Illinois Board of Admissions

625 S. College St.
Springfield IL, 62704

https://www.ilbaradmissions.org/

The Illinois Bar Exam takes place over 2-days and covers 21 topics

 

Illinois Bar Exam Segment Breakdown

The Illinois Bar Exam is made up of the following exam segments:

  • 6 multistate essays each lasting 30 minutes each
  • 1 performance tests lasting 1.5 hours
  • 3 Illinois specific questions
  • 200 multiple choice questions, taking place the Wednesday of the exam. Click here for a complete study guide.

When is the Exam Administered?

  • February 23 – 25, 2016
  • July 26 – 28, 2016

 

Topics Covered by the Illinois Bar Exam

The Illinois Bar Exam currently covers 21 topics. These topics are tested on the Essays and Performance Test portions of the exam.

  1. Administrative law;
  2. Agency and partnership;
  3. Business organizations, including corporations and limited liability companies;
  4. Commercial paper;
  5. Conflict of laws;
  6. Contracts;
  7. Criminal law and procedure;
  8. Family law;
  9. Equity jurisprudence;
  10. Evidence;
  11. Federal and state constitutional law;
  12. Federal jurisdiction and procedure;
  13. Federal taxation;
  14. Illinois procedure;
  15. Personal property, including sales and bailments;
  16. Real property;
  17. Secured transactions;
  18. Suretyship;
  19. Torts;
  20. Trusts and future interests; and
  21. Wills and decedents’ estates

 Source: https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/SupremeCourt/Rules/Art_VII/artVII.htm#Rule704

 

Recent Bar Pass Rates and Content Trends

On average over 3,463 people take the Illinois bar exam each year. The majority of people take the Bar exam in July, having just graduated from law school. Those that do not pass the July bar, will often retake in February.

The following charts show pass rates by year, and the number of students taking in both February and July.

February Bar Exam Breakdown:

On average, the February bar has a lower number of students taking (as it is made up of primarily of people who graduated during December), or people who are retaking the bar.

July Bar Exam Breakdown

 

How have Schools performed on the Illinois bar?

To see how schools have performed in Illinois, see below. You can mouse over the individual exam periods to see how the school did compared to the state.

 

Site Resources If you are studying for the Bar: