The Bar Exam
The final frontier, if you will!
The bar exam is the last step to becoming a licensed attorney in the US. The exam is meant to test a person’s ability to think and write like a lawyer; basically, it assures new JDs can meet minimum competency standards to actually practice law. Bar passage is required by every US state and jurisdiction.
This post is an overview about the exam itself (specifically the Uniform Bar Exam, for all you lawyer-types out there) and answers a few bar-related questions that I frequently encounter!
FORMAT
In most states, the bar is a 2-day test on the last Tuesday and Wednesday every February and July. Each day is split into two 3-hour sections; day 1 is all essays and day 2 contains 200 multiple choice questions. It’s a long, exhausting 12 hours of testing.
DAY 1
The morning session of Day 1 is called the Multistate Performance Test (MPT). The MPT is an open book exam designed to create a ‘realistic’ environment for producing a memorandum or a legal brief. The testers give you the entire “legal universe” needed to answer the prompts - legal cases, informational memorandums, relevant law, etc - and then ask you to use them in creating some sort of legal document. The MPT is split int two separate tasks (both with their own complete case file) and you have 90 minutes to complete each task.
The afternoon of Day 2 is dedicated to the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE). These are also essays, but closed book and shorter; you have to read each 1-pg prompt and come up with the relevant law from memory. The MEE is designed to test legal knowledge and recall, issue identification, and analysis. The MEE is comprised of 6 separate essays, 30 minutes for each.
While the MPT can test literally any type of law (given to you, so no sweat) the MEE is limited to certain subjects. And by “limited” I mean 12 different areas of law, each of which is easily a law school class on its own. According to my calculations there are approximately 1 million testable rules between these twelve subjects, so the MPT is a tough ask. But we’re practicing!
DAY 2
The second day is entirely dedicated to the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE). The MBE is 200 multiple choice questions, 100 in the morning and 100 in the afternoon, on seven set subjects: constitutional law, contracts, criminal law/procedure, property, federal civil procedure, torts, and evidence. I take my first simulated MBE next week so wish me luck!
GRADING
The entire test is scored on a 400-point scale; each day accounts for 50% of that 400. The MBE is worth 50%, MEE is 30%, and MPT is 20%. Each state sets its own minimum passing score. For example, Minnesota’s minimum is a 260. So as long as I score a 260 or higher, I’ll pass!
You might be thinking, “Just a 260? Out of 400? Isn’t that like 65%? Doesn’t seem too hard”…that’s fair. But I’ll tell you right now, if I took this test tomorrow, I’d absolutely score under a 260. There’s an incredible amount of law to learn (hence a recommended 300+ hours of studying!), plus all the general “here’s-how-to-standardize-test” techniques, so - a 65% is far less attainable than a regular school test.
FAQS
Do you have to take the bar in Minnesota or is it virtual?
Yes, I’ll fly to Minnesota to test! The bar is administered in-person within your desired jurisdiction. It’s typically held in a giant space, like a conference center or hotel ballroom, so all applicants can take it in the same place at the same time. The exam can be taken on a computer (or at least parts of it can?), but it’s not virtual.
Are you learning Minnesota laws?
Actually, no. I’m taking the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE), which is uniform across the 38 states (and D.C.) that offer it. The law is a mixture of federal standards, common law, and other ‘universal’ law (like Restatements, the Uniform Commercial Code, and the Model Penal Code) rather than state-specific law. So instead of asking “is this particular thing a crime in Minnesota,” I’ll be asked “is this particular thing a crime at common law?”
When do you find out if you passed?
Unfortunately, not until October. The test is the same for all UBE takers, but the exams are graded by individual state bar associations. It takes a while to grade!
Do you have to take the baby bar like Kim K? Is this the same thing?
Nope! The First-Year Law Students’ Examination, also known as the “baby bar,” is only required for people doing apprenticeships instead of getting a JD (like Kim) and those who attend unaccredited law schools. These folks ultimately have to take and pass THE bar exam as well - the baby bar is just kind of a substitute for the basic courses everyone takes in their first year as a law student.
Will you have to retake the bar to get licensed in a different state?
Gosh, I hope not. I’m not super familiar with bar transfer rules (and they vary from state to state) but I do NOT need to be re-barred each time I move for the Air Force. Any state is good enough for the US military!
And that’s about it! Only 37 days to go, but who’s counting?
