The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be

qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been
"called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar". "The bar" is now used as a collective noun
for barristers, but literally referred to the wooden barrier in old courtrooms, which separated the
often crowded public area at the rear from the space near the judges reserved for those having
business with the Court. Barristers would sit or stand immediately behind it, facing the judge, and
could use it as a table for their briefs.

Like many other common law terms, the term originated in England in the Middle Ages, and the call
to the bar refers to the summons issued to one found fit to speak at the 'bar' of the royal courts. In
time, English judges allowed only legally qualified men to address them on the law and later
delegated the qualification and admission of barristers to the four Inns of Court. Once an Inn calls
one of its members to its bar, they are thereafter a barrister. They may not, however, practise as a
barrister until they have completed (or been exempted from) an apprenticeship called pupillage.
After completing pupillage, they are considered to be a practising barrister with a right of audience
before all courts.

England and Wales and some other jurisdictions distinguish two types of lawyers, who are regulated
by different bodies, with separate training, examinations, regulation and traditions:

Barristers primarily practise in court and generally specialise in advocacy in a particular field of law;
they have a right of audience in all courts of England and Wales.

Solicitors do not necessarily undertake court work, but have a right of audience in the lower courts
(magistrates' courts and county courts). They are admitted or enrolled as a solicitor, to conduct
litigation and practise in law outside court, e.g., providing legal advice to lay clients and acting on
their behalf in legal matters.

A solicitor must additionally qualify as a solicitor-advocate in order to acquire the same "higher
rights" of audience as a barrister. In other jurisdictions, the terminology and the degree of overlap
between the roles of solicitor and barrister varies greatly; in most, the distinction has disappeared
entirely.