The NextGen Bar Exam

Current law school 1Ls who plan to take the Illinois Bar Exam in 2028, will be taking the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination as opposed to the current Uniform Bar Exam.

What’s different? I’m glad you asked.

The NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (“NextGen Bar”) will focus on integrated question sets, performance tasks, and a reduced number of legal subjects. In addition to foundational concepts and principles—e.g., Civil Procedure, Contract Law, Torts, etc.—the NextGen Exam will also test lawyering skills such as Legal Research, Legal Writing, Client Counseling, Negotiation and Dispute Resolution, and Client Relationship and Management. This topic is of interest to me because in addition to a full-time practice, I am an adjunct professor at Northern Illinois University College of Law that teaches Introduction to Lawyering Skills. My class helps prepare students not only for the real world, but also for the skills portion of the NextGen Bar.

We all likely remember taking the usual classes in law school—Torts, Contracts, Criminal Law—but very few courses focused on the practical skills of lawyering save for Legal Research and Writing. Some schools had more courses that were skills-based, like courses in Mediation, but most classes focused on teaching students legal concepts and principles. The times, they are a changin’.

How will the NextGen Bar test skills? The National Conference of Bar Examiners that created and administers the NextGen Bar actually provide sample questions that demonstrate how skills are to be tested. In one example, a student is given excerpts of notes from a client meeting regarding a woman whose apartment flooded, an excerpt from the lease, and a sample statute regarding a landlord’s duty to maintain the premises. Using the provided documentation, the student is then asked a series of questions related to them, like what is the accurate application of the statute to the facts? The student is then asked to list two specific facts that support the position that the landlord violated the duty owed to the client. Third, the student is asked to list two specific actions—other than eviction—that the landlord could take that would cause the client to relocate. Fourth, the student is asked to state which of the facts listed provide the most support for a cause of action against the landlord. Fifth, the student is provided with a sample settlement offer from the landlord and asked to provide two specific drawbacks for the client if the landlord’s settlement proposal is accepted, taking into consideration the client’s stated objectives, interests, and constraints. Finally, the student is given information that the apartment building is actually owned by the landlord, individually, not by the LLC that signed the lease and claimed ownership, so the student is asked to list two specific facts that support the position that the LLC’s veil of limited liability can be pierced.

The sample questions quiz about more than just legal doctrine. A student will be required to not only know certain legal subjects like Corporate Law in order to be able to answer the veil piercing question, but must also be able to understand the client’s position and desires and then advise the client. Could a veil-piercing action against the LLC succeed? Possibly, but the fact that the client cannot afford to relocate means that protracted litigation against a corporate entity with superior funding is not in the client’s best interest and does not comport with the client’s stated objectives and constraints. A student must be able to demonstrate the skills necessary to properly represent the client in this situation, not simply parrot the elements of a veil-piercing case.

In order to ensure that students are prepared for the NextGen Bar, law schools are providing more skills-oriented classes. These classes teach students how to practice law, not just the legal subjects themselves. Drafting of pleadings and discovery, client counseling, depositions, and settlement negotiations are oftentimes part of the curriculum.

With students being provided instruction on lawyering skills in addition to doctrinal law, young lawyers may be able to actually practice law in some capacity immediately upon licensure instead of just learning how to do so for their first few years. Time will tell if the shift into more skills-based training is positive for the legal community, but we should all expect the new lawyers in 2028, to be a bit less green when they first step-up to the podium.