Back in February, the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates adopted Resolution 109, which encouraged more states to continue adopting the uniform bar exam (UBE). Directly following this ruling, Vermont, South Carolina, and New Jersey jumped on the UBE bandwagon and embraced the exam.
Since then, two more states have followed suit.
Most recently, Connecticut and West Virginia have adopted the uniform bar exam, making the total number of United States jurisdictions: 24.
Connecticut will administer its first UBE exam in February 2017. Test takers must receive a minimum score of 266 to pass the examination. Admission on transferred UBE scores will begin being accepted later this year in September, so long as the score received isn’t more than three years old.
To be newly admitted to the state’s bar, hopefuls must complete the following components of the UBE: the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), and the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), along with the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE).
West Virginia will administer its first uniform bar exam in July 2017. To pass their examination, admittees must receive a minimum score of 270. Admission on transferred UBE scores will likewise begin being accepted in July of that year, so long as the score earned isn’t more than 36 months old.
As in Connecticut, all lawyers and law graduates seeking admission to West Virginia must complete the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), and the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), along with the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE).
The UBE split is continuously inching closer and closer to 50/50 in the United States. However, 32 jurisdictions, including Illinois, still have yet to adopt the uniform bar exam. Many have mixed feelings about the uniform bar exam, but as the margin of divide begins to shrink, it makes one wonder, what will come of the state-specific bar exam? Let us know what you think.
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