As another bar exam approaches, the fallout from July’s test is still wide-ranging, and well-suited for coverage by business journalists. (Photo via Pixabay.com) The bar exam in the United States, the latest edition of which will be administered Feb. 23-24, is a rite of passage for law school graduates. The test, which serves as their final academic obstacle to entering the legal profession, is older than the country itself. This gives the impression that it is a thoroughly ingrained tradition. For over a century, however, the bar exam played a minimal role. Some states allowed any citizen who could vote to also practice law. As more and more states sought to attract aspiring lawyers to fledgling law schools, they opted not to enforce a more rigorous bar exam, but to implement what is known as diploma privilege. A state with diploma privilege allows graduates of certain local law schools to enter the profession without passing a bar examination.