But one can't take it without graduating from an accredited law school which must have a three-year course of study and can only admit students with undergraduate degrees. So UPL locks in place a costly course of preparation for the legal services field. The justification invariably given for UPL prohibitions is that we need to protect members of the public against incompetent and dishonest practitioners. But that justification fails. Lawyers learn almost everything they need to know to serve their clients after they have become members of the bar.
Law school is just a costly prelude.
But the high cost of entering the market suppresses competitors and keeps the cost high. Many poor people are priced entirely out of the legal services market . If they do manage to pay for legal work done, it is with considerable sacrifice of other needs. Nor is bar membership a sufficient condition for competence. Lawyers make many errors, as do practitioners in all fields of human endeavor.