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Bar Exam & MPRE Resource Guide

This guide will provide resources to help you prepare to take the bar exam and MPRE.

Structure of the Pennsylvania Bar Exam

  • The first day of the examination consists of one Performance Test (PT) question and six essay questions that are prepared by the examiners and approved by the Board.
  • The second day of the examination is the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE).

 Additional Information

The bar examination is administered twice a year, the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July. The examination is administered in two locations in February and July (Eastern and Western areas of the state).

The February bar examination results are released in mid- April, and July bar examination results are released in mid- October.

http://www.pabarexam.org/bar_exam_information/bebasics.htm

Old Exam Questions

The prior three year's bar exam questions with sample answers are available from the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners website at:

https://www.pabarexam.org/bar_exam_information/essay.htm

Subjects Tested

Essay Exam - six essay questions that consist of one or more of the following topics:

  • Business Organizations (including corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and professional corporations)
  • Contracts
  • Evidence (Pennsylvania and federal)
  • Federal Income Taxes (personal only and limited to taxable and non-taxable income, deductions, proprietorships and capital transactions)
  • Torts
  • Civil Procedure (Pennsylvania and federal)
  • Criminal Law (including related Pennsylvania and federal constitutional issues and DUI)
  • Family Law
  • Professional Responsibility
  • U.C.C., Art. II - Sales
  • Conflict of Laws
  • Employment Discrimination (limited to Title VII, ADA and ADEA)
  • Federal Constitutional Law
  • Real Property
  • Wills, Trusts and Decedents' Estates (including related fiduciary responsibilities)

Multi-State Bar Exam

  • Civil Procedure
  • Constitutional Law
  • Contracts
  • Criminal Law and Procedure
  • Evidence
  • Real Property
  • Torts

Performance Test - "By Order of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania,one Performance Test (PT) question, developed by the Board, may be used in lieu of a Multistate Performance Test question as a component of the essay portion of the bar examination."

"Examples of tasks that might be required to be performed include preparing: letters to opposing counsel, opinion letters to clients, contract or will provisions, briefs, memorandum to a partner, legal memoranda, petitions, motions, and other tasks that a lawyer might be expected to perform."

Please see http://www.pabarexam.org/bar_exam_information/testsubjects.htm for further details.

Helpful Links

Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiniers

Pennsylvania Jurisdiction Information

NCBE Study Aids - this will help you find study aids for the MRRE, MBE, MEE, & MPT. It also has sample test questions and answers.

MPRE

MPRE is required in the state of Pennsylvania and a minimum passing score is 75.

 

MPRE Score Services