The North Carolina State Bar (NCSB) is the state agency charged with regulating the practice of law in 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 ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. In contrast, the

North Carolina Bar Association The North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) is the voluntary (non-mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of North Carolina. NCBA membership is voluntary and tax money is not involved in its support. In contrast, the North Carolina State Bar ...

is a voluntary association.

History

NCSB was established in 1933 by the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

as an agency of the state of North Carolina empowered to regulate the legal profession. Though operating pursuant to a legislative grant of authority, the State Bar exercises its regulatory powers under the direct and continuing supervision of the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

, which by statute approves the State Bar's rules. Every lawyer practicing law in North Carolina must be a member of the North Carolina State Bar.

Structure

The State Bar is governed by a council consisting primarily of lawyers elected by bar members from the state's 42 judicial districts, and including three public members appointed by the governor of the state of North Carolina. Admission to the North Carolina State Bar is the responsibility of the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners, which is a separate state agency from NCSB. North Carolina has 44 Judicial District Bars, which are subdivisions of the North Carolina State Bar. Active members of the State Bar who reside in North Carolina must be a member of the judicial district bar where they reside or practice. NCSB enforces the rule that North Carolina lawyers must complete 12 credits of

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 ...

each year. NCSB publishes the monthly ''North Carolina Bar Journal''.

References

{{Authority control American state bar associations State agencies of North Carolina 1933 establishments in North Carolina Organizations established in 1933