Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners

Edward W. Brooke Courthouse
24 New Chardon Street, 1st floor
Boston, MA 02114

https://www.mass.gov/courts/court-info/sjc/attorneys-bar-applicants/bbe/

The Massachusetts Bar Exam takes place over 2-days and covers 18 topics

 

Massachusetts Bar Exam Segment Breakdown

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

  • 10 essays
  • 200 multiple choice questions, taking place the Wednesday of the exam. Click here for a complete study guide.

 
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When is the Exam Administered?

  • February 24 – 25, 2016
  • July 27 – 28, 2016

 

Topics Covered by the Massachusetts Bar Exam

The Massachusetts Bar Exam currently covers 18 topics. These topics are tested on the Essays and multiple choice portions of the exam.

  1. Agency
  2. Business Organizations 
  3. Constitutional Law
  4. Contracts
  5. Criminal Law
  6. Descent & Distribution of Estates Trusts
  7. Domestic Relations
  8. Evidence (including Federal Rules)
  9. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
  10. Federal Jurisdiction
  11. Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure
  12. Professional Responsibility
  13. Real Property (including Mortgages)
  14. Torts
  15. Trusts
  16. Unfair or Deceptive Practices (G.L.c. 93A)
  17. Uniform Commercial Code (articles 1-9)
  18. Wills

 Source: https://www.mass.gov/courts/court-info/sjc/attorneys-bar-applicants/bbe/bar-exam-info/

 

Recent Bar Pass Rates and Content Trends

On average over 2,637 people take the Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts bar?

If you are looking for a breakdown of how schools have performed on the bar exam, see below. You can mouse over individual results to see how they performed in relation to the rest of the schools that year.

 

 

Site Resources If you are studying for the Bar: