The South Carolina Bar (SC Bar) is the integrated (mandatory)

bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to separ ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Organization

The South Carolina Bar began in 1884 as the South Carolina Bar Association, a professional organization of approximately 200 lawyers; the group was voluntary, with no mandates to join being a prerequisite to practice. Later, the South Carolina State Bar was created by the

South Carolina Supreme Court The South Carolina Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices.

in 1968, and the two organizations were merged in 1975.SC Bar website, "About Us"
As of 2009, South Carolina Bar had just under 13,000 members. The House of Delegates and the Board of Governors are the policy-making and executory components of the Bar. The former is composed of members representing the judicial circuits throughout the state; it acts as a policy-making body for the Bar and meets at least twice a year. The Board of Governors may act within the scope of that policy in the duration between meetings. The authority of the South Carolina Bar is established by statute as an administrative arm of the South Carolina Supreme Court, which retains the ultimate authority in the state governing the practice of law.S.C. Code Ann. § 40-5-20
/ref> However, the Bar does not receive state funding, and is supported solely by the dues and licensing fees of member attorneys.SC Bar Constitution
Membership in the Bar is mandatory for all persons practicing law within South Carolina, and all fees and dues must be paid to maintain active membership status. The Bar provides a variety of programs for members and the public, including

Continuing Legal Education Continuing legal education (CLE), also known as mandatory or minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) or, in some jurisdictions outside the United States, as continuing professional development, consists of professional education for attorneys t ...

for members, Law related education for the public, access to justice programs, pro bono coordinating services, and a variety of other services.

Bar Exam

All attorneys licensed to practice in the state belong to the South Carolina Bar after passing the

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 associ ...

. As of 2009 the bar exam in South Carolina tests knowledge of the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

through the

Multistate Bar Exam In the United States, those seeking to become lawyers must normally pass a bar examination before they can be admitted to the bar and become licensed to practice law. Bar exams are administered by states or territories, generally by agencies under ...

and the exam tests South Carolina law on the state essay portion. Applicants must also pass the MPRE ethics exam, pass a

background check A background check is a process a person or company uses to verify that an individual is who they claim to be, and this provides an opportunity to check and confirm the validity of someone's criminal record, education, employment history, and oth ...

, and pay all necessary fees.South Carolina Supreme Court, "Bar Admissions"
/ref>

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control American state bar associations South Carolina law 1975 establishments in South Carolina Organizations established in 1975