New Hampshire Bar Exam Information

2010 exam dates and location(s)

The February 2010 New Hampshire bar exam will take place on Tuesday, February 23 and Wednesday, February 24. The July 2010 New Hampshire bar exam will take place on Tuesday, July 27 and Wednesday, July 28. Exams are given at the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord.

MEE subjects (MBE subjects are in bold)

Agency, Commercial Paper, Conflict of Laws, Constitutional Law, Contracts/Sales, Corporations, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Family Law, Federal Civil Procedure, Partnerships, Real Property, Sales, Secured Transactions, Torts, Trusts and Future Interests, and Wills.

Structure

The Tuesday exam day consists of the written portion of the exam. The morning session consists of two MPT questions (90 minutes each), and the afternoon session consists of six MEE questions (30 minutes each). The Wednesday exam day consists of the MBE. The MBE is a 200 question multiple choice exam. 100 questions are asked in the morning over a three hour period, and 100 questions are asked in the afternoon over a three hour period. The MBE has 33 questions each for Contracts and Torts, and 31 questions each for Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, and Real Property. 190 of the 200 questions are graded, the other 10 are experimental. 200 questions over six hours averages out to 1.8 minutes per question.

Scoring

Each MPT question is scored on a scale of 1 - 12, while each MEE question is scored on a scale of 1 - 6. The total score of the written portion is scaled to the total score of the MBE portion. An examinee must achieve a minimum score of 270 out of 400 to pass.

It is not necessary to obtain a passing score on the written portion, but overall performance must be adequate to contribute to the overall passing score. There is no limit on the number of examinees given passing scores on the bar exam and recommended for admission to the New Hampshire bar.

MPRE

An applicant must achieve a minimum score of 79 on the MPRE before or after taking the bar exam. In any event, the applicant must achieve this score prior to admission to the New Hampshire bar.

Pass rate

New Hampshire’s pass rate for the July 2008 exam was 92% for first time takers, and 92% for all takers.

Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program

The Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program is a two-year program at Franklin Pierce Law Center. Graduates are eligible for admission to the New Hampshire bar upon completion of the program without further examination. Program participants are 1) required to take courses in addition to the traditional law school classes, 2) subject to periodic evaluations, and 3) subject to a two-day assessment process prior to graduation.

Other Exam Information

The Supreme Court accepts concurrent MBE scores.

Bar examiner contact information

Application deadlines

The deadline for the February bar is December 1. The deadline for the July bar is May 1.

Application fees

The examination fee for the New Hampshire bar exam is $275 made payable to the “State of New Hampshire.” The character and fitness investigation fee is $275 made payable to the “Character and Fitness Committed of the New Hampshire Supreme Court.”

Forms

The “Petition and Questionnaire for Admission to the Bar” and “Application for Bar Examination” must be submitted together.

Applicants must fully answer all questions. Applicants must file one signed original petition and one copy. Note that all documents filed with or subsequent to the petition must be submitted in duplicate.

Attachments

A certification of graduation by the registrar or a photocopied diploma must be submitted with the exam application. A transcript is not acceptable.

Results

The Supreme Court releases the results of the February exam in late April, and the results of the July exam in late September. Results are posted by name on the Supreme Court’s web site. Unsuccessful examinees are provided with a score breakdown via mail within approximately one month of the date upon which the results are released. Unsuccessful examinees may examine their individual essays at the Supreme Court Building.

*All state bar exam information is subject to change without notice; please verify this information with the bar examiner’s office.*