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i've seen people who did not get admitted until a year (or even two - I doubt they failed but I could not fathom the reason; they did not work for judges either) after they worked full-time.

yet they received biglaw salary even without admission to the bar.

how do firms justify this practice?

Well, they're still doing the same work, aren't they? It's not like first- or even second-year associates in big firms are going to court. If they don't ever get admitted they're certainly going to be fired, and I'd rather take the bar before starting at Biglaw than after.

Because you do the exact same work as everyone else. You just generally have to put a little astricks at the end of your emails saying you haven't passed the bar

It's no more or less of a bullshit practice than paying first-years $160,000 in general.