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Are there any non-class reasons why lawyers would require a “title-based way to signal what they do”? Plenty of professions with equivalent training have no ho

Are there any non-class reasons why lawyers would require a “title-based way to signal what they do”? Plenty of professions with equivalent training have no honorific (even if they do list various letters after their names).

deleted 6y ago
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CarelessExpert 6y ago
These days they don't, which is why, as the article notes, not many lawyers use the term, as it's seen as archaic and pretentious.
rayiner 6y ago
No there’s not. This is all about class signaling.
deleted 6y ago
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bradknowles 6y ago
To be a lawyer in the US, you only have to pass the bar exam, presumably in the state where you are located. Many state bars have reciprocity agreements with other states, so that you can be admitted to the bar in a state you have recently moved to, by applying to the state bar association and providing your credentials with the other state bar association. Oh, and the fee, of course. Some state bar exams are much tougher than others, and they don’t have a reciprocity agreement. New York is one such well known example. The reciprocity situation gets more weird when you talk about moving from one country to another. And the UK situation is also weird, with regards to Solicitors versus Barristers — one type practices law inside the courtroom, while the other type practices law outside the courtroom — and I can never keep straight which is which. Having a JD doesn’t really have any bearing on whether you can pass the bar exams. Source: my wife is a lawyer, she has a JD from Georgetown Law, she is a member of the DC, NY, and TX bar associations, and when we moved to Texas from Belgium in 2006 we had to go through some real wacky stuff with regards to reciprocity.
- bradknowles 6y ago
  Oh, and my wife never calls herself “Doctor”. She will tell people that she has a JD, if they ask. But that’s as far as she goes in that area.

deleted 6y ago

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CarelessExpert 6y ago

These days they don't, which is why, as the article notes, not many lawyers use the term, as it's seen as archaic and pretentious.

rayiner 6y ago

No there’s not. This is all about class signaling.

deleted 6y ago

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bradknowles 6y ago

To be a lawyer in the US, you only have to pass the bar exam, presumably in the state where you are located. Many state bars have reciprocity agreements with other states, so that you can be admitted to the bar in a state you have recently moved to, by applying to the state bar association and providing your credentials with the other state bar association. Oh, and the fee, of course. Some state bar exams are much tougher than others, and they don’t have a reciprocity agreement. New York is one such well known example. The reciprocity situation gets more weird when you talk about moving from one country to another. And the UK situation is also weird, with regards to Solicitors versus Barristers — one type practices law inside the courtroom, while the other type practices law outside the courtroom — and I can never keep straight which is which. Having a JD doesn’t really have any bearing on whether you can pass the bar exams. Source: my wife is a lawyer, she has a JD from Georgetown Law, she is a member of the DC, NY, and TX bar associations, and when we moved to Texas from Belgium in 2006 we had to go through some real wacky stuff with regards to reciprocity.

bradknowles 6y ago
Oh, and my wife never calls herself “Doctor”. She will tell people that she has a JD, if they ask. But that’s as far as she goes in that area.