Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination
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The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) is a two-hour multiple-choice examination designed to measure the knowledge and understanding of established standards related to a lawyer's professional conduct. It is developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
As of the March 2005 administration, the test consists of 60 questions. Only 50 are scored; the other 10 (randomly scattered throughout the exam) will be used for experimental purposes. Previously, the MPRE contained 50 questions, all scored, with the same time limit. The raw score is converted to a "scaled score" based on the measured difficulty of the version of the test taken; the scaled score is used to determine passing scores. Scaled scores range between 50 and 150, with a median very close to 100.
Of the 51 jurisdictions in the United States, 48 require a minimum passing score on the MPRE for bar admission; the passing score varies between jurisdictions. The lowest score accepted by any jurisdiction is 75 (several); the highest required by any state is 86 (Utah). Only Maryland, Washington, and Wisconsin do not use the MPRE; these states incorporate their own ethics rules in their bar examinations. Wisconsin is also unique in that graduates of law schools within that state need not take the bar examination in order to be admitted in that state. Oddly, California uses the MPRE even though it is the only jurisdiction that has not adopted either of the two sets of professional responsibility rules proposed by the American Bar Association — and California rules differ from the ABA rules in many strange ways. Connecticut and New Jersey waive the MPRE requirement for bar candidates who have earned a grade of "C" or better in a law school course in professional ethics.
Some states have unique requirements regarding the timing of the MPRE in relation to the bar exam. Four states—Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Nebraska—currently require that all candidates for the bar exam achieve a passing MPRE score before sitting for the exam. Iowa requires the passing score to be on file several months before the exam, with a petition process for candidates who pass the March MPRE and the July bar exam in the same year. Illinois does not recognize MPRE scores from a test taken before the completion of two years of law school. Many other states have a "window" either preceding or surrounding the bar exam outside of which MPRE scores are not recognized. Disclaimer: These examples should not be considered authoritative. Readers who are planning to take a bar exam should examine the rules of that jurisdiction.
The test is based on The ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility (http://www.abanet.org/cpr/ethics/mcpr.pdf), ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct (http://www.abanet.org/cpr/mrpc/mrpc_home.html), and the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct (http://www.abanet.org/cpr/mcjc/mcjc_home.html) (courtesy American Bar Association website).
The MPRE differs from the remainder of the bar examination in two crucial ways:
- In almost all states, a J.D. is required to sit for the bar exam. The MPRE can be, and almost always is, taken before graduation from law school.
- MPRE scores from any jurisdiction in the United States are automatically recognized by all other jurisdictions (assuming that any special timing requirements are met), although in order to be admitted to a bar, an applicant must meet that jurisdiction's minimum passing score. Scores on the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), another component of the bar exam in almost all states, do not necessarily transfer between jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions will not accept an MBE score from any other jurisdiction; some others only accept MBE scores from another jurisdiction if the applicant is concurrently taking the bar exam in two jurisdictions; still others require a minimum MBE score for transfer.
See Also
External Links
- Official Homepage (http://www.ncbex.org/tests/mpre/mpre.htm)