New York Bar Exam Information

2010 exam dates and location(s)

The February 2010 New York bar exam will take place on Tuesday, February 23 and Wednesday, February 24. The July 2010 New York bar exam will take place on Tuesday, July 27 and Wednesday, July 28. The New York bar exam is always given in the following locations: Albany, New York City, and Buffalo. Specific locations are posted on the website under “Test Sites.” All non-residents who are not employed full-time in New York at the time of application are automatically assigned to the Albany test site. Requests for test site transfers may be made upon a showing of good cause (it is fairly easy to transfer to the Buffalo test site).

Subject Matter (MBE subjects are in bold)

Business Relationships (Agency and Partnerships, and Corporations); Conflict of Laws; Contracts; New York and Federal Constitutional Law; Criminal Law and Procedure; Evidence; Family Law; Future Interests; Mortgages; Remedies; New York and Federal Civil Jurisdiction and Procedure; Personal Property; Professional Responsibility; Real Property; Torts (including statutory no-fault insurance provisions); Trusts; Wills and Estates; Workers’ Compensation; and UCC Article 2 (Sales), Article 3 (Commercial Paper), and Article 9 (Secured Transactions).

Structure

The Tuesday exam day consists of the state portion of the exam – five essays, 50 New York multiple choice questions, and one MPT. 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

All scores are scaled. The minimum passing score is 665/1000. The written portion of the exam is worth 50% of the total score (40% essays, 10% MPT), the MBE is worth 40%, and the New York multiple choice questions are worth 10%. The results of each portion are combined to determine if an examinee has achieved a passing score.

MPRE

A candidate for the New York bar must achieve a minimum scaled score of 85 on the MPRE at any time before or within three years of taking the exam.

Pass rate

New York’s pass rate for the July 2008 exam was 83% for first time takers, and 75% for all takers.

Other exam information

The New York Board of Law Examiners allows applicants to transfer concurrent MBE scores.

The Board interviews all applicants.

Bar examiner contact information

Application deadlines

Applications for the February exam must be received by the Board no earlier than November 1 and no later than November 30. Applications for the July exam must be received by the Board no earlier than April 1 and no later than April 30. Applications must be postmarked no more than 120 days and no less than 90 days prior to the exam for which application is being made. The Board does not accept either early or late applications.

Candidates should contact the Board for an application packet at least four months prior to the exam. Candidates may also download application materials from the Board’s website.

Application fees

The application fee for the New York bar exam is $250. The fee for online applications must be paid by credit card. All other fees must be paid via certified check, cashier’s check, money order, or travelers check made payable to “State Board of Law Examiners.”

Forms

The following is a summary of forms that must be submitted with the completed application for the New York bar exam: 1) application for admission questionnaire, 2) good moral character affidavits, 3) employment affidavits, and 4) law school certificates. The Board accepts only originals.

Character and Fitness considerations

Examinees will receive character and fitness forms after the exam. All character and fitness forms may be submitted prior to receipt of exam results, but must be submitted within three years of sitting for the exam.

Results

The Board releases results for the February 2010 exam in mid-May, and results for the July 2010 exam in mid-November. Results are mailed to examinees on the day that the pass list is posted on the Board’s website and the New York Law Journal’s website. Results are listed by name.

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