Mississippi Bar Exam: A Basic Guide
MIssissippi has one of the longest bar exams in the country. It will last three days and it will consist of three different tests. You will be required to answer essay questions, performance test questions, and multiple choice questions. To prepare for all three of these tests you will need to study several specific topics that will be presented to you at the end of this article. It is highly recommended that if you want to do well on the Mississippi Bar Exam that you not only study state and federal laws, but that you also study state and federal legal procedures. This article will outline the basics for preparing for the Mississippi Bar Exam, and it will point you in the right direction for developing you plan of study for the Mississippi Bar Exam.
QUALIFICATIONS
The state of Mississippi has several qualifications to sit for the Mississippi Bar Exam. The first requirement will need to be completed by October 1 after they have completed two semesters of law school. The next requirement to sit for the Mississippi Bar Exam is that the candidate must be at least 21 years of age. They also must have a BA or BS from an accredited educational institution and a JD or LLB from an ABA approved law school. For more rules governing alternative educational paths to the Mississippi Bar Exam you should visit the following link: http://www.mssc.state.me.us. The final requirement to sit for the Mississippi Bar Exam is to take the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, and pass it with a score of at least 75 points.
REGISTERING FOR THE EXAM
To register to sit for the Mississippi Bar Exam you will need to download, print out, complete, and submit an application package. These can be found on the Mississippi State Board of Bar Admissions’ website.
Board of Bar Admissions
Court of Appeals Building
656 North State Street, 1st Floor
Jackson, MS 39202
(601) 354-6055 Local Phone Number
http://www.mssc.state.ms.us
THE EXAM’S FORMAT
The Mississippi Bar Exam is a three day event that is given in Jackson during the last week of February and during the last week of July each year. On the first day of the Mississippi Bar Exam you will be given six Mississippi State Essay Exam questions. On the second day of the Mississippi Bar Exam you will be given two Multistate Performance Test questions and ten more essay questions. This time the essay questions will come from the MEE and the state. On the third and final day of the Mississippi Bar Exam you will take the Multistate Bar Exam, which consists of 200 multiple choice questions that deal with general legal issues.
WHAT TO STUDY
To do well on day one and day two you should study the following subjects:
1. Administrative Law
2. Contracts
3. Business Organizations
4. Criminal Law and Procedure
5. Domestic Relations
6. Evidence
7. Federal Income Taxation
8. Federal Jurisdiction and Rules of Civil Procedure
9. Practice and Procedure of Mississippi Courts
10. Professional Conduct and Ethics
11. Real Property
12. Torts
13. Uniform Commercial Code
14. The Mississippi Constitution
15. The Constitution of the United States
16. Wills, Trusts, and Estates
17. Conflict of Laws
18. Bankruptcy
To prepare for the MPT section of the Mississippi Bar Exam you should practice the following skills:
1. Problem Solving
2. Legal Analysis
3. Legal Reasoning
4. Factual Analysis
5. Communication
6. Organization and Management of Legal Tasks
7. Recognizing and Resolving Ethical Dilemmas
Also practice basic legal tasks such as:
1. Drafting memos
2. Drafting letters to the client
3. Composing closing arguments
4. Writing a brief
For a study materials please check out the following links:
1. Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedures located at http://www.mssc.state.ms.us/rules/RuleContents.asp?IDNum=2
2. Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedures located at www.usm.edu/cj/430-Syllabus-Full.doc
3. Mississippi Codes located at http://library.law.olemiss.edu/library/state/ms.shtml
4. Uniform Commercial Code located at http://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/ucc.table.html
On the third day of the Mississippi Bar Exam you will take the Multistate Bar Exam. This exam will be made up of 200 multiple choice questions that cover the following topics as they are generally applied throughout the United States of America:
1. Constitutional Law
2. Contracts and Sales
3. Criminal Law and Procedures
4. Evidence
5. Real Property
6. Torts
If you would like a study guide for this section you can visit the NCBE website at http://www.ncbex.org/.
