Bar association
#There are federal, state and local bar associations. (The word "bar" is derived from the bar across some court rooms to separate the public from the judges, lawyers and others officially involved in litigation.) The American Bar Association (ABA), formed in 1878, is the leading federal association of attorneys. Membership is voluntary; about half of U.S. lawyers belong. The organization promotes study in a wide rang of legal topics and is a powerful lobbying force for lawyers around the country, but it dies not have much official status. (It does, however, provide accreditation for U.S. Law schools.) There is also a federal Bar Association, consisting of attorneys working for the federal government. Local bar associations do not usually have any offical role, but there are hundreds of them in the cities and counties around the country.
#For most lawyers, the state bar association is the most important. The principle reason for this is that no one may practice Law without a license, and to obtain that license a lawyer must usually either first pass a bar exam administered and graded by the state bar association (often as a delegee of the state supreme court) or otherwise be admitted "on motion" having been licensed to practice in another state for several years. Thus, state bar associations have a major role in determining who may practice law. (The process is generally not nearly as selective as in some other countries,howerver. A typical pass rate for an American Bar exam is 80% or more, and those who fail may usually retake the exam at a later date.). Usually, an aspiring lawyer must graduate with a basic JD degree from an ABA-approved lawschool to be eligible to sit for a state bar exam, although several states allow graduates of non-ABA approved law schools to sit, and some, including New York and California, may allow foreign law graduates to sit (especially if they have and advanced law degree from an American school.)
#In about half the states, membership in the state bar is also required to continue to practice law. (Such states are said to have an " integrated bar.") The bar may also be responsible for the discipline of lawyers who fail to meet the applicable code of professional ethics; and state bars are regularly involved in setting standards and providing instruction for continuing legal education (CLE) standards required for practicing lawyers.