ADMISSION TO THE BAR

ADMISSION TO THE BAR

The procedure that governs the authorization of attorneys to practice law before the state and federal courts.

Statutes, rules, and regulations governing admission to practice law have been enacted to protect the public interest, in terms of preventing the victimization of clients by incompetent practitioners. The courts have inherent power to promulgate reasonable rules and regulations for admission to the bar. Although this authority is vested exclusively in the courts, the legislature can, subject to constitutional limitations, issue reasonable rules and regulations governing bar admission provided they do not conflict with judicial pronouncements.

The highest state court administers the
admission of applicants to the state bar, usually
requiring successful completion of a bar exami-
nation and evidence of good moral character.
With respect to admission to the federal bar, fed-
eral district courts are empowered to issue
requirements for admission separately from
those of the state courts. If, however, a federal
district court, pursuant to a rule, derivatively
admits to its bar those admitted to the state bar,
it cannot arbitrarily deny admission to an appli-
cant who is a member in good standing of the
state bar. In most instances, the federal district
courts have considerable latitude in establishing
requirements for admission to practice before
them, but their rules must not contravene fed-
eral law.

In terms of the federal bar, an attorney is
also eligible for admission to the bar of a court
of appeals, if he or she has been admitted to
practice before the Supreme Court or the high-
est court of a state or another federal court and
if the lawyer is of good moral and professional
character. The attorney must comply with the
procedural requirements and take and subscribe
to the following oath: “I, [name], do solemnly
swear (or affirm) that I will demean myself as an
attorney and counselor of this court, uprightly
and according to law; and that I will support the
Constitution of the United States.”

In order to gain admission to the bar of the
Supreme Court, an attorney must have practiced
for three years in the highest court of a state, ter-
ritory, district, commonwealth, or possession.
The person must be of good character in terms
of both his or her private and professional lives
and complete the specified procedures, includ-
ing taking or subscribing the following oath: “I,
[name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that as an
attorney and as a counselor of this court I will
conduct myself uprightly, and according to law,
and that I will support the Constitution of the
United States.”

In some instances, a particular board is
empowered to promulgate rules pertaining to
applicants seeking to practice before it as attor-
neys. For example, the SECURITIES AND
EXCHANGE COMMISSION has implied authority
under its general statutory power to determine
qualifications for attorneys practicing before it.
Under federal law, the Commissioner of Patents
and Trademarks, subject to the approval of the
secretary of commerce, can promulgate regula-
tions governing the recognition and conduct of attorneys appearing before the PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE.

Qualifications for admission to the bar must
be rationally related to the applicant’s fitness to
practice law; therefore, a state cannot prevent a
person from practicing law for racial, political,
or religious reasons. Good moral character is a
prerequisite to the right to admission to practice
law and, at a minimum, consists of honesty. Lack
of good moral character is demonstrated by an
immutable dishonest and corrupt nature and
not in radical political beliefs or membership in
lawful but controversial political parties.
In regard to the effect of criminal conduct
upon the evaluation of an applicant’s character,
a conviction for the commission of a felony is
not, per se, sufficient to demonstrate a lack of
good moral character. It will be incumbent upon
the applicant, however, to prove complete rehabilitation.

Although a conditional pardon is
insufficient to remove objections to bar admission,
a felony conviction will not prevent an
applicant from practicing law if he or she has
received a full pardon and is otherwise qualified.
Misdemeanor convictions do not necessarily
result in a finding of lack of good moral character,
but mere conduct that does not culminate in
a conviction might present an insurmountable
obstacle to admission if it indicates a lack of
moral fitness. In some cases, an applicant has
been rejected for want of good moral character
because he or she has made false statements or
concealed material facts in the application for
admission or in other legal documents. In other
cases, the withholding or falsification on the
application of minor matters has been viewed as
of no effect on an evaluation of character; the
same principle applies to unintentional concealment
of information.

Admission to the bar cannot be denied
because the applicant is not a United States citizen,
but the states can impose reasonable residency
requirements upon all applicants prior to,
or during, the time a license is sought. This
requirement enables the state examining
authority to investigate the character of the
applicant, but it must be rationally related to the
attainment of this objective.While a majority of
states have some form of residency requirement
for admission to the bar, the emerging trend is to
nullify durational residency requirements that
mandate that an attorney live in a state for a prescribed
period as a prerequisite to certification
to practice law.

Applicants for admission to practice law
must take a bar examination, unless they are exempted from this requirement by statute or court rule. In 2002, 73,065 applicants took a bar
examination; 45,883, or 63 percent, passed. The
examination can be taken more than once. In
rare cases, an attorney who has been disbarred
or suspended can take a special bar examination
for reinstatement. In 2002, only 26 disbarred or
suspended U.S. attorneys took a reinstatement
exam (15 passed).

Attorneys from other states can be admitted
to practice in the state without examination
upon providing the required proof of practice in
another state that has reciprocity provisions,
pursuant to which an attorney licensed in one
state can be admitted to the bar of another state,
if the first state grants reciprocal rights to attorneys
admitted to practice in the other state.
Under the device of pro hac vice, an attorney can
be admitted to practice in a jurisdiction without
having to take the bar examination, but only on
a limited basis and only for a particular case.

Such an attorney must be a member of a bar in
good standing of other states or countries.
In order to practice law, an attorney must
obtain a certificate or license, which is a privilege
rather than a property right.Attorneys must also
comply with the court rules or statutes governing
the registration system, which is used to
maintain a current list of all attorneys authorized
to practice law in the state. Generally,
admission by court order constitutes sufficient
registration, but in some states, attorneys sign
the roll or file a certificate with the clerk of the
court to establish that they have been duly
admitted to practice.

An applicant for admission to the bar is entitled
to notice of, and a hearing on, the grounds
for rejection either before the committee on
character and fitness or the court. The courts
can review the decision of bar examiners who
deny an applicant admission to the bar, and the
courts can ascertain whether the examiners
acted after a fair investigation and hearing, exercised
their discretion impartially and reasonably,
and conducted their proceedings in
compliance with the requirements of procedural
DUE PROCESS.

The legal profession has tried in recent years
to diversify the population of attorneys by
recruiting more women and minorities. Firstyear
law student statistics compiled by the
American Bar Association show that for the
2002–2003 academic year, out of 48,433 students,
23,587 (roughly 49 percent) were women.
Minority enrollment is considerably less; firstyear
enrollment for 2002–2003 of students from
all racial minorities was 10,229.

FURTHER READINGS
American Bar Association. 2003. Available online at
(accessed October 13, 2003).
Glen, Kristin Booth. 2002. “When and Where We Enter:
Rethinking Admission to the Legal Profession.” Columbia
Law Review 102 (October): 1696–1740.
Moeser, Erica. 2002. “Bar Admission in the United States
2001: Framing the Discussion for Response to Globalization.”
South Texas Law Review 43 (spring): 499–505.
National Conference of Bar Examiners. 2003. Available
online at (accessed October 13,
2003).

Ritter, Matthew A. 2002. “The Ethics of Moral Character
Determination: An Indeterminate Ethical Reflection
Upon Bar Admissions.” California Western Law Review
39 (fall): 1–52.

CROSS-REFERENCES
Attorney; Bar Association; Bar Examination; “Bradwell v.
Illinois” (Appendix, Primary Document); Courts; Federal
Courts; Residency.