Bar examination
A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction.
Australia
Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar association in the particular state or territory concerned. Those interested in pursuing a career at the bar must first be admitted as lawyers in the Supreme Court of their home state or territory. This generally requires the completion of legal studies which can take up to 8 years depending on the mode of study, the particular degree being completed and the law school. After completing a law degree, law graduates are then usually required to complete a period of Practical Legal Training.During the PLT period, law graduates are provided with further legal education focusing more on the practical or technical aspects of the law, such as court practice, conveyancing and drafting statements of claim. Law graduates are also required to complete a minimum number of days under the supervision of a more senior lawyer.
After the successful completion of practical legal training, law graduates must then apply to be admitted to the Supreme Court in their state or territory. This ceremony is usually held with the chief justice of the state or territory presiding. It is a formal ceremony which also includes taking an oath to uphold the laws of the jurisdiction and results in the person's name being recorded on the Roll of Practitioners in that jurisdiction.
Once admitted, those wishing to practise as barristers must contact the relevant bar association to register and sit the bar exam. The frequency and availability of these exams depends on the relevant bar association. Generally, the bar exams focus on three main areas of practice which are relevant to barristers; namely evidence, procedure and ethics. The exams are usually administered during the course of a day and comprise a variety of question types, usually answers are given in essay form. Candidates are informed of their results within a few months and pass rates are very competitive. Passing the bar exam in and of itself does not automatically allow one to practise as a barrister, in many jurisdictions further requirements apply.
New South Wales
In New South Wales, successful bar exam candidates are required to complete the NSW Bar Association Bar Practice Course, which despite its name, is a mandatory course required to be taken after passing the bar exam. The BPC consists of lectures, assignments and a significant amount of further reading about court procedure and case law. At the conclusion of the BPC, candidates are then required to appear in a mock trial, often before real judicial officers, and argue their respective case. Once satisfied that the candidate has completed these requirements, the NSW Bar Association then provides each candidate with their practising certificate.Newly called barristers are referred to as readers for a period of usually one year and are required to have at least one tutor who is barrister with at least seven years of call but is not Senior Counsel.
The initial practising certificate often contains restrictions on what type of work readers are permitted to do. This may include restrictions such as appearing in court alone, undertaking direct access briefs or any other restriction which the bar association deems appropriate. After the 12-month period and upon completion of further requirements such as civil and criminal reading to the bar associations satisfaction, readers are then provided with an unrestricted practising certificate and are no longer readers but barristers.
Brazil
The Order of Attorneys of Brazil, the Brazilian bar association, administers a bar examination nationwide two to three times a year. The exam is divided in two stages – the first consists of 80 multiple choice questions covering all disciplines. The candidate must score at least 40 questions correctly to proceed to the second part of the exam, which are four essay questions and a drafting project in Civil Law , Labour Law, Criminal Law, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Corporate Law or Tax Law, and their respective procedures. The Bar examination can be taken on the graduation year. Success in the examination allows one to practice in any court or jurisdiction of the country.Canada
In Canada, admission to the bar is a matter of provincial or territorial jurisdiction. All provinces, except for Québec, follow a common law tradition. Lawyers in every common law province are qualified as both barristers and solicitors, and must pass a Barristers' Examination and Solicitors' Examination administered by the Law Society that governs the legal profession in their respective province or territory. The common law provinces all require prospective lawyers to complete a term of articles after graduation from law school during which they work under the supervision of a qualified lawyer. The bar exams may be taken after graduation from law school, but before the commencement of articling, or may be taken during or after articling is completed. Once the barristers' and solicitors' exams have been passed and the term of articles is successfully completed, students may then be called to the bar and admitted to the legal profession as lawyers.China
England and Wales
Since the UK has a separated legal profession, Law graduates in England and Wales can take examinations to qualify as a barrister or a solicitor by either undertaking the Bar Professional Training Course or the Solicitors Qualification Exam respectively. These courses are the vocational part of the training required under the rules of the Bar Standards Board and the Solicitors Regulation Authority and are either undertaken on a full-time basis for one year or on a part-time basis over two years. After successfully completing these courses, which generally include various examinations and practical ability tests, graduates must secure either a training contract or a pupillage. These are akin to articling positions in other jurisdictions and are the final practical stage before being granted full admission to practice. The general timescale therefore to become fully qualified after entering Law School can range between 6–7 years.However, some controversy remains about the lack of training contracts and pupillages available to graduates even after having completed the LPC/BPTC. These courses can vary in cost anywhere from £9,000 to £17,000 and are generally undertaken by students on a private basis making them incur additional costs. The final debt in student fees alone after having completed the academic and vocational training can range between £20,000-£25,000. This is set to increase to £40,000-£50,000 for students entering law school.
The Solicitor Qualifying Examination is the common or single route to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales. Replacing the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme in September 2021, this is the only English and Welsh bar examination for solicitors.
France
In France, Law graduates must obtain a vocational degree called certificat d'aptitude à la profession d'avocat in order to practice independently. The most common way to achieve the CAPA is by training in an école d'avocats. This training includes academical and vocational courses and mandatory internships in law firms. Entrance to Lawyer's School is obtained by competitive examination.Germany
To become a lawyer in Germany, one has to study law at university for five years. Then, one has to pass the First Examination in Law, which is administered in parts by the Oberlandesgericht of the respective state and in parts by the university the person attends; the state part accounts for 70% of the final grade, the university part for 30%. The First Examination is recognised as equivalent to an integrated Master's degree. However, it only provides a limited qualification and does not itself permit access to regulated careers in the legal field without further training.After the First Examination in Law, candidates that wish to fully qualify must participate in a two-year practical training period including placements at a court of law, a public prosecutor's office, a public sector in-house legal team and a law firm or private sector in-house legal team. At the end of this training, candidates must take and pass the Second State Examination in Law.
Successful candidates of the Second Examination are called fully qualified lawyer. They may join the bar as an attorney, to become judges and to become state attorneys. There are some other legal or legal-adjacent careers which require additional or different training.
Ghana
To become a lawyer in Ghana, one has to study law at any university that offers the Bachelor of Laws degree. After completing the four year law degree, graduates can apply to be enrolled at the Ghana School of Law. Following two years of professional training, successful students can take their bar examination. Upon passing the bar examination, an induction and calling to the bar ceremony is held for all graduating students.Hungary
In Hungary, the Bar Examination is called "Jogi Szakvizsga", can be translated as "Legal Profession Examination". To sit for an exam, the candidate needs at least 3 years of daily 8 hours work experience after having a law university degree. This exam is composed of three parts:- Criminal Law, Criminal Procedural Law and Law of Criminal Enforcement
- Civil Law, Civil Procedural Law and Business Law
- Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Labor Law, Social Security Law and Law of the European Union.