<P> Admission to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is open to any attorney admitted to practice and in good standing with the U.S. Supreme Court, any of the other federal courts of appeal, any federal district court, the highest court of any state, the Court of International Trade, the Court of Federal Claims, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, or the District of Columbia Court of Appeals . An oath and fee are required . </P> <P> Some federal courts also have voluntary bar associations associated with them . For example, the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit, the Bar Association of the Third Federal Circuit, or the Association of the Bar of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit all serve attorneys admitted to practice before specific federal courts of appeals . </P> <P> 56 districts (around 60% of all district courts) require an attorney to be admitted to practice in the state where the district court sits . The other 39 districts (around 40% of all district courts) extend admission to certain lawyers admitted in other states, although conditions vary from court to court . Only 13 districts extend admission to attorneys admitted to any U.S. state bar . This requirement is not necessarily consistent within a state . For example, in Ohio, the Southern District generally requires membership in the Ohio state bar for full admission, while full admission to the Northern District is open to all attorneys in good standing with any U.S. jurisdiction . The District of Vermont requires membership in the Vermont State Bar or membership in the Bar of a federal district court in the First and Second Circuits . The District of Connecticut, within the Second Circuit, will admit any member of the Connecticut bar or of the bar of any United States District Court . </P> <P> Persons wishing to "prosecute" patent applications (i.e., represent clients in the process of obtaining a patent) must first pass the USPTO registration examination, frequently referred to as the "patent bar ." Detailed information about applying for the registration examination is available in the USPTO's General Requirements Bulletin . Although only registered patent attorneys or patent agents can prosecute patent applications in the USPTO, passing the patent bar is not necessary to advise clients on patent infringement, to litigate patent issues in court, or to prosecute trademark applications . </P>

Can you become a lawyer by just passing the bar exam