So what is the bar exam? And why do people take it?

The bar exam is an examination administered by State Bar organizations. The State Bar organizations, among other things, regulate the quality of legal services provided in the state. The test is one of the primary instruments by which they do so. By forcing all bona fide lawyers who practice in the state to take and pass the test, they ensure that all lawyers have at least a minimal level of legal knowledge. The bar examination is therefore not so different from other examinations that are a prerequisite for the practice of other professions -- doctor, optometrist, veterinarian, and so on.

Passing the bar exam is the biggest obstacle to getting a bar license. In some states, there may be other requirements, such as having three years of legal education and so on. States also typically require a screening process by which they determine if you are "morally fit" to be a lawyer -- in other words, they want to make sure that you don't have a criminal record or a habit of embezzling money. If you have led a fairly honest life, then passing that screen should not be a problem.

What exactly does a bar license let you do? Well, in each state, it is illegal to "engage in the practice of law" if you are not licensed to do so. What the words "engage in the practice of law" mean is pretty vague, but generally speaking, that phrase is interpreted fairly broadly. I have heard of cases where the state bar will sue people, such as legal secretaries or paralegals, for just giving some matter-of-fact advice on, for example, how to handle a divorce. In general, you need a license to give any advice on what a law means or how it applies, or to appear in court. Having a bar license, as a result, gives the profession a monopolistic chokehold on the giving of a wide range of services that virtually everyone needs at one point in their lives. It is that monopoly that gives lawyers an income and a level of job security unmatched by many other less protected service professions.

Because bar examinations are implemented by the 50 state bar organizations, each state's exam can differ moderately. I say "moderately" because there is a fairly standardized base of knowledge that all bar exams test on. That makes it significantly easier for an attorney who has passed the bar exam in, say, Utah, to pass the bar exam in California or New York or other states as well. We'll get more to that later when we discuss the content of the examination.