Update On The New Bar Exam: The Class Of 2026 Is In Luck

// Major announcement! An end to the aar exam is in sight! The version we are used to, at least.

There will still be a bar exam. Diploma privilege would be preferable, but the new version will have some obvious benefits to the one your mentors and their fore-mentors suffered through. The plan is for the new hotness to be the new standard in three to four years. From Law.com:

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-top-300x250" ); });

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) recently announced that after the NextGen exam launches in July 2026, the July 2027 bar exam will be the last administration of the current NCBE bar exam—also known as the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE)—which includes the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), Multistate Essay Examination (MEE) and Multistate Performance Test (MPT), according to NCBE’s announcement.

Sponsored Experience AI-Powered Contract Negotiation With Ontra Tired of negotiating and managing routine contracts? Ontra makes the most of human expertise and proprietary AI assistance to automate contracts like never before. From Ethan Beberness  

This new-and-improved test will drop four of the test areas the old one had: Family Law, Conflict of Laws, Trusts and Estates, and Secured Transactions. For anyone prevented from doing M&A because their Family Law knowledge wasn’t up to par, this is your vindication. For the weak-bladdered among us, the NextGen exam will take a whopping three fewer hours overall.

Will there still be problems with the exam? You betcha, and you can count on us to share the horror stories that we get from [email protected].

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-middle-300x250" ); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-storycontent-440x100" ); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-in-story-youtube-1x1" ); });

Current Bar Exam Will Sunset After July 2027 Administration [Law.com]

Sponsored Sponsored Experience AI-Powered Contract Negotiation With Ontra Tired of negotiating and managing routine contracts? Ontra makes the most of human expertise and proprietary AI assistance to automate contracts like never before. From Ethan Beberness   Sponsored NetDocuments’ Rebecca Sattin On Customer-First Approach And Future-Proofing Your Firm How a customer-focused transition from Worldox to NetDocuments sets the stage for a future of successful tech advancement. From Ethan Beberness   Sponsored Documenting Secured Transactions: A New Guide For Practitioners A newly updated PLI treatise provides both the legal framework and practical guidance on documenting secured transactions, including important details about 2022 amendments to the UCC. From Practising Law Institute   Sponsored Survey Results: A Perspective On The Private Markets Ontra surveyed over 400 private markets professionals about what to expect this year and their legal process pain points. From Kerry G. Benn, Ontra  

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-bottom-300x250" ); }); Sponsored Sponsored Survey Results: A Perspective On The Private Markets Ontra surveyed over 400 private markets professionals about what to expect this year and their legal process pain points. From Kerry G. Benn, Ontra   Sponsored Webinar: How Private Equity Is Gaining A Competitive Edge With AI Join Ontra and guests from Insight Partners and Harvard Business School as they discuss how firms can capitalize on AI while mitigating risk From Ontra   Topics

Bar Exams, Law Schools, NextGen Bar Exam