Preparing to Enter the Profession:  

600 Hours to Pass

            Even if you have done an outstanding job preparing to practice law during your 1000 days of law school, you still will need to devote between 500 - 600 hours of study specifically to the bar examination.   This is so because preparing for the bar requires you (1) to review (or learn for the first time) an enormous amount of substantive law, (2) to develop and use an organized method for recalling and drawing on what you know, and (3) to practice specific exam formats enough to be comfortable with them.  

            Remember that four of the six most-tested subjects on the bar exam - torts, contracts, criminal law, and property - are taught in the first year, the year in which you can lay a foundation for your later preparation.   Remember too that the skills that are tested on the bar, whether you understand the language of the law and know how to resolve legal problems using the law, are acquired and developed during law school.

            Real preparation for the bar examination itself should begin during your last year of law school.   If you begin an organized study plan during the months before graduation, you will lessen the stress of reviewing, memorizing, and practicing during the intensive study period between graduation and the bar.

 The Basics

Typically, the highest court in each jurisdiction regulates admission to the bar.   Performing the admission function for the court, state bar examiners require applicants to pass a bar examination and to undergo an assessment of character and fitness.   According to the National Conference of Bar Examiners, while the bar exam and the law student's record in law school provide information about the applicant's competence, the public interest requires state agencies to review the applicant's character and fitness to engage in the practice of law as part of the licensing process.

            The bar exam is conducted by the state licensing agency in each state twice a year, in February and in July.   Bar exams vary in length, content, and grading from state to state.   Passing the bar exam in one state does not qualify you to practice law in another state.

            In almost all states, the bar examination includes an essay exam and the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), a multiple choice exam produced by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. In California and about 30 other states, students take a performance exam during the same two- or three-day period.   At a separate time, students in almost all states are required to take the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE), also a multiple choice exam produced by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

The Multiple Choice Exam

Produced by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, the multiple choice MBE is used by almost every jurisdiction.   It consists of 200 multiple choice questions, one hundred to be answered in a three-hour block in the morning and one hundred to be answered in a three-hour block in the afternoon.   The MBE tests these subjects:   Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts.

The Essay Exam

The National Conference of Bar Examiners also produces the Multistate Essay Examination, but only 15 states give this exam.   Most states write their own essay questions, and the subjects tested vary somewhat from state to state.   Some states test state laws in certain subjects, rather than a more general overview of the law.   The California Bar writes its own essay questions and tests the six MBE subjects as well as Civil Procedure, Corporations, California Community Property, California Professional Responsibility, Remedies, Trusts, and California Wills and Succession.  

The Performance Test

The National Conference of Bar Examiners also produces the Multistate Performance Test, which is used in more than 30 states.   Again, the California Bar writes its own three-hour performance tests.   The performance test examines the applicant's ability to use lawyering skills to complete particular tasks.   Applicants are given a library of law and a file of facts and asked to produce a lawyerlike product such as a memo, brief, closing argument, or discovery plan.  

The California Bar

California's bar exam is a three-day exam scheduled for the Tuesday through Thursday span that includes the last Wednesday of February or the last Wednesday of July.   On that Wednesday, the MBE is given nationwide, 100 questions in the three hours of the morning session and another 100 questions in the three-hour afternoon session.   On Tuesday morning, three essay questions are given in a three-hour period.   On Tuesday afternoon, after a break for lunch, one three-hour performance exam is given.   Thursday is a repeat of Tuesday, with three more essay questions in the morning and one more performance test in the afternoon.   The written portion of the exam counts for 65% of your score (39% is based on the essay exams and 26% on the performance tests); the MBE counts for 35% of your score.  

The California Bar website is the best source for detailed information about what is on the bar and what changes are planned.   For example, a fee increase is scheduled for January 1, 2006, and changes in coverage are scheduled for the July 2007 bar.   Those changes include (1) changing the name of the subject now called Corporations to Business Associations, which will include corporations, partnerships, limited liability entities, related agency principles, and uniform acts; and adding (2) the California Code of Civil Procedure to the subjects tested under Civil Procedure and (3) the California Code of Evidence to those tested under Evidence.

Applications for the July bar exam are usually available March 1, usually with an April 1 deadline. Applications for the February exam should be available October 1, usually with a November 1 deadline. Space for those preferring to take the exam on a laptop fills up quickly so the earlier you apply, the better!

Return to Top

Financial Information

Preparation for the bar exam should include giving advance thought to paying for the costs associated with taking the bar exam.   For example, as of January 1, 2006, the applicant fee for the California Bar will be $529 plus $119 for using a laptop, and $431for the character and fitness determination.   The cost of a bar preparation course ranges up to $3,000 to $4,000.   Significant discounts are available if you can choose a bar preparation course and lock in a lower price during your first year of law school.

The Moral Character Application & Law Student Registration

Bar examiners in sixteen jurisdictions, including California, require or allow law students to register while enrolled in law school, often during their first year of law school.   The purpose of early registration is to identify problems with the character and fitness application that might delay licensing and to expedite processing of the application.   Law student registration initiates a screening procedure by the National Conference of Bar Examiners or by the state bar admission agency into the students' character and fitness.   For more information, see the National Conference of Bar Examiners' website.   For more information on the California Bar's process, see the Admissions Bulletins titled Statement on Moral Character Requirement and Factors That May Be Taken Into Consideration.