Admission to the Bar

Admission

To practice law in the United States, every lawyer must be admitted to a state bar. Standards for admission to state bars are regulated by each state and differ from state to state. In order to be admitted to the bar, most states require that candidates:

Possess a law degree from an ABA-approved law school;

Pass state examinations that test their knowledge of the law, skill in reasoning, and understanding of legal ethics and professional responsibility; and

Show evidence of fitness to practice law, understanding of legal ethics, and sound character.

Lawyers may practice only in the state or states where they are members of the bar in good standing. However, many states will admit a lawyer to its bar if the lawyer has been admitted to the bar of another state and has practiced law actively for a certain number of years. This is known as reciprocity. States usually grant temporary bar admission for particular cases.

Many states have students practice rules that, in conjunction with students' academic programs, admit advanced law students who are under the close supervision of an admitted lawyer. A few states require law students to register with the board of bar examiners before graduation or, in some cases, soon after they're enrolled in law school, if they intend to practice in those states. So, if you're planning to attend law school, you should check the bar admission requirements for those states in which in you may wish to practice after graduation.

Federal courts set their own standards for admission. The most basic requirement for federal district court admission is that the lawyer be admitted to the bar in the state in which the federal district is located.

A good source of information regarding bar admission requirements is the latest addition of the ABA's Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements, which should be available in any law school library.

Bar Approval and School Selection

A number of law schools have not been approved by the American Bar Association. Some states permit graduates of these schools to take the bar examination or will admit to their bars one who has been admitted to the bar of another state (even though he or she graduated from a school not approved by the ABA), but most do not. Before you enroll in a law school not approved by the ABA, contact the bar admission authorities in your state for more information about the limitations that may result from obtaining a degree from these programs.

A few institutions offer correspondence courses purporting to provide legal education. The ABA expressly disapproves of correspondence law courses. Correspondence law school graduates are not eligible to take the bar examination in any state except California, and even there only under special conditions.