Admission to the bar in the United States
Admission to the bar in the United States is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in the jurisdiction.
Each U.S. state and jurisdiction (e.g. territories under federal control) has its own court system and sets its own rules and standards for bar admission.
Typically, lawyers seeking admission to the bar of one of the U.S. states must earn a Juris Doctor degree from a law school approved by the jurisdiction, pass a bar exam and professional responsibility examination, and undergo a character and fitness evaluation, with some exceptions to each requirement.
[1] In modern courtrooms, a railing may still be in place to enclose the space which is occupied by legal counsel as well as the criminal defendants and civil litigants who are before the court.
The first bar exam in what is now the United States was instituted by Delaware Colony in 1763, as an oral examination before a judge.
This rise was accompanied by the practice of diploma privilege, wherein graduates of law schools received automatic admission to the bar.
[5] Examinations continued to exist during this period as requirements for those ineligible for diploma privilege, and were often administered by committees of attorneys.
By 1980, only Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wisconsin honored diploma privilege.
[10][a] Exceptions include Alabama, California,[11] Connecticut, Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Tennessee, which allow individuals who have graduated from state-approved law schools to take the bar exam.
[11] Four jurisdictions, namely California, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, allow applicants to study under a judge or practicing attorney for an extended period of time rather than attending any law school.
New Hampshire's only law school has an alternative licensing program that allows students who have completed certain curricula and a separate exam to bypass the regular bar examination.
[19] Unlike some other jurisdictions, the American legal system, generally, has no formal apprenticeship or clinical training requirements for bar admission, with a few exceptions.
Connecticut and New Jersey waive the MPRE for candidates who have received a grade of C or better in a law school professional ethics class.
Oregon permits students who have completed a Juris Doctor program with certain required coursework to obtain bar admission through a Supervised Practice Portfolio Examination.
Character Committees look to an applicant's history to determine whether the person will be fit to practice law in the future.
[31] He moved to void the denial, but the court upheld its original decision in November 2009, by which time his debt had accumulated to nearly $500,000.
[34] When applying to take a state's bar examination, applicants are required to complete extensive questionnaires seeking the disclosure of significant personal, financial and professional information.
For example, in California, the admittee simply takes an oath before any state judge or notary public, who then co-signs the admission form.
Upon receiving the signed form, the State Bar of California adds the new admittee to a list of applicants recommended for admission to the bar which is automatically ratified by the Supreme Court of California at its next regular weekly conference; then everyone on the list is added to the official roll of attorneys.
This is common for those living and working in metro areas which sprawl into multiple states, such as Washington, D.C., and New York City.
Note that in states that allow reciprocity, admission on motion may have conditions that do not apply to those admitted by examination.
The National Bar Association was formed in 1925 to focus on the interests of African-American lawyers after they were denied membership by the ABA.
In general, an already state qualified attorney is admitted to the bar of these federal courts upon payment of a fee and taking an oath of admission.
The District of Puerto Rico has administered its own bar exam since 2004, part of which is an essay which tests for English proficiency.
For some time, the Southern District of Florida administered an entrance exam, but that requirement was eliminated by Court order in February 2012.
Applicants must have U.S. citizenship, permanent residency (a Green Card), or a valid work visa for a patent-related job.
Applicants in "category A" must have an engineering or "hard science" degree in a field listed in the General Requirements Bulletin.
A computer science degree is accepted under "category A" as long as it is received from an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)-accredited or CSAB-accredited program.
Each course being relied upon by the applicant for credit is evaluated by the USPTO's Office of Enrollment and Discipline for suitability; see the General Requirements Bulletin for the details.
Applicants in "category C" may present evidence of passing the Fundamentals of Engineering exam as proof of technical education.
