(I was trying to avoid getting drawn into a discussion about God). That's a great question. It could be the State. It could be others. The Bar Association enfo

(I was trying to avoid getting drawn into a discussion about God). That's a great question. It could be the State. It could be others. The Bar Association enforces standards and behaviors on lawyers, and thereby your right to practice law. Cisco enforces standards on it's engineers (I'm thinking CCIE, etc), and the rights that go with that. Here's the rub, though. The State should be a mediator between two parties. If I say that you destroyed my yard, I should get recourse in front of an unbiased and uninterested 3rd party. It doesn't have to be the State. It could be anyone that we both agree is impartial.