In an effort to bolster the number of lawyers for the poor, New York State’s top judge has cleared the way for law students to take the bar exam early in return for devoting their last semester to pro bono work.

The decision by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman to let third-year law students sit for the bar exam in February in return for public service would create a new pool of lawyers for the indigent, and has the potential to change education across the country, experts on law education said.

“We can lay a cornerstone for the future of legal education,” Judge Lippman said on Tuesday during his annual address on the state of the judiciary.

New York is the largest market for lawyers and home to some of the country’s most prestigious law schools. Arizona is the only other state to have adopted a similar system, though without the public service requirement.