Connecticut Bar Exam: Quick Facts and Helpful Hints
HOW THE TEST IS STRUCTURED
The first step in successfully completing the Connecticut Bar Exam is to understand what is involved in this difficult professional examination. First the Connecticut Bar Exam is a two day exam which is given during the last week of February and during the last week of July each year. On the first day of the exam you will be the Multistate Bar Exam, which is a 200 multiple choice questionnaire covering various general legal topics. These topics will not be state specific, but will instead cover laws and procedures that are used commonly throughout the United States. On the second day of the exam the candidate will take the state specific essay exam which consists of 12 essay questions. In addition to these two Connecticut Bar Exam sessions, attorney candidates for Connecticut will also need to take the Multistate Professional Responsisbilities Exam and pass with a score of 80 points before they can petition for a license to practice law in this state.
HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE CT BAR EXAM
You can request an application package from the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee, or download the materials from their website.
Bar Examining Committee
80 Washington Street
Hartford, CT 06106
(860) 756-7900 Telephone Number
http://www.jud.state.ct.us/CBEC/
Before you request application materials it is a good idea to make sure that you qualify to sit for the Connecticut Bar Exam. The most crucial qualifications to sit for this professional exam is that you graduated from an acceptable law school. To be an acceptable law school it must be ABA approved, it must be licensed and accredited, it must offer an appropriate curriculum that includes legal skill training and professional ethics coursework, and it must maintain non-discriminatory practices. If you meet this requirement then you will need to completely fill out an application package and submit it with the appropriate fees by the designated deadlines. Fees for taking the Connecticut Bar Exam will vary from year to year. For the most current fees please visit http://www.jud.state.ct.us/cbec/BarExCom2.htm.
WHAT TO STUDY
On day one you will be taking the MSE. This exam, as mentioned earlier, will be made up of 200 multiple choice questions. These questions will cover the following topics:
1. Constitutional Law
2. Contracts and Sales
3. Criminal Law and Procedures
4. Evidence
5. Real Property
6. Torts
On the second day you will be taking the Connecticut Essay Exam, which is made up of 12 essay questions. These questions will cover the following topics as they are interpreted in the state of Connecticut:
1. Administrative Law
2. Business Entities
3. Conflict of Laws
4. Contracts
5. Criminal Law and Procedures
6. Federal and State Constitutional Law
7. Civil Procedures
8. Evidence
9. Professional Responsibilities
10. Property
11. Torts
12. Universal Commercial Code
13. Trusts, Wills, and Estates
There are many places online that you can find free reference materials that cover these topics. Below is a helpful links that have reference materials that cover the above topics.
1. You can download sample essay questions and answers from past Connecticut Essay Exams from http://www.jud.state.ct.us/CBEC/questions.htm
2. Connecticut Rules of Evidence can be found at http://www.state.ct.us/foi/Regs/1-21j-37.htm
3. Connecticut Professional Responsibilities can be found at http://www.law.cornell.edu/ethics/ct/code/
4. The Uniform Commercial Code can be found at http://www.law.cornell.edu/uniform/ucc.html
