The California Attorney’s Bar Examination is an abbreviated version of the California Bar Exam. Out-of-state Attorneys licensed for more than four consecutive years in another jurisdiction who remain in good standing can opt-out of the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE). The Attorneys Exam covers over 15 areas of law and the exam is administered on the last Tuesday of February and the last Tuesday of July. The Attorneys exam is an all-day exam consisting of 5 essay questions and one Performance test. Attorneys exam applicants have one hour to complete each of the essays and 90 minutes to complete the Performance test. The essays test an attorney applicant’s substantive knowledge of the law and requires an attorney to carefully analyze and describe theories of law while presenting arguments to support or refute those theories. Critical thinking is crucial, and an attorney must master how to deconstruct a fact pattern and identify all the relevant issues in a very time pressured environment. Attorneys can either hand write or type the attorneys exam, and results are issued mid-late November and mid-late May. Bar exam essay questions can either be subject specific or crossed over with other tested topics. The Performance Exam is intended to mirror real-life practice and attorneys are asked to draft briefs or memos on topics supplied by the examiners.
