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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.
The State Bar of New Jersey, for example, requires a non-refundable fee for admission by motion of $1,500. [7] Out of all the states that allow admission on motion, New York has the lowest admission on motion fee at $400. [1] Montana and New Mexico, on the other hand, require the highest admission on motion fee of $2,500. [1]
The exact requirements vary among the different provinces and territories. All jurisdictions require a law degree and a certain period of time articling. Some require a bar exam or multiple exams, others require a bar admissions course in place of an exam, and others require both examinations and courses.
As of 2024, Wisconsin is the only state that allows graduates of in-state law schools to gain admission to the bar through diploma privilege rather than a bar examination. [5] New Hampshire does not have diploma privilege, but its only law school has an alternative licensing program called the Daniel Webster Honors Program that allows a limited ...
In 2022, 83.5% of the law school's first-time test takers passed the bar exam. [5] Among the 349 who graduated in 2020, 95.6% of those who sat for the bar (336) passed within two years. [5] Of the 261 graduates who took the New York bar exam for the first time in 2022, 84.7% passed (as compared to the state pass rate of 82.7%). [5]
The first bar examination in what is now the United States was administered in oral form in the Delaware Colony in 1783. [5] From the late 18th to the late 19th centuries, bar examinations were generally oral and administered after a period of study under a lawyer or judge (a practice called "reading the law").
In California the requirements of the state bar association for reading law are set forth in Rule 4.29, Study in a law office or judge's chambers. [9] Two other states allow reading law in combination with some law school. New York allows applicants to read law provided they have already completed at least one year of law school study. [10]
Unlike the general bar examination, for which graduation from a recognized law school is a prerequisite, the USPTO exam does not require that the candidate have taken any law school courses. Instead, the main prerequisite is a science or engineering background, most often met with a bachelor's degree in a relevant field.