Loose bar admission made law a channel of upward mobility

Evidence

Growth in the legal profession would have been impossible, if established lawyers had been able to choke off entry. But the doors to the profession were at all times relatively open. Control over admission to the bar was loose, to say the least. The bar became a great avenue of social advancement. Young men flocked to the profession, for much the same reasons that young men and women flock to it today. It was a ladder to success, financially and politically. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1816

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Clerkship apprenticeship doubled as a bar admission control device — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 531; Law-school training and strict bar admission are recent American developments — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 972; The market for legal services disciplined entry when formal bar strictures collapsed — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1893 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Bar preparation requirements weakened across the nineteenth century #complicates (0.85) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1884
• Law-school training and strict bar admission are recent American developments #complicates (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 972
• The market for legal services disciplined entry when formal bar strictures collapsed #qualifies (0.78) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1893
• Market competition disciplines lawyers more than bar association sanctions #qualifies (0.75) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 852
• Colonial bar admission was fragmented and colony-specific before 1776 #qualifies (0.72) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 537