“The BAR is just a lawyer’s union with a fancy name”
My daughter and son-in-law both took the New York State Bar. This was ten years ago - it was very difficult and required months of study. They passed easily the first time. However, they both were in the top 10% of their graduating class at W&L, considered a top tier law school. (at least it was when they attended.)
It is not uncommon to have to take the NYS bar exam several times before passing. It is a challenging exam and does weed out the incompetents. Getting rid of the bar would result in a definite decrease in qualified candidates in the law field, including judges down the road. Dreadful idea.
Top tier is generally defined as the top fourteen, Harvard, Yale, etc. Second tier is generally considered 15-100. W&L has always been considered among the better of the second tier schools, but has never been in the top tier.