bar association

bar association, group of attorneys, whether local, national, or international, that is organized primarily to deal with issues affecting the legal profession. In general, bar associations are concerned with furthering the best interests of lawyers. This may mean the advocacy of reforms in the legal system, the sponsoring of research projects, or the actual regulation of professional standards.

Bar associations sometimes administer the examinations that are required for admission to practice law, and they may supervise necessary apprenticeship programs. Their membership requirements vary from country to country. In the United States, for example, law school graduates are admitted to a state bar association immediately after they pass a series of examinations, which are usually administered by examiners appointed by state courts; in Austria, on the other hand, it is necessary for a lawyer to have seven years’ legal experience in order to be a member. Membership in the bar associations of many countries is often compulsory. In Japan, Nigeria, Israel, and France and in more than half the states of the United States, for example, membership is required of all lawyers. On the other hand, in England, Norway, and Sweden, membership in such bar associations is voluntary.

Many bar associations have disciplinary powers over their members, but actual procedures for disbarment (q.v.), relieving an attorney of his license to practice, are usually carried on in court. In France, for example, the major responsibility for disciplining attorneys belongs to the Cour de Cassation.

There are many international associations of lawyers, the most prominent being the International Bar Association, a voluntary group of national bar associations and some individual lawyers, which is dedicated, among other things, to achieving uniformity in certain areas of law.