BTW in the US there also have been associations long before the official ‘closed’ bar: in 1758 Boston lawyers formed the Suffolk County Bar Association. The ABA itself was founded in 1878. The movement for higher admission standards happened apparently in the 1920-1940’s, for the reasons already cited.
See:
D.R. Papke, The Legal profession and Its Ethical Responsibilities: A History, in: M. Davis, F.A. Elliston, Ethics and the Legal Profession, New York 1986.
That cracks me up! I work in the same building as some personal injury attorneys that advertise. On his commercial, one of the guys wears an eye patch. In real life, he doesn’t. Every time the guy gets off the elevator, I have to chuckle. But it’s not nearly as entertaining as the thought of seeing eye-patch man fly out of his convertible giving the thumbs up mid-accident.
