Called to the Bar

Almost exactly a year after graduating from law school, I am finally a "real" lawyer. Today I went to the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, where I was sworn in as a member of the bar.

Maybe you are wondering why it takes a whole year to be admitted to the bar after graduating from law school? First, I had to take the bar exam (about 3.5 months of studying), then wait for the results of the exam (another 3.5 months), only then could I apply to be admitted. The application is one of those typical government forms, where you have to list every place you ever lived, etc. (I also had to get two other members of the bar to attest to my good moral character.) After submitting my application in December I received a nice post card saying that I should wait patiently until May (5 months, if you are keeping score at home), when I would have an interview with the Character & Fitness Committee. This involves a very high level of scrutiny--namely, two minutes of small talk with a judge, (they claim the applications are pre-screened) followed by two hours of orientation. And then finally, the big day when you are sworn in!

The ceremony was very brief--a member of the Character & Fitness Committee moved the court for our admission; the judge granted the motion; the clerk of the court administered our oath (to uphold the Constitutions of the United States and of the State of New York and to faithfully execute the duties of our office as attorneys & counsellors at law); and then the judge gave a short speech welcoming us to the bar.

Here is an interesting history lesson for you about the official title for lawyers (in New York it is "attorney and counsellor at law"). In England, two separate court systems developed--the court of law and the courts of equity. While the law courts were presided over by judges and enforced the statutory laws, initially one could also appeal to the mercy or conscience of the King through his chancellor, who had power to give whatever result was equitable--eventually these powers of the chancellor developed into a system of courts of equity. Lawyers (or barristers) who practiced in the law courts were "counsellors," while those in the equity courts were "attorneys" (or solicitors). Both in Britain the U.S., the two courts were eventually merged, so that lawyers now practice in both law and equity as "attorneys and counsellors at law."

As you can see, the Appellate Division Courthouse is very beautiful. (Warning: another history lesson follows...) When it was built at the beginning of the 20th century, the architect was given a budget of $700,000 and was told he should spend a lot of it on decorative work. He spent $200,000 on statues and murals alone, and still managed to come in under budget at $640,000.

You can't quite see it in this picture, but on the top of the building are statues of some of famous historical law-givers, such as Moses, Confucius, and Justinian. Originally there was also a statue of Mohammad, but as Muslims are very sensitive about any portrayal of the prophet, his image was removed, and the other statues shifted to the center, leaving an empty pedestal on the far right.

The best part was having Margo there--afterwards she took me out to a very nice lunch at 11 Madison Ave.