I wouldn't call them a union, they are basically a licencing agency.
They don't set rates, or negotiate with employers, engage in any kind of
collective bargaining, except to lobby Congress on issues that might
affect lawyers.
You have to pass a test to get into the bar, you have to be in the bar to
practice law, and if you do something wrong, the bar throws you out. Same
with the AMA.
I suppose that the difficulty of the test influences to some extent how
many people can pass the test, but there are no quotas. Almost everyone
that graduates from law school passes the Bar. If you pass the test, you
can practice law, but you don't have a job. I don't think the examinations
change much from year to year.
Not everyone has to be union. Only shops that have union contracts require
you to join the union. You can still be an electrician if you aren't in
the union. But you can't be a lawyer if you aren't on the Bar.
--Dean
On Thu, 18 Jul 2002, Andrew Fant wrote:
> On Thu, 18 Jul 2002, Dean Anderson wrote:
>
> > Why don't lawyers have a union? They are frequently involved in creating
> > unions. If unions are so good, why don't they unionize?
>
> Have you ever heard of the American Bar Association and it's state
> affiliates? They and the American Medical Association are probably the
> strongest unions in the country. Not only do they effectively control the
> entrance to their respective trades by writing and/or administering the
> examinations that the states use to control licensure, but they also have
> enourmous influence on the NUMBER of people who could qualify to practice
> those trades in the US. You will note that it is very rare for there to
> be a glut of Physicians or Lawyers for very long.
>
> Andrew Fant | This | "If I could walk THAT way...
> Molecular Geek | Space | I wouldn't need the talcum powder!"
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] | For | G. Marx (apropos of Aerosmith)
> Boston, MA USA | Hire | http://www.pharmawulf.com
>
>
>
> ---
> Send mail for the `bblisa' mailing list to `[EMAIL PROTECTED]'.
> Mail administrative requests to `[EMAIL PROTECTED]'.
>
---
Send mail for the `bblisa' mailing list to `[EMAIL PROTECTED]'.
Mail administrative requests to `[EMAIL PROTECTED]'.
