Forty-one jurisdictions have adopted the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE), which is composed entirely of NCBE-created components.
Oregon permits students who have completed a Juris Doctor program with certain required coursework to obtain bar admission through a Supervised Practice Portfolio Examination.
[2] In Washington, the State Supreme Court in March 2024 approved "in concept" alternative pathways based on apprenticeship or work experience.
The MEE consists of six 30-minute essay questions that examines a candidate's ability to analyze legal issues and communicate them effectively in writing.
The candidate is provided with a case file and a "library" which contains all of the substantive law required to perform the task (plus some non-relevant material).
Starting with the July 2017 bar examination, California switched to a 90-minute format[30] but continues to prepare its own performance tests, which are usually situated in the fictional state of Columbia.
States emphasize different areas of law in their essay questions depending upon their respective histories and public policy priorities.
Pennsylvania, with a history of federal tax evasion (e.g., the Whiskey Rebellion), tests federal income tax law, while New Jersey, with a history of discriminatory zoning (resulting in the controversial Mount Laurel doctrine), tests zoning and planning law.
Most states test knowledge of the law of negotiable instruments and secured transactions (Articles 3 and 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code), but Alaska, California, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania do not; they have recognized that the vast majority of criminal, personal injury, and family lawyers will never draft a promissory note or litigate the validity of a security interest.
It consists solely of the MBE, MEE, and MPT, and offers portability of scores across state lines.
Concerns include the lack of questions on state law, and that the test provides NCBE with control over the bar credentialing process.
[46] A statement by the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT)[81] articulates many criticisms of the bar exam.
[vague][82] The SALT statement, however, does propose some alternative methods of bar admission that are partially test-based.
[83] The NCBE published an article in 2005 addressing alternatives to the bar exam, including a discussion of the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program, an alternate certification program introduced at the University of New Hampshire School of Law (formerly Franklin Pierce Law Center) in that year.