Bar association
[2] Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both.
The use of the term bar to mean "the whole body of lawyers, the legal profession" comes ultimately from English custom.
Students who officially became lawyers crossed the symbolic physical barrier and were "admitted to the bar".
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 have business pending before the court.
These bodies are sometimes mutually exclusive, while in other jurisdictions, the "bar" may refer to the entire community of persons engaged in the practice of law.
In Canada, one is called to the bar after undertaking a post-law-school training in a provincial law society program, and undergoing an apprenticeship or taking articles.
Once the advocate clears the AIBE test, they are entitled to appear and practice before any court of law in India.
Such an organization is called a mandatory, integrated, or unified bar,[5][6] and is a type of government-granted monopoly.
They exist at present in a majority of U.S. states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico struck down this act in October 2014, finding that it unconstitutionally usurped its powers.
[7] Although the names may be confusing, a voluntary bar association is a private organization of lawyers and often other legal professionals.
In states where the functions of the disciplinary bar entity is separate from the statewide voluntary bar association, the voluntary association does not, however, formally regulate the practice of law, admit lawyers to practice or discipline lawyers for ethical violations.
[9] This split was done to finalize the rationale and holding of a 1990 ruling which prohibited the required bar registration fees from being used for political purposes, relying on the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
However, there are no modern instances of the President of the United States nominating or the U.S. Senate providing advice and consent to any nominee who is not a member of any bar.
