Resolution

At the preliminary conference, counsel shall be prepared to furnish the court with the following: (i) a complete caption, including the index number; (ii) the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and fax number of all counsel; (iii) the dates the action was commenced and issue joined; (iv) a statement as to what motions, if any, are anticipated; and (v) copies of any decisions previously rendered in the case. Counsel for each party shall also submit to the court at the preliminary conference and each subsequent compliance or status conference, and separately serve and file, a statement, in a form prescribed by the Office of Court Administration, certifying that counsel has discussed with the party the availability of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms provided by the Commercial Division and/or private ADR providers, and stating whether the party is presently willing to pursue mediation at some point during the litigation.

Rule 11. Discovery

(a) The preliminary conference will result in the issuance by the court of a preliminary conference order. Where appropriate, the order will contain specific provisions for means of early disposition of the case, such as (i) directions for submission to the alternative dispute resolution program, including, in all cases in which the parties certify their willingness to pursue mediation pursuant to Rule 10, provision of a specific date by which a mediator shall be identified by the parties for assistance with resolution of the action; (ii) a schedule of limited-issue discovery in aid of early dispositive motions or settlement; and/or (iii) a schedule for dispositive motions before disclosure or after limited-issue disclosure.

I further promulgate the attached form statement certifying counsel’s discussion of the availability of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms (Exh. A).

Pursuant to the authority vested in me, with the advice and consent of the Administrative Board of the Courts, I hereby revoke section 208.42(d) of the uniform rules for the New York City Civil Court (22 NYCRR § 208.42(d)), relating to an example of a notice of petition in a proceeding under article 7 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law on the ground that the respondent has defaulted in the payment of rent, and promulgate in its place the following new section 208.42(d):

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Further by the power vested in me, I hereby promulgate an example of the notice of petition pursuant to section 208.42(d) of the uniform rules for the New York City Civil Court (22 NYCRR § 208.42(d)), for use in proceedings under article 7 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law on the ground that the respondent has defaulted in the payment of rent, as set forth in Exh. A. This order shall take effect on January 1, 2018.

Pursuant to the authority vested in me, with the advice and consent of the Administrative Board of the Courts, I hereby amend, effective January 1, 2018, section 208.42(i)(1) of the uniform rules for the New York City Civil Court (22 NYCRR § 208.42(i)(1)), relating to postcard notification in summary proceedings under Article 7 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law involving residential property, to read as follows:

Section 208.42(i)(1)

(1) At the time of the filing with the clerk of a notice of petition with proof of service in a summary proceeding under article 7 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law involving residential property, the petitioner shall submit to the clerk a stamped postcard containing a written notice addressed to the respondent, in both English and Spanish, in a form approved by the chief administrator of the courts and posted on the website of the Unified Court System. [containing the following language and formatted in a Sans Serif font no smaller than 12 point:

CIVIL COURT HOUSING PART, TRIBUNAL DE VIVIENDAS

Index No. (Núm. de índice)

_________________

.....

________________________________________

..........

1. IN NONPAYMENT PROCEEDING:

Your landlord has started a court case to evict you from your home. Come to the Landlord & Tenant Clerk's Office in the Civil Court right away to answer the landlord's papers. If you didn't get any papers, bring this card.

For information on evictions and court forms in different languages, go to nycourts.gov/housingnyc. It is helpful to speak to an attorney.

Important! If you don't come to court, you may be evicted.

Su casero ha iniciado un caso judicial para desalojarle de su hogar. Venga de immediato a las oficinas de la Secretaría del Tribunal de Caseros e Inquilinos, en el Tribunal Civil, para contestar los documentos del casero. Si no recibió ningún documento, traiga esta tarjeta postal.

Para información sobre desalojos y formularios en diferentes idiomas, vaya a nycourts.gov/housingnyc. Puede serle útil hablar con un abogado.

¡Importante! Si no viene al tribunal, usted puede ser desalojado/a.

2. IN HOLDOVER PROCEEDING:

Your landlord has started a court case to evict you from your home. Come to court on (mm/dd/yy)_______________at 9:30 a.m. to answer the landlord's papers. If you didn't get any papers, bring this card with you. Come early! There are security lines to get in the building.

Important! If you don't come to court on your court date, you may be evicted.

For information on evictions and court forms in different languages, go to nycourts.gov/housingnyc. It is helpful to speak to an attorney.

Su casero ha iniciado un caso judicial para desalojarle de su hogar. Venga al tribunal el (mm/dd/yy)_______________ a las 9:30 a.m. para contestar los documentos del casero. Si no recibió ningún documento, traiga esta tarjeta postal. ¡Llegue temprano! Tendrá que esperar en la fila de seguridad para entrar al edificio.

¡Importante! Si no viene al tribunal en la fecha indicada, usted puede ser desalojado/a.

Para información sobre desalojos y formularios en diferentes idiomas, vaya a nycourts.gov/housingnyc. Puede serle útil hablar con un abogado.]

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Further by the power vested in me, I hereby promulgate the form of postcard attached as Exh. A for notice pursuant to section 208.42(i)(1) of the uniform rules for the New York City Civil Court (22 NYCRR § 208.42(i)(1)), in nonpayment proceedings, effective January 1, 2018.

Further by the power vested in me, I hereby promulgate the form of postcard attached as Exh. B for notice pursuant to section 208.42(i)(1) of the uniform rules for the New York City Civil Court (22 NYCRR § 208.42(i)(1)), in holdover proceedings, effective January 1, 2018.