The National Conference of Bar Examiners has unveiled the content and structure of the NextGen Bar Exam, set to be introduced in July 2026. In a 42-page outline released on Thursday, the specific legal skills and areas of law to be tested were identified, marking a departure from the current exam's heavy emphasis on memorization.
Starting this fall, students entering law school will be among the first cohort to undertake the NextGen exam. University of Maine law professor Jon Lee, who served on the committee responsible for defining the scope of the new test, confirmed this development. The National Conference initiated the development of the NextGen exam in early 2021, aiming to address criticisms that the existing exam does not reflect the realities of legal practice.
The National Conference has previously announced that the NextGen bar exam will assess aspiring attorneys in seven skill areas: client counseling and advising, client relationships and management, legal research, legal writing, and negotiations. It will also cover eight areas of law: business associations and connections, civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law and constitutional protections of accused persons, evidence, real property, and torts. Notably, the exam will no longer include family law, estates and trusts, the Uniform Commercial Code, and conflict of laws.
A committee dedicated over a year to determining which topics to include or exclude from each subject area and specifying matters that require memorization. The committee received over 400 public comments during this process.
To ensure the effectiveness of the NextGen Bar Exam, the National Conference conducted pilot testing with 2,500 third-year law students and recent law graduates from 70 law schools. Sample test questions will be released later this summer.
The length of the exam is currently under consideration, with officials confirming that it will be within the duration of the existing test and is likely to be shorter.
