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The Multistate Performance Test, or MPT, tests lawyering skills in a realistic situation. Each MPT problem is 90 minutes long. Given a case file (which might includes items as diverse as pleadings, letters, newspaper articles, and transcripts of depositions) and applicable sources of law (which might include cases, statutues, regulations, and rules), the applicant must draft a document such as a legal memorandum, a client letter, a persuasive brief, or a will. The MPT tests six fundamental lawyering skills:
- problem-solving
- legal analysis and reasoning
- factual analysis
- communication
- organization and management of a legal task
- recognizing and resolving ethical dilemmas.
The MPT is designed to test your ability to "(1) sort detailed factual materials and separate relevant from irrelevant facts; (2) analyze statutory, case, and administrative materials for relevant principles of law; (3) apply the relevant law to the relevant facts in a manner likely to resolve a client’s problem; (4) identify and resolve ethical dilemmas, when present; (5) communicate effectively in writing; (6) complete a lawyering task within time constraints." (Source: http://www.ncbex.org/multistate-tests/mpt/mpt-faqs/description1/.)
If you are taking the MPT, visit the website of the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) early in your bar review process. Sixteen sets of MPTs from 1997-2004 are available free online; more recent MPTs are available for purchase.
Learn more about the MBE, MEE, and MPRE.
Last updated 2008-11-06
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