Bar (law)

[1][2] Within most modern courts of the U.S., Europe and many other countries, the bar continues to be represented by a physical partition, such as a railing or barrier.

In general, a candidate must graduate from a qualified law school and pass a written test: the bar examination.

Almost all states use the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), a multiple-choice exam administered on one day of a two- or three-day test.

In either case, on days during which the MBE is not administered, the bar exam may include questions related to that state's laws.

Instead, the main prerequisite is a science or engineering background, most often met with a bachelor's degree in a relevant field.

With a modifier, it may refer to a branch or division of the profession: as, for instance, the tort bar—lawyers who specialize in filing civil suits for damages.

In this courtroom in Worcester, Massachusetts (United States), the bar is represented by a physical barrier (with swinging gate doors), separating the benches reserved for spectators from the judge 's bench and lawyers ' tables.
The wooden bar in front of the magistrate's bench in an 18th-century outdoor courtroom in Belgium