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In law, the bar is the legal profession as an institution. The term is a metonym for the line (or "bar") that separates the parts of a courtroom reserved for spectators and those reserved for participants in a trial such as lawyers .
A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. [1] The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to separate the area in which court business is done from the viewing area for the general public.
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").
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.
Generally, earning a degree from a law school (or, more rarely, apprenticeship in a law office) is a prerequisite for taking the bar exam. Most law school graduates engage in a regimen of study (called "bar review") between graduating from law school and sitting for the bar.
The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students; it is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, [2] the ABA's stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation of model ethical codes related to the legal profession.
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The rules of most state bar associations require members to complete continuing legal education (CLE) requirements, [1] and also offer courses for lawyers in their area, with discounts to members of the particular bar association. A great many organizations offer CLE programs, including most or all state bar associations.