As future Illinois lawyers prepare for the NextGen Bar Exam, the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) is exploring its impact on legal education and the practice of law in Illinois.
Last month, the ISBA hosted the NextGen Symposium 2025, bringing together leaders of the Illinois Supreme Court, National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), Law School Admission Council (LSAC), Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar (IBAB), and Illinois ARDC, as well as law school faculty, practicing attorneys, and law students.
The speakers discussed the format and content of the new exam, how law schools are preparing students, and what this change means for legal practice.
The NextGen exam will replace the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) in Illinois in February 2028.
Ensuring licensing exam tests practical application
The NCBE developed the NextGen exam to better test would-be lawyers on practical lawyering skills and real-world applications, something the UBE has been criticized for lacking.
According to the NCBE’s website, NextGen is “designed to balance the skills and knowledge needed in litigation and transactional legal practice” and to reflect changes in clinical legal education programs, alternative dispute resolution programs, and legal writing and analysis programs.
Jon J. Lee, a professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law who worked with NCBE on the development of the NextGen exam, said periodic review ensures licensure exams reflect current professional demands.
The UBE will continue to be administered through the February 2028 bar exam and will be replaced by NextGen in July 2028. States not adopting NextGen may develop their own exam or alternative licensing pathways.
Illinois’ decision
In May 2024, when the Illinois Supreme Court and IBAB announced plans to adopt the NextGen exam, Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis explained that the exam will place “a greater emphasis on testing the foundational skills required to practice law instead of memorizing legal concepts and principles.”
During the ISBA symposium, Illinois Supreme Court Justice David K. Overstreet emphasized that attorney licensing must ensure competence, accountability, ethical practice, and access to justice, while aligning with state goals in collaboration with bar associations and law school leaders.
While Illinois could have created its own exam, IBAB President Suzanne Schmitz emphasized NextGen’s reliability and the cost-efficiency of adopting the exam over developing a custom exam.
Recently, California returned to the NCBE’s Multistate Bar Examination for multiple-choice questions after significant challenges with its self-developed exam.
Before adopting the NextGen Bar Exam, IBAB thoroughly vetted it through years of participation in advisory committees, listening sessions, surveys, and conferences with the NCBE, as well as direct meetings between NCBE representatives, the Illinois Supreme Court, and IBAB.
IBAB also gathered feedback from Illinois law schools and other key stakeholders, observed field tests, and reviewed pilot grading to ensure the exam’s readiness and alignment with the state’s needs.
Differences between NextGen and UBE
The NextGen exam will cover fewer subjects than the UBE but will dive deeper into concepts and incorporate real-world applications.
This includes testing skills like legal research and writing, client counseling and advising, negotiation and dispute resolution, and client relationship management, among others. Conflict of laws, trusts and estates, and secured transactions will be omitted in the NextGen exam.
The exam will be administered in three three-hour sessions over one and a half days, each including approximately 40 multiple-choice questions, two integrated question sets, and one performance task. The exam will be administered on a computer.
Unlike the UBE, NextGen will not have separate MBE (Multistate Bar Exam), MEE (Multistate Essay Exam), and MPT (Multistate Performance Test) sections. However, it will closely resemble the MPT.
During the symposium, Susannah Pollvogt, Principal Consultant for Curriculum at LSAC, explained that MPT-inspired questions test core competencies, including analyzing primary sources under time pressure, drafting organized legal analysis, and producing client-centered work products.
The NextGen exam will be structured as roughly 40% multiple-choice, 25% integrated question sets, and 35% performance tasks, versus the UBE’s 50% MBE, 30% MEE, and 20% MPT.
While the UBE required 80% memorization and 20% applied analysis, NextGen shifts to 40% memorization and 60% applied analysis, better reflecting skills used in practice, according to Pollvogt’s presentation.
Professionalism and ethics requirements remain unchanged, including the MPRE and character and fitness standards under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 708(c).
Exam affordability and portability were prioritized when developing the NextGen exam, though only a few states have confirmed transfers so far. Examinees should review their jurisdiction’s page and the NCBE Score Services page for details.
How law schools are preparing
Illinois’ 2028 launch date provides full-time fall 2025 law students and their law schools the complete three-year program to prepare for the NextGen exam, the Illinois Supreme Court said in a press release.
During the symposium, law school faculty explained that when preparing students for the exam, they are rethinking how they assess knowledge and prioritizing the incorporation of real-world experiences into coursework.
Unlike traditional law school classrooms, which typically have one large, graded assignment or exam at the end of the course that counts for a majority of a student’s grade, LSAC is now encouraging more regular evaluation of important concepts.
Pollvogt said this starts with law schools determining what students must master before graduation, then encouraging law professors to assess learning on an ongoing basis (like a quiz) with a final exam to test mastery of each course.
She noted the benefit of encouraging students to “think more actively in classroom settings day-to-day” (like being asked to analyze the law first, then further investigate a matter), and of integrating attorney/client relations into the evaluation.
Professor Jon J. Lee reiterated the importance of client relations, adding that asking questions like “What would you ask the client and why?” helps students think critically and apply their knowledge.
He also emphasized practical skills development for students, encouraging participation in clinical training, clinics, and moot court competitions.
The NCBE is releasing sourcebooks that provide legal educators, examinees, and other stakeholders with information about which legal concepts and principles will be assessed in the NextGen exam.
The first two sourcebooks were released in September and cover contract law and real property.
How will NextGen impact the legal profession?
Given NextGen’s focus on practical application, symposium speakers said that new lawyers will be expected to enter practice with competencies previously underemphasized in law school.
A panel including law school professors and academic success professionals noted that the emphasis on clinics, competitions, and other hands-on experience in law school may support access to justice and community service efforts in the future.
Mentorship between practicing attorneys and students or those preparing students for the exam will help the profession navigate the transition to practice under NextGen, the panelists said.
Melissa A. Smart, Director of Education at the ARDC, emphasized that preparing new attorneys with practical skills is critical for solo, small firm, and rural practitioners, who handle diverse responsibilities.
Moreover, in Illinois’ legal deserts, new attorneys may have limited access to resources when beginning their practices. Preparing for the NextGen exam can help them to hit the ground running, she said.
The bar exam in other states
Several states and jurisdictions are adopting NextGen. Here is a rundown of the schedule:
- July 2026: Connecticut, Guam, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Palau, Virgin Islands, Washington
- July 2027: Arizona, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming
- February 2028: Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois
- July 2028: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia
Suzanne Schmitz, President of IBAB, said that a representative from Illinois will be present at Missouri’s 2027 administration of the NextGen exam to observe the process.
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