AJD New Student Guide Summer 2024

BAR INFORMATION

Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam

Successful completion of the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) is required in almost all states in addition to the bar exam. Testing dates for the MPRE occur each year in March, August and November. Registration is required about two months in advance. Applications for the MPRE are available at http://www.ncbex.org/about-ncbe-exams/mpre/

It’s a 60-question, 2-hour, multiple-choice exam, prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners to test knowledge of how lawyers should behave, including the ABA’s Rules of Professional Conduct .

The MPRE may be taken any time prior to graduation, but students are advised to complete the MPRE early as failure to do so may result in the inability to sit for the Massachusetts Bar Exam. They also are advised to first take Professional Responsibility.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts requires the MPRE be passed prior to application to the Massachusetts Bar. The minimum passing score for the MPRE for students taking the Mass Bar Exam is 85.

Other States

Each student should inquire in the jurisdiction in which he or she plans to take the bar for specific MPRE requirements. Students may inquire directly at the National Conference of Bar Examiners at www.ncbex.org.

Diagnostic Testing

All students are required to take a Diagnostic Exam covering selected bar-related subjects taught during the first year of study in the day division and the first two years of study in the evening division. Results of the diagnostic exam will be reported to students but will not appear on their transcripts and will not affect their grade point averages. However, students are required to complete the Diagnostic Exam and receive a minimum score of 50 (out of 120) in order to be eligible to graduate, and this requirement will be included in each student’s degree audit. The Diagnostic Exam will be offered in an online format. For students entering the law school in May 2021 or later, the diagnostic exam will be administered in May during a two week period following final exams and again for a two week period at the end of August. Students are eligible to take the diagnostic in the first May after they have completed the first year courses in Contracts, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Property, and Torts. Students must take the diagnostic by no later than the first August after their initial eligibility. In order to meet the graduation requirement, students must complete the diagnostic and obtain a minimum score of 50 out of a possible 120. Students who score below 50 are required to meet with a bar preparation adviser and will be permitted to retake the exam in its subsequent regular administrations as many times as necessary to achieve that passing score.

Uniform Bar Examination (UBE)

Massachusetts is a Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) jurisdiction. The Massachusetts UBE passing score is 270. The exam is comprised of the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), Multistate Essay Exam (MEE), and the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE). Massachusetts also requires a passing score on the

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