Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners

601 Commonwealth Ave., Suite 3600
P.O Box 62535
Harrisburg, PA 17106-2535

https://www.pabarexam.org/

The Pennsylvania Bar Exam takes place over 2-days and covers 14 topics

 

Pennsylvania Bar Exam Segment Breakdown

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

  • 6 essays lasting 30 minutes each
  • 1 performance tests lasting 1.5 hours
  • 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 23 – 24, 2016
  • July 26 – 27, 2016

 

Topics Covered by the Pennsylvania Bar Exam

The Pennsylvania Bar Exam currently covers 14 topics. These topics are tested on the Essays and Performance Test portions of the exam.

  1. Business Organizations (including corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and professional corporations)
  2. Civil Procedure (Pennsylvania and federal)
  3. Conflict of Laws
  4. Contracts
  5. Criminal Law (including related Pennsylvania and federal constitutional issues and DUI) Employment Discrimination (limited to Title VII, ADA and ADEA)
  6. Evidence (Pennsylvania and federal)
  7. Family Law
  8. Federal Constitutional Law
  9. Federal Income Taxes (personal only and limited to taxable and non-taxable income, deductions, proprietorships and capital transactions)
  10. Professional Responsibility
  11. Real Property
  12. Torts
  13. U.C.C., Art. II - Sales
  14. Wills, Trusts and Decedents’ Estates (including related fiduciary responsibilities)

Source: https://www.pabarexam.org/bar_exam_information/testsubjects.htm

 

Recent Bar Pass Rates and Content Trends

On average over 2,702 people take the Pennsylvania 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.

February-2015-Results-Pennsylvania

July Bar Exam Breakdown

July-2015-Results-Pennsylvania

How have Schools performed on the Pennsylvania bar?

To see how schools have performed in Pennsylvania, check out the school analysis tool: https://www.barexamstats.com/tools-to-analyze-law-schools/aba-bar-pass-rate-tool/

 

Site Resources If you are studying for the Bar: