| SUBJECTS TESTED ON THE
MINNESOTA STATE BAR EXAM The Minnesota State Bar Examination consists of essay questions and multiple choice questions on any
combination of the following subjects: - Business Associations (partnerships, proprietorships, and corporatations, including limited liability companies)
- Civil Procedure
- Constitutional Law
- Contracts
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Ethics and Professional Responsibility
- Evidence
- Family law
- Federal Individual Income Taxation
- Real Property
- Torts
- Uniform Commercial Code, Art. 1,2
-
Wills, Estates and Trusts
For additional information on the Minnesota Exam Subjects, see the Rules for Admission to the Bar and the Board's brochure " From Diploma to License" | |
| The Multistate Performance Test The Minnesota State Board of Law Examiners administers a Multistate Performance Test (MPT) question as a component of the Minnesota bar exam. (Effective with the February 2001 exam.)Facts about the MPT: - One 90-minute question will be given on Tuesday morning in lieu of two of the eight Minnesota essay
questions currently being used. (1 MPT question and two Minnesota Essay questions will be given on Tuesday morning; four Minnesota Essay questions will be given on Tuesay afternoon.)
- The MPT will be weighted 12.5% of the total exam score.
- The MPT will be combined with scores for the other essay questions, scaled to the MBE and combined with the score of the MBE to determine successful applicants.
- The MPT is written by the National
Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) and will test an applicant's ability to use fundamental lawyering skills. The MPT evaluates an applicant's ability to complete certain tasks that a beginning attorney should be able to accomplish. Applicants will have 90 minutes to complete one MPT question.
What the MPT Requires of Examinees: The MPT is not a test of substantive knowledge. The MPT requires applicants to: - sort detailed factual
materials and separate relevant from irrelevant facts;
- analyze statutory, case and administrative materials for principles of law;
- apply the law to the relevant facts in a manner likely to resolve a client's problem;
- identify and resolve ethical dilemmas, when present;
- communicate effectively in writing; and
- complete a lawyering task within time constraints.
The skills needed to complete MPT tasks include: - problem solving;
- legal analysis and reasoning;
- factual analysis;
- communication, organization and management of a legal task; and
- recognizing and resolving ethical dilemmas.
Components of the MPT: The materials given to each examinee on a PT question include all of the substantive information necessary to answer the question. The MPT question
will be in two parts: - The file
consists of source documents containing all of the facts of the case and a memorandum from a supervising attorney outlining instructions of the specific assignment to be completed by the applicant. The file might also include transcripts of interview, depositions, hearings or trials, pleadings, correspondence, client documents, contracts, newspaper articles, medical records, police reports and lawyer's notes.
-
The library
consists of cases, statutes, regulations and rules from which the legal principles necessary to analyze the problem and perform the assigned tasks can be extracted. The library materials provide sufficient substantive information to complete the assigned task.
An examinee might be required to write one of the following on a MPT question: - a memorandum to a supervising attorney;
- a letter to a client;
- a persuasive
memorandum or brief; a statement of facts;
- a contract provision;
- a will;
- a counseling plan;
- a proposal for settlement;
- an agreement;
- a discovery plan;
- a witness examination plan;
- a closing argument.
More information about the MPT and reprints of questions from previous administrations of the MPT may be obtained from the National Conference of Bar Examiners. |
