Studying for the Bar examination.

A person wishing to enter the legal profession as a lawyer must be admitted to the bar. There are several ways to gain admission to the bar, the most common being passing the bar exam.

Where did the term of art "bar" originate? Apparently the term originated from the fact that many courts in England used to have an actual physical barrier dividing the public (observing the court) and the litigants in a case. So quite naturally... a lawyer would have to "pass" or be admitted to the bar in order to represent a client.

Anyway - so I have formally started studying for the bar examination. The learning never ends! Woo hoo!