I have to ask the question: why is there a bar in the first place? Is it not just another way to restrict membership and drive up wages, just like unions and all forms of licensing? And for those of you who think the law is special and must not be left to the caprices of the market, do closed shops generally produce the most vital and impressive labor markets? Here’s a better question: did we ever leave the Dark Ages?
No, that’s what the bar used to be like. In my state, we had a private voluntary bar that was basically forcibly taken over by the Supreme Court about 20 years ago, and transformed into a government organization for keeping attorneys in line.
I had no problem with the bar as a union, but it doesn’t function that way any more. A perfect example is out of state competition. Our state does nothing to stop it, even though it is illegal for someone not admitted to practice in the state to practice law, and yet continually puts more and more red tape on lawyers who are admitted to practice in the state.
As a result, most of the high-paying legal work is now done by out of state lawyers in places like New York and L.A., not by local attorneys.