As of last week, it’s now possible to “ace” the bar exam in Tennessee.  Last week it was announced that Tennessee will begin grading applicants’ bar exams this February,  instead of just issuing a pass/fail result.  Candidates will now receive a number score on the essay portion of the bar exam.  More information can be found in this article, “New Tenn. bar exam not just pass-fail, but grades candidates.”

Perhaps some other states might soon follow their lead?

More good news for Wisconsin law school students and graduates: the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided to keep the diploma privilege on Monday.  We have kept you posted on this issue, but for a quick refresher, Wisconsin’s “diploma privilege,” allows graduates of ABA accredited Wisconsin law schools that teach Wisconsin law to practice in Wisconsin without sitting for the bar exam.  Despite allegations that the rule discriminates against out-of-state students who want to practice in Wisconsin, the Supreme Court justices decided to keep the practice and rejected a proposal from a group of lawyers to allow all law school graduates to skip the bar exam or require that everyone must sit for it.  For more information, check out the full article, High Court Keeps ‘Diploma Privilege’ Rule.  In addition, the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Board of Governors has officially declared its opposition of attempts to eliminate  Wisconsin’s diploma privilege.  To read more, see BOG opposes diploma privilege petition from the Wisconsin Law Journal.

Thanks to an announcement made last month, it sounds like graduates of non-ABA approved law schools will eventually have more options when it comes to choosing a jurisdiction to practice in.  The Minnesota Supreme Court signaled that it intends to allow some  graduates of law schools not accredited by the American Bar Association to take the Minnesota Bar Exam.

In response to a petition filed with the Court in April 2009 and review of the Board of Bar Examiners’ report on this petition, the Court determined that it will consider an amendment to the Rules for Admission to the Bar that would permit a licensed attorney who has successfully practiced law in another U.S. jurisdiction for a substantial number of years to sit for the Minnesota bar exam despite having not graduated from ABA accredited law school.

The Board must file the proposed rule amendment with the Court by Sept. 30, 2010, and then it will be scheduled for public comment and hearing.

What do you think about these possible changes?  How does it affect graduates of non-ABA approved law schools?  What are its affects on the goal to establish an education standard, competency, bar admission, and the current job market?  Share your comments!

With our MBE Question of the Day starting up again tomorrow, I wanted to share an article I wrote about the importance of using updated questions…

The Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) is notoriously one of the most feared aspects of the bar exam.  It certainly was for me.  It was the only time in my life 6 hours didn’t seem like enough time to finish an exam.  Every second counts on the MBE, and two minutes can make the difference between passing and failing.  I drank a Red Bull during lunch break to help me stay focused.  It had its payoffs (I believe drinking Red Bull helped me pass the bar) and its consequences – I had to rush to the restroom after lunch because I didn’t want to “waste too much time.”  Because there is so much pressure on the MBE, a better name might be the mental endurance test.  No matter what you call it, it’s important that you fully understand the MBE before you take it.  Over the next few months, you’ll have the pleasure of getting to know the MBE as well as I did or maybe even better.

The MBE is the 200-question, 6-hour, multiple-choice portion of the bar exam administered on the last Wednesday in July and February.  Since the MBE tests content that is important to beginning the practice of law, the NCBE (National Conference of Bar Examiners) drafters evaluate questions on their relevance and credibility to beginning practitioners.  In recent years, the MBE has undergone many changes to become more consistent in style and format, resulting in more concise questions.  MicroMash Bar Review wants students to be aware of the several changes to the format of MBE questions that the NCBE announced and put into effect starting with the July 2009 bar exam:

1. There will be no “none of the above” or “all of the above” answer choices.
2. There will be no hypothetical fact-based answer choices (options that include “if” or “unless” statements which change the fact pattern).
3. Common nouns will be used in lieu of proper nouns when practical (e.g., “a painter,” not “Pat” or “Painter”).
4. There will be no “K-type” questions (Roman numerals in complex answer choices, e.g., I is true, but II and III are not true).
5. One question will relate to a single fact pattern, instead of a series of questions that relate to one fact pattern.

In addition, the language in the answer choices will be parallel.  That is, the test taker will have options comparing similar elements, such as four different causes of action or four defense theories, etc., rather than comparing an answer choice that has a cause of action to one that has a defense theory.

Here is an example of a “K-type” question you will no longer see on the MBE (or at MicroMash)!

What does this all mean?  In the end it really means only one thing: you should no longer be using MBE practice questions in the old format.  One of most oft-repeated pieces of advice regarding bar exam prep (and MBE prep in particular) is to practice as many MBE questions as you can, making sure to do those questions in as close to realistic test conditions as possible.  That means answering practice questions in a timed environment whenever possible.  It means finding questions that, on par, are about as difficult or as tricky as those you’ll see on the MBE.  Most importantly, it means answering only MBE questions that reflect the new question format!  Studying and practicing for the MBE with updated question formats will prepare you for the actual MBE and simulate what you’ll see on exam day.  It will also help you accurately score yourself and keep track of how much time you need to plow through the examination.

There are plenty of options available to assist you with bar prep (and MBE prep in particular).  Do yourself a favor and verify with your bar review company that their MBE practice questions are up-to-date with the current MBE question format standards.  The last thing you want is to show up on July 28^th and see questions that don’t look familiar!

MicroMash is one of the bar review companies that has updated its questions to the current MBE format.  We excluded “K-type” questions, our fact patterns no longer have multiple questions, and our answer choices have been updated so that there are no “none of the above” or “all of the above” choices in the options.

Continue visiting our blog for up-to-date “MBE Questions of the Day” starting tomorrow to help you study for the bar exam and stay tuned for more bar exam tips and tricks!

For more information on the recent changes to the MBE, please read “Recent Changes in NCBE’s Multiple-Choice Examination Programs” by Beth E. Donahue of the NCBE.

There’s good news for Wisconsin law school students and graduates, who get to keep their “free pass.” The U.S. District Court dismissed the case that challenged Wisconsin’s “diploma privilege,” which allows graduates of ABA accredited Wisconsin law schools that teach Wisconsin law to practice in Wisconsin without sitting for the bar exam. Wisconsin agreed to pay the plaintiff, Corrine Wiesmueller, $7,500. She alleged that since the practice of law falls under interstate commerce, Wisconsin’s diploma privilege discriminates against out-of-state students who what to practice in Wisconsin and must sit for and pass the bar exam.

Wisconsin’s diploma privilege seems like a mutually beneficial arrangement for Wisconsin law students and the state’s interests. State law school graduates don’t have to deal with the time, stress, and expense of taking the bar exam. On the other hand, the state of Wisconsin has an incentive to offer some of its best students to stay and practice law in the state and it doesn’t have to devote as much resources to its bar exam process. What about out-of-state students who want to practice in Wisconsin – are they disadvantaged? Do you think other states should adopt a diploma privilege? Would you be more tempted to go to law school in a particular state with a diploma privilege?

Personally, if I knew I wanted to go into practice when I started law school and states with major cities and a healthy job market offered a diploma privilege, I would definitely take that into consideration!

Here’s a link to the original article.

Arizona may soon be joining New Mexico, South Dakota, and Washington as  jurisdictions that test Indian Law on their bar exams.  The State Bar of Arizona petitioned the state Supreme Court just last month to add Indian Law to the exam.  The Court decided to hold off on its decision pending a study on a uniform bar exam.  The only objection to the addition was voiced by the Committee on Examinations, which stated that Indian Law, due to its complexity, would unnecessarily burden test takers.  Instead of requiring bar exam candidates to learn Indian Law, the Committee suggested that the material be integrated into required law school classes.  At present, Indian Law classes are offered as electives only at Arizona’s law schools.

More than one quarter of Arizona’s square mileage is comprised of tribal lands.  Twenty-two tribes currently reside there.

For a range of opinions on the petition’s merits, see this article in the Arizona Daily Sun.

Beginning with the February 2010 exam, Connecticut will be using the Multistate Essay Exam (“MEE”).  As reported by the Connecticut Law Tribune, the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee will continue to administer 12 essays, but will now have the option of choosing up to six MEE questions.  The MEE is written by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (“NCBE”), but is administered and graded by the individual jurisdictions. It tests the following subjects:
 

• Agency and Partnership
• Commercial Paper
• Conflict of Laws
• Corporations and Limited Liability Companies
• Decedents’ Estates
• Family Law
• Federal Civil Procedure
• Trusts and Future Interests
• Secured Transactions
• All MBE Subjects (Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts)

Connecticut questions will continue to be administered to comprise the balance of the 12.  Those questions will cover:

• Administrative Law
• Business Entities (Corporations, Partnerships, and Sole Proprietorships)
• Conflict of Laws
• Contracts
• Criminal Law and Procedure
• Federal and State Constitutional Law
• Civil Procedure
• Evidence
• Professional Responsibility
• Property (Real and Personal, including Future Interests)
• Torts
• Uniform Commercial Code
• Wills, Trusts, and Estates

This begs several questions:  Will the Board administer questions on those topics covered by the MEE?  If so, will multiple questions on the same topic be posed?  Because for all topics other than state constitutional law (which which has not recently been tested) Connecticut tests only general principles, why not switch to the uniform exam completely?

Stay tuned for more information as we receive it…

Although the MEE offers many advantages, including movement toward a uniform exam and high-quality questions whose authors understand and appreciate the science behind testing, there are also some disadvantages. Perhaps the most significant unintended consequence of this change is that examinees will no longer be able to sit for the Connecticut and the New York bar exams in the same administration period.  Because it is a uniform exam, the MEE must be administered on Tuesday of the exam period—the same day as New York’s state-specific section.  However, Connecticut examinees will now be able to take the Massachusetts exam concurrently as the Massachusetts state-specific section falls on Thursday.

This will cause some interesting developments as more and more states move toward the uniform bar exam—especially in the closely-situated East Coast states.  Will those states still using exclusively their own exams be willing to move exam dates?  Will firms be more lenient in allowing for study/licensing time when hiring new graduates? While this all remains to be seem, with consistent testing throughout the country and “portable scores” offered by the uniform exam, the quandary of sitting for exams in multiple jurisdictions may become altogether moot.